Building plan for The Mercer – Mixed-use development to be built in stages

By Wendy Giroux

By Wendy Giroux

City officials are reviewing a development agreement that would guide the construction of The Mercer, a five-story, mixed-use development in the Town Center. It will be presented to the City Council for consideration later this month.

The contract will be the city’s second development agreement — officials signed the first last year with Starbucks, about the new coffee shop on S.E. 27th Street.

When representatives for The Mercer said they would like to complete the project in two phases, city officials asked them to draft a development agreement outlining the schedule and which improvements would be completed at what point, said Richard Hart, development director for the city.

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“The city said, we think the best way to handle it is a development agreement so that everyone knows up front what’s required,” Hart said. “We haven’t had any of these that have been constructed in phases, so we just want to make sure that the city and the public are protected — that we get all of the improvements and code-required items.”

Formerly known as Gateway Commons, The Mercer wraps around behind the new Starbucks. It will include residential, retail, restaurant, office and service space on 2.6 acres at 7750 S.E. 27th St. Dollar Development has also purchased the site of the Travelodge, but no plans have been submitted to the city for that location.

Phase 1 calls for construction of a structure on the eastern portion of the site, along with part of a “paseo,” or outdoor pedestrian connection, which will run between the two buildings. To meet the city’s parking requirements, developers will have to build a temporary lot on the western portion of the site.

In the second phase, the paseo will be completed and the second building will be constructed.

The agreement will state that if Dollar Development doesn’t complete the Phase 2 work within five years, the city can collect on a bond and have the work finished. City officials have asked for the construction estimates — the bond amount will be an estimated 150 percent of the total to allow for inflation, Hart said.

Developers have requested a shoring and grading permit. The city is ready to issue it, once officials receive a bond to guarantee that if the developer walks away from the project, the city can fill and stabilize the hole. That bond will likely be in the neighborhood of $250,000, Hart said. Once the permit is issued, digging can begin.

The $40 million project is designed by Oakland, Calif.-based architect McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, The Mercer will have studio apartments, one-bedroom apartments, two bedroom apartments and some live/work units with lofts.

Construction on the project was delayed considerably due to litigation. Dollar Development sued the city of Mercer Island and Starbucks claiming that the approved parking and drive-through didn’t meet the city’s own standards. A King County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the city and Starbucks, but Dollar appealed that ruling to the Washington State Court of Appeals.