BELLEVUE
REPORTER
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COMMUNITY | Seattle Seahawks’ legend Jim Zorn throws a few passes at Bellevue retirement home [7]
Sports | Interlake’s Garnett one of many preps looking for league, district, state titles in fall [12]
Education | STEM training gets boost from local program SciSub [8]
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2013
$2.3 billion Spring District to break ground Monday BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
On Monday, Sept. 16, Wright Runstad & Co. of Seattle and Shorenstein Properties of San Francisco will break ground on its long-anticipated $2.3 billion Spring District project. The 36-acre site will include apartments, retail, restaurants, office space, hotels and will encompass 16 city blocks.
“It’s the largest high-density development attempted in the U.S. in decades,” said spokesperson Forrest Carman of Wright Runstad, which also was responsible for the first Microsoft campus in 1986. The demolition of the former Safeway warehouse at the corner of Northeast 12th Street and 120th Avenue Northeast, to begin Monday, will be quickly succeeded
by construction of roads and utilities. The Spring District is located in the BelRed neighborhood, recently rezoned for transit-oriented development. When service begins in 2023, a light rail station will carry passengers across Lake Washington from Seattle, through the Spring District and on toward Microsoft’s campus. “It’s more than a theme, it’s a driver
for how we’re thinking about the Spring District as a new neighborhood,” said Greg Johnson, president of Wright Runstad of the design’s focus on such accessibility. The project has been in the works since 2007 and with technology an increasing economic engine in the Puget Sound SEE SPRING DISTRICT, 14
Bellevue to rein in houses used as dorms
WOLVERINE RUMBLE
BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
Bellevue’s five-time defending 3A state champion football team had little trouble with Skyline, which has won the past two 4A state crowns, in a 45-7 win at newly renovated Husky Stadium. The game, only the second played after UW’s win over Boise State, gave fans a close-up look at the new digs. Go to Page 13 for more prep football. JOSH SUMAN, Bellevue Reporter
When the residents of Spiritwood first noticed that their low-density, single-family neighborhood had seen a surge of redeveloped properties—among them a three-bedroom house renovated to eight bedrooms—they worried the changes could alter the character of the neighborhood. Now council is responding to what they say could be a more pervasive housing model. On Monday, Council discussed an emergency interim ordinance to address multi-room rentals in single-family homes. In May, residents of Spiritwood realized that at least five properties in a several block radius were owned by a handful of property owners, several of them seemingly related. Neighbors suspected the rooms were being rented out to students desperate for housing as Bellevue College transitions into a four-year institution. A mediation meeting late last month, revealed that the buildings were being used as “shared housing,” or what neighbors called a “purely economic model.” SEE HOUSES, 14
Bellevue to stick with Republic Services for garbage/trash disposal The Bellevue City Council on Monday selected Republic Services to continue to pick up garbage, recyclable material and organic waste, once a contract is hammered out next month. Two companies – Republic and CleanScapes – were competing for a seven-year contract, with an option to extend another seven years, worth up to $20 million annually. The current contract expires next June. While the council and city staff acknowl-
edged that both companies were capable of providing the services to Bellevue residents and businesses, it came down to Republic’s past performance and reputation forproviding Bellevue customers with reliable and dependable service for more than 30 years. The vote was 5-0; councilmembers John Chelminiak and Kevin Wallace recused themselves. City staff will now work with Republic to finalize the contract, then bring it back to the council in October for
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approval. In addition to selecting the vendor of choice, the council decided to maintain the same rate structure in the new contract in order to minimize rate changes for customers. Also approved were a number of service enhancements and new service options, including a limited amount of commercial and multifamily organics collection. The council hopes that includ-
ing this level of organics service into the base rate will promote participation in the organics recycling program and ultimately reduce this type of material from ending up in the landfill. Customers can expect improvements including the on-call curbside collection of small electronics and appliances from multifamily customers, and online account management and electronic billing upon request.