Saving Grocery in Wedgwood – A Call to Action (Opinion)

Update: In early September 2025, the Bainbridge Island based Town & Country announced in the Puget Sound Business Journal that they are the grocery that has signed a Letter of Interest with Security Properties to come to Wedgwood and that they require the curb cut and small surface parking lot which the Design Review Board (DRB) did not approve below.  The FINAL DRB Meeting will be held virtually on September 29th from 5-8PM (link – RSVP is needed). Public comment on behalf of the Security Properties project and these two design elements will be very important for the project to move forward and for grocery to return to Wedgwood.  

Note: This is an opinion post written by Per Johnson, the current president of the Wedgwood Community Council. It’s been updated since it’s initial posting.

Want to get involved and help bring grocery back to Wedgwood, check out these ways to >Take Action. [Hint: leave a formal public comment, sign our petition, and show up virtually at the next design review board meeting (not yet scheduled)!]

For a pretty comprehensive history of this project and the engagement that Security Properties has had with our community (including videos) over the past 16 months, please refer to our Wedgwood Center Dashboard.

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Since 1952, Wedgwood has developed around grocery service at the corner of 35th Ave NE and NE 85th Street. Our community has literally evolved with a grocery store at its heart – our primary community gathering place. Grocery at this location has been the stage for informal gathering and social interactions that have helped knit our community together.  It has been and will be, if it is allowed to be, the commercial and retail use which drives pedestrian activity within the 35th Ave NE / NE 85th Street retail node.  However, grocery is at significant risk of not returning to Wedgwood at NE 85th Street.  

Grocery at Risk Leaving Wedgwood

 

Grocery is a rapidly evolving industry, whether it be the ripple effects from an impending mega grocer merger or acceleration of e-commerce and AI in our personalized grocery shopping experience (it felt gross just writing that), it’s not the same as when Tradewell first opened in Wedgwood.  And when Kroger decided to pull out of Wedgwood in 2021, it resulted in what we hoped would be a temporary hiatus in grocery service in Wedgwood.  Safeway, at the corner of 35th Ave NE and NE 75th Street, is now our closest grocery now.  However, as part of the Safeway and Albertson’s merger in 2014, the Wedgwood Safeway property was sold to an individual while Safeway retained a long-term lease.  Yes, we’ve tried to reach out to him…  Now, with the Albertsons (e.g. Safeway) merger with Kroger pending, the Wedgwood Safeway has made the list of 579 stores that would be divested nationally should the merger be granted.  So, it’s feasible that we could have no grocery stores in Wedgwood by the end of the year pending the outcome of the multiple trials taking place to stop the Albertsons and Kroger merger [Update: The merger between Alberstons and Kroger has been denied and will not proceed and is no longer believed to be in imminent danger of leaving although Safeway still does not own the property.] 

Not only is grocery in Wedgwood at risk, but programming a site for the evolving grocery business is becoming increasingly challenging.  Security Properties has developed many mixed-use projects in Seattle with anchor grocers.  If it’s got apartments above a grocery store, chances are they developed it.  According to Security Properties, their observations of grocers post-Covid is that many have considered consolidation (e.g., closing stores) to meet operating expenses.  Nevertheless, they have spoken to many of the grocers in our region (as I understand) and have been moving the site plan forward with their operating needs in mind.  In fact, they were working on a Letter of Interest with a grocer pending the EDG-2 outcome and certainty over a site plan that accommodates their business with the grocer nearly ready to be announced (again, as I understand).   

What Happened

As I wrote in a previous (non-opinion) post, Security Properties – the proposed developer of the Wedgwood Center redevelopment – suffered a significant blow to their preferred site plan when they recommended the denial of 3 requested departures. 

• Curbcut off of a Principal Pedestrian Street (35th Ave NE)
• Surface Parking abutting Principal Pedestrian Street (35th Ave NE)
• Vehicular Access from Front (35th Ave NE) and Side Street (NE 82nd Street) Lot Line 

The decision by the board has been characterized by Security Properties as a “huge blow” and that it “kills grocery.”  While no one with the Wedgwood Community Council has been part of any conversations with Security Properties and any potential leases, we believe their concern to be genuine and is not posturing for the following reasons: 

• Security Properties has developed many mixed-use projects in Seattle with anchor grocery.  Their understanding of the grocery market based on their experience and direct communication and negotiations with grocery lends them credibility in my opinion.  
• Based on my personal experiences over the 16 months of engaging with the Security Properties team (much of which is on video for your viewing pleasure), they have been transparent and responsive to the community.  
• From the outset of this project, Security Properties has been clear that access off of 35th Ave NE and a relatively small surface parking area is critical for a grocer on this site.  

