Photo courtesy J.R. Abbott Construction Alki Market includes a view home on its upper level.

The Alki Market project was a redevelopment of an urban site occupied for over 40 years by a neighborhood grocery store in the Alki Beach area.

J.R. Abbott Construction was contracted to build a new 9,700-square-foot market with a 5,342-square-foot residence on top. The redevelopment also included a 13-stall underground parking garage with an elevator for the residence.

The project’s timeline required that work take place during the winter months, compounding issues brought about by tidal effects on a relatively high groundwater table. The contractor coordinated excavation sequences with tidal charts to ensure dirtwork was executed at the optimal time.

Because the area is home to American Indian archaeological sites, the construction site was subject to periodic inspections by the Washington Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation to determine if any found items had historical significance.

The owners of the residential portion requested an unobstructed view of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, but power and cable lines ran through the sightline. J.R. Abbott worked with local public and private utility companies to develop a way to bury the lines at a third of the projected cost.

Although the project had significant safety challenges, there were no time-loss or reportable injuries.