By DIANA WURN

For months, neighbors watched with concern as Sound Transit officials pondered whether to build its proposed University District light rail station on the east or west side of 15th Avenue NE, just south of NE 45th.

The University of Washington, the owner the east side property, which is currently being used as a parking lot, had been urging Sound Transit to pick the west side.

Residents and merchants of several buildings that would be demolished if the light rail station were built on their side of the street, were urging Sound Transit to pick the east side.

On Nov. 18, the Sound Transit Board made its choice: the 18-member board voted unanimously to build its underground station on the east side.

UW officials have agreed to work out a plan to let Sound Transit build two light rail stations on its campus, the one at NE 45th and one at NE Pacific Street. Details have yet to be finalized. The stations will be built 240 feet below ground level and accessible via high-speed elevators.

Sound Transit spokesman Denny Fleenor said the Sound Transit Board also made a firm commitment to push for funding to expand its light rail line to Northgate. He said the board considers the need to extend the light rail line to Northgate is more important than ever, since voters approved I-695. Fleenor said the passage of the controversial initiative, which calls for limiting vehicle license tab fees to $30, has "let the air out of the tires of public transit, so to speak."

Sound Transit's decision to pick the east side of 15th Avenue NE for its NE 45th Street station has spared several historic buildings from the wrecking ball, including the Malloy Apartments, a neighborhood landmark since 1928.

The idea of building a light rail station where the Malloy building stands seemed a bit "foolish" to Benjamin Malloy, the man who at age 24 built the 123-unit apartment building. Malloy, now 95, lives in Redmond.

Malloy remembers when the building first opened for business. A mink - as in the actual animal, not someone wearing a mink coat - wandered in the front door from the wooded UW campus across the street.

He also recalls that students used to play golf and horseshoes on the roof of the Malloy Apartments, that is, until a horseshoe went flying off the top of the roof and a golf ball ened up on The Ave.

The Malloy Apartments retains many of its original furnishings, including French glass doors and hardwood floors in its apartments and the building's brick exterior. "It's a one of a kind," recalls Malloy.

Although the Malloy's current managers expressed relief at Sound Transit's decision not to build its light rail station on their property, they said they plan to take steps to ensure the building's continued preservation. They hope to get the building officially registered as a historic structure.

Sound Transit, formerly known as the Regional Transit Authority (or RTA), is planning a light rail route from SeaTac to the U-District.

More information about Sound Transit's planned light rail route can be found at www.soundtransit.org.