So, when Security Properties says that grocery is at significant risk of not working on their site any longer, we believe them.    

Design Review Board Meetings

Flashing back to the first design review board meeting in March 2024, the Northeast Design Review Board unanimously approved Security Properties advance their preferred Concept C (see images below) and gave them a list of concerns they wanted further evaluated (see EDG-1 meeting notes).

As the Concept C plan above shows, the site is laid out to be inherently linked and organized around a single curb cut off of 35th Ave NE, in line with NE 84th Street, and small surface parking area between the two buildings.  Additionally, a seperated access onto NE 82nd Street for residential users and seperated freight loading for the grocery off of NE 85th Street are provided.  The other concepts that Security Properties presented were either 1) a curbcut off 35th Ave NE with ingress/egress onto NE 82nd Street utilized by all modes, including freight, or 2) all vehicular modes, including freight, utilizing a shared private driveway between NE 85th Street and NE 82nd Street.  However, for Concept C to move forward as desired by the board, with the mid-block articulation and residential bridge, it necessitated a curbcut for that site concept to make sense (logically or financially).  If not for site access, Concept C forgos significant retail and residential potential that any developer would not likely give up.

This past Monday evening, following a 20 minute virtual presentation of the project revisions that the Security Property team evaluated based on direction from the design review board back in March 2024, each member of the five member design board was given the opportunity to ask 2 questions of the design team.  This was then followed by a summarization of public comments recieved by the city planners and 2 minutes for each of the five attendees who wanted to speak.  This then led into discussion amongst the design review board members on the merits of the site plan and the five requested design departures requested by Security Properties.  At one point, while the board was discussing the merits of the curbcut off 35th Ave NE (stuff discussed in March 2024), John Marasco with Security Properties was cut off by the city’s planner and was told that if he didn’t stop speaking he would be muted. 

Two of the design review board members were not on the board in March 2024 and, it appeared based on their questions, did not have the benefit of the Security Properties explaining how or why the design evolved to what was before them.  Therefore, the explanation on how and why the board in March 2024 advanced Security Properties’ preferred Concept C site plan does not appear to have been fully understood.  Nevertheless, the board in both March 2024 and on Monday were unanimously in favor of the site plan overall and appreciated the voluntary setbacks, building articulation, and architectural concepts.  However, it appears that the design review board did not understand that the site plan was inherently designed around a proposed curbcut off 35th Ave NE and a small surface parking area located midblock.  So, while the design review board was supportive of the site design which relies on a curbcut, they voted to disallow the 3 vitally important departures that are not only inherently necessary for the site plan to make sense, but these departures are critically important for a grocer to come to the site. 

Ultimately, on Monday evening, the vote on these important departures broke largely between those board members who were present during the March 2024 meeting and those who were not.  Two of the three board members who were present in March approved all 3 departures, while noting some concerns around the number of parking stalls and interaction with the pedestrian environment that they would like further evaluated.  However, the 2 new board members who were new and were not present for the March 2024 meeting where the merits of the curbcut and surface parking area were discussed, opposed these departures.  These 2 new board members are not described as transportation planners or engineers in their profiles and did not introduce themselves as transportation planners or engineers.  However, their concerns regarding these departures focused on their assumption that the curbcut and parking area would lead to conflicts with pedestrians.

While I am not a transportation planner or engineer either, I too have opinions on transportation designs and am concerned about vehicular conflicts with pedestrians. As do my fellow WCC boardmembers and those who join our public board meetings to share their views.  So, as volunteer design review members, it’s well within their right to consider pedestrian safety in their recommendations.  Further, I think they clearly had the community’s best intention when making their decision.  I think these individuals were doing their best and I appreciate them taking on this volunteer role of public service. 

But, the board’s opposition of these design departures was made (in my opinion) based on a lack of full explanation of the project and its merits.  I don’t believe the city planner allowed for sufficient time or opportunity to discuss the merits of the design – particularly for these new board members.  Moreover, it appears (in my opinion) that the decision to recommend denial of these 3 departures was made based, not on the design, but on transportation concerns.  Note that pedestrian treatments, streetscape, street crossing, and traffic patterns were not discussed during the meeting.  Therefore, a decision on whether pedestrians would be in conflict could not be adequately evaluated in my opinion.  

Community Concerns

The Wedgwood Community Council has been playing a role of community facilitator and providing a venue to share information between Security Properties and the community.  As the president of the Wedgwood Community Council, I have heard many concerns voiced by the community about Security Properties project.  These concerns can be summarized as follows:

• Concern by immediate neighbors about noise/light impacts, shading, lack of privacy, freight turning movements, and other real impacts to be expected adjacent to the site.
• Concern by the community at large about the size, scale, and height of the proposed project.
• Concern by neighbors to the west about future vehicular patterns and parking in immediate community.
• Concern about existing trees and environmental considerations.

