Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 4, April 2003
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Mayor unveils Northgate plan
By MATTHEW PREUSCH
After months of waiting, citizens on March 19 finally got a look at Mayor Greg Nickels' plan to spurn development around Northgate Mall.
Lines have been quickly drawn in the sand between supporters and critics of the plan, which includes a controversial agreement between the City and the owners of Northgate Mall.
The centerpiece of the mayor's initiative is a proposed "development agreement" with the mall's owners, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, that would eliminate some restrictions the mayor says have "choked the Northgate Mall and surrounding areas for a decade."
Before becoming law, the agreement must pass muster with the City Council, and it looks like the mayor, still hurting from recent political setbacks, will face an uphill battle some council members of the wisdom of his plan.
Nickels hosted an open house in the cafeteria of Nathan Hale High School to promote his Northgate plan. The room was ringed with presentations by the City, County and Simon.
A vocal group of area residents, who set up an alternate open house in an adjoining lobby, slammed the development agreement, characterizing it as a giveaway to a private developer with no benefit for the public.
They found some sympathetic ears with some city councilmembers present.
"I don't see how I would vote for the development agreement as it is," said City Councilmember Nick Licata.
Licata said the majority of his constituents present at the open house have expressed misgivings to him about the plan.
Licata joins City Councilmember Richard Conlin in opposing the mayor's proposal, as well as the way in which the agreement with Simon was forged: in closed-door sessions.
At a recent press conference, the mayor defended his discussions with Simon. "You don't negotiate that kind of real estate agreement, and the technical details, at a community meeting," he said.
Simon has said it is planning a 144,000 square foot expansion of Northgate along the First Avenue NE side of the mall, including a large addition to the Nordstrom apparel store.
In exchange for relaxing building regulations, the City would receive a 2.7-acre parcel of the mall's south parking lot from Simon. The city plans to use the South Lot site for a stormwater detention pond to handle runoff from nearby commercial areas.
That could mean the end of hopes of some in the community to daylight Thornton Creek, which runs under the lot in a metal culvert.
Janet Way, chair of a citizens group called the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund, said Nickels is breaking a campaign promise to unearth the creek.
"The mayor's deal will make daylighting impossible within our lifetimes," she said.
Coming out in support of the plan were several local developers, who have watched the Northgate area deteriorate under building regulations they say are unfriendly to investment.
John Mullally, owner of the Northgate Apartments, said if the regulations are lifted he would finally be able to proceed with upgrading his aging property.
"Economically, it would be a lot more manageable," Mullally said.
Others said that if Simon started investing in Northgate Mall, which has failed to keep pace with other area regional malls, such as Alderwood Mall and Bellevue Square, it would be a signal for them to invest in their own properties.
Sy Iffert, who has been a developer in Seattle for decades and owns three properties in the Northgate area, said a revitalized Northgate Mall would encourage other property owners in the neighborhood to invest in their own projects.
"I have to know that Northgate is going to develop," Iffert said. "If we don't do it, we'll have another Broadway or another University Way."
John Mullally's brother, Vince, also a developer, put it more bluntly. If the City doesn't allow Northgate to expand, he said: "I think the mall is slowly going to hell."