A mammoth mixed-use QFC grocery and housing project at 40th St. and Stone Way Ave. N. has been shelved indefinitely, leaving a huge hole in the ground where a Safeway once stood.
QFC put the project on hold because of skyrocketing construction costs, according to spokeswoman Kristin Maas. QFC, which owns the land, and its parent company, Kroger, would be responsible for the costs of a new grocery store, while a developer would be responsible for the costs of building the residential part, she said.
Wallingford and Fremont residents are steamed about the development. But Queen Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth are wondering if the same thing could happen to plans for a similar mixed-used project that would replace the Metropolitan Market on Upper Queen Anne Hill with a new QFC and housing, according to group member George Counts.
"We are very concerned," he said of a grassroots organization that was formed specifically to fight against the Queen Anne QFC project. As with the Wallingford one, QFC would be responsible for the costs of building a new Queen Anne store, Maas said.
The new QFC that recently opened at Fifth Ave. N. and Mercer St. under the Lumen condo project is different from the Wallingford project because QFC got an earlier start, she said.
In any event, the Queen Anne Neighbors group has fired off a shot across the bow of the grocery giant. The organization has announced that it is giving Kroger and QFC its "Urban Blight Is You" award because of the scuttled Wallingford project.
"This is a classic example of corporations acting irresponsibly and indifferently towards neighborhood communities," said Neighbors' cofounder and spokesman Kemp Hiatt in a June 11 press release.
Maas from QFC notes it's a developers' market right now and that estimated costs for projects have risen dramatically in the past year. "It's like, if you're willing to pay the premium [costs], we might pencil you in," she said of construction-company attitudes.
Christina Cox, who with two aunts owns the Queen Anne property, did not return calls-for-comment from the News. QFC is "definitely disappointed" about the stalled Wallingford project, but the company hasn't gotten enough information yet from Cox to develop cost estimates, Maas said.
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