Northgate expansion site is put up for sale

Simon Property Group, which owns Northgate Mall, is asking $25 million for the site it had planned to use for a massive expansion project. The project included 450 apartment units, a hotel, offices and a 30-screen movie theater.

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The project is mired in legal battles over a long buried creek running under one end of the property.

In May, a King County Superior Court judge sent the proposed project back to the city to study environmental effects of the development on Thornton Creek.

A spokeswoman and other representatives of Simon Property Group, based in Indianapolis, did not return phone calls.

Knoll Lowney, of Smith and Lowney in Seattle, represented citizens seeking to have the creek "daylighted," or brought to the surface as part of the development.

"We are not surprised that Simon has decided to put the property up for sale," Lowney said.

"Simon's refusal to responsibly develop the property, to protect Thornton Creek and to work with the community makes their plan dead in the water."

The property is listed by C B Richard Ellis of Seattle.

Don Moody, first vice president of C B Richard Ellis, said there have already been some informal discussions with local developers about the 12.8-acre site.

"There are several local developers who have expressed an interest in the piece of property," Moody said. "It is a piece of property that isn't for everybody."

Besides the controversial creek, the property is zoned for a mix of uses. It is also the focus of some intense community planning discussions.

"It's a big project, and many developers don't have the ability to take on a project of that size," Moody said.

The expansion project was to have started last spring and continue in four stages for 15 years. Mayor Paul Schell, who praised the project earlier as a way to deal with the city's growth and transportation problems, had persuaded Simon Development to add the 450 apartments to the plans.

Members of the Thornton Creek Defense Fund asked that the creek be brought to the surface as part of the expansion project.

Developers, insisting that the creek is nothing more than a drainage ditch, said they had agreed to many requests from the city and community, but drew the line at building a creek through their project.

Intense community planning for the entire Northgate area is under way. Part of the property already has been tentatively earmarked for transit development.

Some Northgate citizens are convinced the site makes sense for a proposed library, community center, and city park. They would like to see the city of Seattle snatch up the site.

"We don't have that kind of money, unfortunately," Deputy Mayor Tom Byers said.

P-I reporter Kathy Mulady can be reached at 206-448-8131 or kathymulady@seattle-pi.com