Another Dally Homes mixed use development may be springing up in the future in downtown Renton. The Renton City Council approved a proposed purchase and sale agreement on March 22, 1999, with Don Dally, owner of Dally Homes, the company that is building The Renaissance apartments. "We really believe in the revitalization of downtown," Dally told the council.

The project will be similar to The Renaissance development but will have a railway-type theme because it is located near the Spirit of Washington dinner train depot. The 25,300 square foot piece of property being purchased by Dally is at the corner of Fourth and Burnett. It currently is a public parking.

It will be developed into a 53-unit apartment building with mostly one bedroom units but will also have two bedroom and studio units, as well as live/work spaces. The building also will include 4,600 square feet of street-level retail space.

Dally offered the city $466,900 for the property, which is well above the $350,000 appraised value. The offer price amounts to about $18 per square foot, while the appraised value is about $14 per square foot.
[Comment: Did you read this and think that it was wonderul that the city was getting $117,000 more than the property was worth? Dally's price was a 33% increase over the appraised value. If you were going to buy a house, would you offer a third more than the appraised value? I don't think so. Dally offered more than the property was worth for a reason--he had to be planning on getting something in return. The next paragraph doesn't really clarify the situation; but it shows the back-an-forth games that are played.] (back)

However, because Dally agreed to some mitigation factors in the building design to meet neighbors' concerns about height and shadows, the price he pays will drop. Dally told the council to meet the mitigation needs, he had to eliminate 12 units. He asked that the city knock off $8,050 per unit lost from the purchase rice, which could amount to about $96,000. He also asked the price be dropped on the property if builders discover any old railroad ties, concrete blocks or contaminated soils. Apparently, during the construction of The Renaissance, the construction company had a difficult time removing similar items from the ground during early construction, which raised the cost of that development. The final purchase price . . . will not go below the appraised value, according to the purchase and sale agreement.

Dally told the council that The Renaissance will be completed by July, and the construction for the new project is expected to begin sometime in 2000.

Several of the neighbors have expressed concern about a development at that location, and one came before the council to ask that it be used as a park instead. Some of the neighbors were also concerned about the height of any development there and the loss of parking.

Dally told the council that the development will have two levels of parking for residents, which will include 75 parking stalls.
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Posted: 06/27/00