By Meghan Hall
A vacant shopping center once considered a hub of commercial activity in Renton has sold nearly a year after local firm Quadrant Homes dropped its plans to redevelop the property. In a transaction that closed on April 17th, Solera Manager LLC, an entity whose address is shared with Heartland Construction of Bellevue, sold the retail center for $15.5 million, according to public property documents. The buyer was Greater Hilands LLC, associated with Tukwila, Wash.-based JSH Properties, a property, construction and development management firm.
The property, located at 2806 NE Sunset Blvd., 2950 Sunset Blvd. NE, 975 Harrington Pl. NE, and 1171 Kirkland Ave. NE, totals nearly 11 acres. Quadrant planned to demolish the existing shopping center with the exception of the U.S. Bank building. Entitlements for the site remain in place until 2023, based on records filed with the City of Renton. Originally, Quadrant had submitted plans to build more than 670 residential units, including townhomes, 39,000 square feet of commercial space, daycare and two public streets. Upon completion development would contain two mixed-use buildings along NE Sunset Boulevard with six stories above grade; the two buildings would include 521 of the planned residential units, with the planned commercial space located on the ground floors. 151 simple-fee townhomes would also be included, as would more than 900 parking spaces.
Project plans were originally submitted in July of 2018. Estimated market value of the project was about $65 million, based on documents submitted by Quadrant to the City of Renton. In order to proceed with the project, Quadrant had to agree to complete the project in phases. Under city requirements, the developer would need to complete the building permit process for one of the two mixed-use buildings before proceeding with the townhome portion side of the development.
When Quadrant decided not to pursue the project in the spring of 2019, it had not yet purchased the property from Solera Manager LLC. At the time, Solera had already evicted tenants, even though the deal had not yet gone through, making waves in the Renton community.
It is unclear what the immediate future holds for the shopping center, and whether the site’s new owner will pursue the plans already in place. JSH Properties, however, has an established presence throughout the region, and is known for its involvement in several projects, including The Spring District, where its brokers are in charge of retail leasing.
