CITY OF KENMORE 6700 NE 181st Street Kenmore, WA 82607

Kenmore Takes Giant Step toward Creating New Downtown

City Council Votes in Favor of Developing Kenmore Village by the Lake

KENMORE, Wash. – The City of Kenmore and Kenmore Partners LLC today announced that they have officially entered into an agreement to redevelop a large parcel of downtown property into a new city center.

On Monday, July 9, the Kenmore City Council voted to approve the Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) with Kenmore Partners LLC, a subsidiary of Urban Partners LLC, for redevelopment of a 9.6-acre, City-owned downtown property into Kenmore Village by the Lake, a mixed-use “village” of housing, significant retail, open space and a central gathering space that will be the centerpiece of a newly revitalized downtown Kenmore.

“This action culminates several years of planning and is the catalyst to realizing the community-generated vision for Kenmore’s future,” said Kenmore Mayor Randy Eastwood.  “This project features housing choices – including affordable homes – with commercial services close by, and it provides a vital and pedestrian-friendly downtown.  This is the right time and the right place for this project.”

The DDA outlines the key components and milestones for sale of the City-owned, 9.6-acre site (located at the intersection of 68th Avenue NE and NE 181st Street) to Kenmore Partners for redevelopment.  The City’s consultant, Jim Reinhardsen of Heartland LLC, presented the draft DDA to the City Council at the Council’s June 11, 2007, meeting.  A public hearing was held on June 18.

Following the City Council vote, the Council held an official signing of the documents by city manager Stephen Anderson and Kenmore Partners principal Dan Rosenfeld.

“The City has established a partnership with a solid and talented development team with strong Northwest ties to make this project a reality,” said Anderson.  “This is a good deal for the citizens of Kenmore.  We get an attractive place to gather, do business and live downtown – and a positive economic return on the City’s investment.”

City Council members expressed their excitement about the agreement, citing the deliberate and thoughtful planning process involved as well as the vision and contributions of previous City Councils, Planning Commissions and the Downtown Task Force.  Council members also praised the project for using “green” LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) construction principles and allowing the City to have exclusive use of the project’s gathering space several times a year for community events.

Over the past 15 months, Kenmore Partners has extensively engaged the community in public participation, recently attending its 41st community meeting.  Additional community input into the design of the central space will be scheduled for fall of 2007.

“We’re fortunate to be working with a city that has such extraordinary vision for its future,” said Julie Benezet, regional managing director for Urban Partners, the developer of Kenmore Village by the Lake.  “We’ve seen resounding support for this project from the people of Kenmore, and we’re excited about moving forward.”

The City of Kenmore and Urban Partners, the developer of the project, are continuing to work together to move forward on plans for market-rate and affordable housing as well as retail and open space within Kenmore Village by the Lake.  Kenmore Partners recently created a partnership with Housing Resources Group (HRG), a nonprofit organization that will provide affordable housing in Kenmore Village by the Lake.  Kenmore Partners is also currently in talks with a potential anchor tenant for the project.

The Kenmore Village by the Lake project entails redevelopment of the City-owned 9.6 acres in Kenmore’s downtown Northwest Quadrant.  The area is bound on the east by 68th Avenue NE and the south by NE 181st Street.  Revitalization of the northwest quadrant is part of the larger downtown area envisioned in the City’s comprehensive plan.

BACKGROUND
On April 17, 2006, the Kenmore City Council selected Kenmore Partners LLC as the developer and design team for the redevelopment of the City-owned 9.6 acres in Kenmore’s downtown Northwest Quadrant.  During the Conceptual Plan preparation process, the Kenmore Partners planning team has met with the Kenmore City Council, the Downtown Task Force, the Kenmore Heritage Society and many individuals and organizations representing stakeholders in the downtown planning process. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Photo of DDA signing with City Council available upon request.

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About Kenmore Partners LLC
Kenmore Partners, LLC, is a multidisciplinary team of design, construction, marketing and finance professionals focused on creating human-scaled civic environments that promote commercial, residential and civic quality of life.  Key team members include the following:

Urban Partners, LLC, developer of mixed-use urban villages in communities up and down the West Coast, including Burien’s downtown redevelopment, Burien Town Square
Powell Development Co., specialists in Northwest retail development and management
GGLO, award-winning Seattle-based architects, designers of renowned communities including University Village in Seattle and Juanita Village in Kirkland
CB Richard Ellis, retail leasing brokers, focused on up-scale merchandising opportunities in prime urban and suburban locations
Miller Condominium Marketing, the region’s premier multifamily marketing and sales experts
Nyhus Communications, community outreach and public-participation specialists

More information about the revitalization of downtown Kenmore is available at www.DowntownKenmore.com or at the City of Kenmore’s website at www.cityofkenmore.com.