KENT .com
REPORTER
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
NEWSLINE 253-872-6600
MARIANNE BINETTI | Monthly resolutions for your garden in 2012 [13]
KID CALLED RUDY | Kentwood High WEBSITE | Check the website for breaking graduate reflects on his improbable run at news, sports stories and weather updates. FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2012 the 2005 state wrestling tournament [10] www.kentreporter.com
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Downtown Kent project a year down the road BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Construction isn’t scheduled to start in downtown Kent until at least the end of 2012 on a proposed five-story, mixed-use development with as many as 164 apartments. Even though the Seattle developer demolished the half-built parking garage in October to make room for the new apartment complex and 3,700-square feet of retail space at the corner of West Smith Street and Fourth Avenue, construction remains at least a year away. The development is known as the city center project. “Our goal is to start construction within a year,” said Brad Reisinger, project manager for Goodman Real Estate, Inc., in a phone interview last week. “By
next year (at this time), hopefully, we would have broken ground.” Reisinger wanted to emphasize that the project hasn’t stalled, unlike the previous developer who ran out of money in 2007 after constructing a half-built parking garage as part of a proposed hotel, condominiums and retail space development. “We knocked down the garage a year ahead of when of when we would typically do that,” Reisinger said. “Typically, we would not have done the demolition until we were ready to start building. But this deal was different because it was a priority of the city to get rid of an eyesore and knock down the garage.” The Kent City Council in September approved a [ more PROJECT page 3 ]
Construction to build a five-story apartment complex with retail space in downtown Kent is scheduled to start near the end of 2012. File Graphic
Higgins to serve as City Council president
Medical marijuana issues considered
BY DENNIS BOX
Six-month moratorium passes and zoning ordinance fails again
dbox@kentreporter.com
The Kent City Council unanimously voted Dennis Higgins as council president at its Tuesday meeting. Following the ceremony and welcoming of new council members Bill Boyce and Dana Ralph, the council picked Higgins as president for the Dennis Higgins next two years. Councilwoman Jamie Perry was the previous president. Higgins stated at the meeting he would be an, “honest broker with my colleagues, with the administration and the public. I promise to ask questions, sometimes a lot. I will listen carefully
BY DENNIS BOX dbox@kentreporter.com
Looking at 2011
Kaylee Elliot, 4, admires flowers at the Tahoma National Cemetery during Memorial Day. Sandy Metzger and her dog Skylee, top, compete in the Big Air Wave June 18 at Kent Station. Cora Goff,3, dances at the Casper Babypants concert July 20 at the Town Square Plaza. The Kent Little League All Stars win the District 10 championship July 15. CHARLES CORTES AND DENNIS BOX, Kent Reporter
The first couple of votes for the 2012 Kent City Council Tuesday night turned into a contentious, legal maze over medical marijuana – welcome to the council. With new members Dana Ralph and Bill Boyce taking their positions on the dais, the council again considered zoning regulation for medical marijuana collective gardens and extending the moratorium on all medical marijuana operations. The zoning measure failed 4-3 with Boyce, Ralph, Les Thomas and Deborah Ranniger voting no.
[ more ISSUES page 12 ]
[ more COUNCIL page 7 ]
NEW LOCATION
15423 SE 272nd St., Ste. 110; Kent, WA 98042
SAME NUMBER 253-631-1222
Ask about our FREE real estate classes!
567439