April 4, 2017

Property near U Village sold; bike shop planned

A small commercial building at 3016 N.E. Blakeley St. has sold for $3 million, according to King County records.

The seller was Blakeley Real Estate LLC, which acquired the property in 2011 for $1.65 million.

The buyer was Element Investments LLC, which is associated with Rally Capital of Kirkland. Rally Capital's managing director is Dennis Weibling, a former telecom executive associated with the McCaw family and Nextel Communications.

Chris Corr of Kidder Mathews represented the seller. KM's Rod Keefe and Jason Bloom represented the buyer.

The three-story warehouse-office building sits between Blakeley and the Burke-Gilman Trail, just northeast of University Village.

Constructed in 1966, it has 11,400 square feet. The land measures 7,200 square feet. The building is now vacant, but past tenants have included Bordner Construction, FloScan Instruments and RacerMate.

Plans filed with the city by Ryan Rhodes Designs indicate a new retail bike shop with a small addition. It will be the second location for Element Cycles.

Founded in 1981 as Sammamish River Cycle, Element Cycles changed its name in 2013 when it moved to its present location in downtown Redmond. The current ownership group, which includes Weibling, acquired the business in 2010.

Element general manager Lorraine Wright said the new Seattle flagship location should open by March of 2018.

West Corp Construction will be the general contractor.