Greenlake Albertsons Sold

Since the Greenlake Albertsons closed the Wallingford QFC has seen "double the traffic" according to a helpful bagger and our favorite crotchety bald queen who mans register 2. The Albertsons property has been bought and, as expected, will be remade as "mixed use, likely retail and housing." Hopefully one of the mixed bag o' uses the developer (Green Lake Block LLC) throws in is grocery shopping, because Seattlest doesn't want to have to get tough on Greenlake residents wandering down to QFC, but, well, let's just say we'll be damned if we're going to wait in line behind you. Leave the crotchety queen and his catty insults to the locals, Greenlakers, and use the self check-out. It says "Wallingford" right on the roof, get it?

What we'll eventually see in that space is probably (and this is based on no actual information) a PCC-type complex like Fremont got recently: condos, Cold Stone, PCC and maybe a high end running/biking type store that will attempt to compete with Greg's and fail. We fear for Spuds once that happens...

From the Seattle Times:

"You have everything you need here, a great location, access to the park, water views. It's a wonderful piece of property."

Ref Lindmark, with the Green Lake Community Council, said he hopes the company will work with the community in planning its development.

"It's a national company, but has a strong local presence," said Lindmark. "It's exciting to have someone who can start a project and finish it."

Fritz said the neighborhood will be involved in whatever the company decides to build on the land. He didn't know whether it would seek a zoning change; now it's zoned for mixed use and a 40-foot height limit.

The Boise-based Albertsons announced last month that it was closing its Green Lake grocery store, a fixture since 1956, on Jan. 27. Today the building sits idle, with graffiti painted on it.