In my experience, Security Properties has been responsive to these concerns although is unable to fully avoid these imapcts.  A project of this type will undoubtedly have impacts to the community and will result in change that can be more difficult for some.  As the project advances through design and ultimately construction, we anticipate Security Properties will continue to engage with the community and look for ways to mitigate impacts.  But, the greatest concern that I have heard from the community is the need to bring grocery back to Wedgwood at this location.  This is paramount.

How Grocery Informs Massing and Site Plan

In order to satisfy a grocer and their unique operating requirements, Security Properties were requesteding 3 design departures (2 other departures were requested, but are not relevant to the grocer): 

• Curbcut off of a Principal Pedestrian Street 
• Surface Parking abutting Principal Pedestrian Street
• Vehicular Access from Front and Side Street Lot Line

While these 3 departures are critical for a grocer at this site, we understand they were also highly important to other planned uses (e.g., daycare). 

Curbcut off of a Principal Pedestrian Street

35th Ave NE is what’s referred to as a Principal Pedestrian Street. This designation followed legislation which established “P Zones” in 2014, a policy that we and Wedgwoodians were (and I believe are still) wildly supportive of.  In fact, of the 902 participants that completed the City’s survey citywide in 2014, 169 respondents (19% of total) voted on the Wedgwood-North (35th Ave NE and NE 85th Street node – 121 respondents) and the Wedgwood-South (35th Ave NE and NE 75th Street node – 48 respondents).  Of those Wedgwood respondents, 70% were in support of the pedestrian zone for the Wedgwood-North node which includes the Wedgwood Center property.  Woot woot!  I even wrote about our community’s strong showing and support for P Zones on the Future 35th Ave NE blog back in 2014!

This support for a more pedestrian-friendly business district along 35th Ave NE was not surprising.  The Wedgwood Vision Plan we completed in 2010 states that our commercial areas along 35th Ave NE “will be pedestrian-friendly, well-connectied, and with development and design standards respectful of adjacent and nearby residential neighborhoods” featuring “pedestrian-oriented storefronts opening to the sidewalk” with “structured or rear surface parking, but not surface parking in front.”  Furthermore, the Future 35th Ave NE Plan that we adopted in 2015 notes that we “consider making the 85th node a pedestrian mall for up to 5 blocks, from 80th-85th. This would make an inviting place for walking, meeting, etc.”  We even developed a Streetscape Toolkit to try and call out specific pedestrian improvements to improve the pedestrian environment and requested SDOT adopt it into the City’s Right-of-Way Improvement Manual, unfortunately with no success.  So, our neighborhood and the Wedgwood Community Council has at least 14+ years of advocating for a more pedestrian-friendly business district.  

So you might ask why, given our strong history of advocating for a more pedestrian friendly 35th Ave NE are you supportive of a curbcut on 35th Ave NE for this development.  This is why we fully appreciate the design review boards intent with their recommendation to deny these departures.  However, here’s why we believe a curbcut actually improves the pedestrian environment for 35th Ave NE, our side streets, and mitigates impacts to neighbors for this particular site given this particular site plan. 

• As the photos above show, the existing Wedgwood Center property features 3 existing curbcuts on 35th Ave NE (as well as a curbcut onto NE 85th Street and NE 82nd Street) along the 608 linear foot long mega block frontage. These multiple curbcuts, setback commercial structures, and extensive surface parking fronting a Principal Pedestrian Street and which lacks mid-block pedestrian facilities detract from the current walkability of 35th Ave NE.  A single, mid-block curbcut eliminates 2 existing curbcuts.  
• The Wedgwood Center property extends from NE 85th Street to NE 82nd Street, making it approximately 2 times longer than all other commercial blocks within the NE 85th Street commercial node. A single mid-block curbcut, aligned with NE 84th Street (as proposed) helps to break up the apparent massing of the building and mitigates the mega-block feel from pedestrian perspective and helps to create a more human-scale business district (in my opinion).
• A single mid-block curbcut would provide the opportunity for more organized and defined pedestrian mid-block crossing facilities and appropriate traffic control treatments at NE 84th Street, west of the site, for pedestrians and other modes.
• Vehicular ingress/egress via a curbcut on 35th Ave NE as well as onto NE 82nd Street, as requested by Security Properties, provides greater distribution of vehicular activity and would mitigate the expected increase in traffic on adjoining neighbors and neighboring streets – particularly during pick-up and drop-off times for the planned daycare facility – and also reduce the risk for conflict between vehicular users.
• Prohibiting a curbcut onto 35th Ave NE would concentrate all vehicular movements for garbage/recycling service, commercial, and residential users alike onto the narrow NE 82nd Street, increasing opportunities for conflicts with other vehicles and pedestrians along NE 82nd Street.  

