Freshy's, Green Space Could Give Way for Transit-Oriented Development

Mercer Island City Council will consider a request Monday night to sell a quarter-acre of green space next to Freshy's Fish Market, so former 76 gas station property can be redeveloped into a multi-family apartment complex.

Leon Cohen, owner of a local property development holding company Twenty-four Eleven LLC, will ask the City Council at its Spet. 16 meeting if it might be interested in selling the green space to advance a mixed use Transit Oriented Development (TOD) project, which would be located near the future Mercer Island light rail station

The green space land is adjacent to Cohen's property, located at the corner of SE 24th Street and 76th Ave. SE where Freshy's Fish Market is located. Cohen's property was appraised by King County this year at a total value of $966,700 — the quarter acre of land alone was appraised at $797,100.

The City acquired the land from WSDOT at the end of the I-90 construction project to be used as green space. At the time, it was one of a number of small parcels in the I-90 corridor that the City “acquired” either fee simple as in this case or acquired for recreational/green space for maintenance.

In order to allow the sale of the land, the city must initiate an appraisal process to determine the property’s value and must direct most of the proceeds of the sale to WSDOT.

If constructed, the project's underground parking garage would be partially financed from an estimated $7.7 million to be provided by Sound Transit for commuter stalls. City Manager Rich Conrad secured a verbal commitment from Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl in 2012 for the funds and expects that a written agreement between Sound Transit and the City making commuter parking funds available will be before the Council in November.

The City has been discussing a future commuter parking facility, funded by Sound Transit, sited in the Town Center near the future transit station and as part of a mixed use project for nearly three years.

Discussions between the owners of the existing Walgreen site and a developer selected by the City stopped without an agreement earlier this spring. City Hall says it is still keeping an eye on the Walgreens site, as well as the former Travelodge site — owned by Dollar Development and slated for redevelopment as a hotel — for siting a future commuter parking facility.