August 11, 2026

Lake Union starts Magnolia Albertsons assemblage

Photos by Brian Miller [enlarge]

The south building, Magnolia Court, sold last week.

Magnolia Court, at 2520 32nd Ave. W., sold last week for $6.2 million, according to King County records. The seller was WWJB LLC, which acquired the apartments in 2011 for nearly $2.8 million. Brokers were not announced for a deal worth about $258,33 per unit.

The buyer was Localis Magnolia LLC, which is associated with Lake Union Partners. As the DJC first reported in July, Lake Union and Runberg Architecture Group are proposing a six-story apartment building, with an assemblage to include the Albertsons. The plan includes a newer, larger Safeway to replace the old store, with about 201 units above.

South of the existing Albertsons, Magnolia Court is a 24-unit building developed in 1948. North of the store, on the corner of Raye Street, is a smaller nine-unit building that's also home to a physical therapy clinic. It last traded in 2006, to a separate owner.

If that also sells, and assuming an agreement is struck with Albertsons (the corporate parent to Safeway), Lake Union would have an over 1-acre site, with zoning up to 55 feet. The doomed old store dates to 1955, and initially operated on a ground lease. Albertsons was the original developer. It combined the land and building ownership in 1992.

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The smaller north building is presumably under contract.

For last week's sale, public records indicate a small loan from Washington Trust Bank. Security Properties had previously proposed a residential-over-grocery plan there, gained a MUP in 2023, but then walked away from the project.

With a larger footprint, the proposed new mixed-use building would extend from Raye about 519 feet down 32nd, opposite the Magnolia Community Center and playground. Runberg now indicates two parking entries on 32nd, with truck loading to be on the east alley. Total parking would be around 340 stalls, apparently on two levels. Shoppers and residents would have separate entries.

The building isn't yet in formal review with the city. Design review wouldn't be required if affordable units are included. Project size won't be clear until detailed plans are submitted. TENW is the traffic engineer.