Surface Parking abutting a Principal Pedestrian Street

As quoted above, the Wedgwood Vision Plan advocated for “structured or rear surface parking, but not surface parking in front” along our 35th Ave NE business district.  In fact, it’s a design feature that we’re not generally supportive of and in fact did oppose in our written comments to the City when commenting on earlier design alternatives for the Wong’s redevelopment.  So why might ask would be supportive of a “surface parking abutting a principal pedestrian street?”  Great question. 

Again, the site and scale of what is proposed needs to be considered.  

One look at the existing Wedgwood Center property shown in the images above and those supportive of creating a more pedestrian-friendly 35th Ave NE will see a vast surface parking lot filled with 120 parking stalls with no pedestrian amenities provided from the sidewalk to setback commercial buildings. This Wedgwood Center and the businesses it supports have served our community well for many years.  But, Security Properties propose something very different.

As shown in the image above, the proposed surface parking lot has been reduced from its initial 20 stalls included in the March 2024 design to 12 stalls with greater separation between the vehicular space and pedestrian environment.  These 12 stalls are intended for short, grab and go trips – not just for the grocery but also the daycare and other uses.  And yes, my personal preference would be for there to be no surface parking to be 100% idealogically consistent with the Wedgwood Vision Plan and the Future 35th Ave NE plan.  But, if this design feature is critical for a grocery to return to Wedgwood (as Security Properties has said consistently it is), then the Wedgwood Community Council can live with a 12-stall surface parking lot setback from the sidewalk and surrounded by protected pedestrian facilities.  Especially as it’s a 90% reduction in the surface parking stalls which currently exist on the Wedgwood Center property. 

Vehicular Access from Front and Side Street Lot Line

This departure requests approval to provide access from both 35th Ave NE and NE 82nd Street.  It too was denied by the board.  The denial of this departure honestly leaves me confused how the design review board conceives of vehicles (retail, residential, and garbage/recycling service) enter or exit the site.  I believe, based on the fact that they unanimously approved Concept C which has dedicated freight loading off NE 85th Street with no other access onto NE 85th Street, that they expect all retail, residential, and garbage/recylcing uses to access off of NE 82nd Street (see image below).  I’ve already stated that I’m not a transportation planner, but I have a hard time imagining all of the grocery shoppers, daycare pickup/dropoff, garbage/recycling service, and those vehicles associated with the estimated 330 residential units proposed using NE 82nd Street for ingress and egress.  Surely not, right?

 

So How Do We Save Grocery in Wedgwood? A Call to Action!

The design review board’s recommendation is ultimately a recommendation and is not necessarily binding.  However, it is very unusual for an applicant to submit a project that conflicts with the recommendation of the design review board.  Significant support from the community will be very helpful.  Here are the many ways to take action.

1. First, a great way to show your support for this access (as well as note any other comments of support or opposition) is to leave a formal comment on the project.  To do so, use the City’s Public Comment Tool to leave a formal comment in the project file.  You’ll need to use either the SDCI Record Number (3039950-LU) or site address (8400 35th Ave NE) to leave the comment.  An example public comment follows:
   

   I am writing to express my support for a single curbcut off of 35th Ave NE with a small surface parking area, as Security Property has designed and in opposition with the NE Design Review Board’s recommendation following EDG-2.  I believe pedestrian safety is an extremely important concern and trust Security Properties, SDCI, and SDOT will prioritize the pedestrian environment and traffic safety design along 35th Ave NE, NE 85th Street, and NE 82nd Street as the site design advances. 

2. If on-line public comments are you thing, you can write a formal letter to the project file (include the SDCI Record Number and address in your letter) and send it by mail to:
   Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection.
   ATTN: Public Notice
   700 Fifth Ave, Ste 2000
   P.O. Box 34019 Seattle, WA 98124-4019
3. Take a moment to read and sign this peition we created and share with your neighbors.
4. Security Properties intends to submit their permit (Master Use Permit) application with the curbcut and small surface parking area in the coming weeks, after which there will be a large white sign mounted on the site.  There will be an SDCI contact email address on the sign which is another way to register your support for the curbcut and surface parking, as well as any other project feedback.
5. Finally (but very importantly!), Security Properties estimates that the project will be in front of the Northeast Design Review Board (virtually meeting) again in mid-Spring 2025.  Once that virtual meeting is scheduled, the Wedgwood Community Council will ensure that the community is informed and there is a 20-day notice period before the meeting.  Public comment (written or stated) at this virtual meeting would be hugely valuable.

This post has been updated.