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Sustaining a Livable Lake Forest Park

Town Center Redevelopment

Madison Marquette, purchased of Lake Forest Park Towne Centre on July 14, 2006.   The new owners anticipate the redevelopment process will happen over an extended period of time.

The City Council passed Town Center Design Guidelines in 2006.  These guidelines provide a framework for the new owner.  If the new owners wish to make substantial changes they must enter into an agreement with the City based on the design guideline.  These guidelines allow for the site to be a mixed use project, however there are mitigations required including treatments on the edges of the site, increased pedestrian access, restrictions on height and set backs.  These guidelines are the result of a three-year process on the development of the town center.

No application for redevelopment has been filed with the City at this time: July 2007

Third Phase: Town Center Framework Design Guidelines: December 2006

The Mithun-Heartland team presented the Town Center Framework Design Guidelines developed for the Sustaining a Livable Lake Forest Park Task Force to the LFP City Council at their Study Session on October 13. Councilmembers were given an overview of the Design Guidelines and Proposed Implementation Process and were able to ask questions afterwards. A community presentation is planned for early November at Third Place Commons. Presentation materials are available online or copies can be obtained at City Hall:

Second Phase: Creating Standards: November 2005

image: Task Force members Lloyd Skinner, Mary Jane Goss and Ed Sterner at a task force meetingThe task force on design guidelines for the town center zone is continuing to refine the final product. It is the intention of the task force to create a framework to encourage creativity and innovation by any developer who wants to redevelop the town center. The keys to the redevelopment of the town center zone as defined by the community through a series of meetings, are to create a sense of place, improve pedestrian mobility, enhance the natural environment and create public gathering spaces.

The plan is to create a baseline or minimum standards for redevelopment and to identify additional developer provided amenities that could result in bonuses related to allowable square feet. The task force will be making a presentation of its work to date at the October 13 City Council study session. The task force will host another community meeting to share the final set of recommendations on November 14, 2005 at 7 pm at Third Place Commons, 17171 Bothell Way NE.

Click here to read a summary of the next phase

There will be two community forums during this next phase. The first was held July 20, 2005 at Third Place Commons. More than 100 Lake Forest Park residents and business owners attended the presentation by Mithun Associates and Heartland.

Click here to download the presentation slide show [pdf].

The consultants presented attendees with design options and expressions, and encouraged comment after the presentation which they will use as they develop a framework to align the interests of the community with potential developers and the seller of the property.

The consultant team was hired after the City circulated a Request for Proposals to develop a set of design guidelines and accompanying land use regulations to guide the future redevelopment of the town center area in a manner consistent with the vision and recommendations of the Sustaining a Livable Lake Forest Park Task Force's Town Center Study.

First Phase: Task Force Report and Appendices: December 2004

The first phase of the Sustaining a Livable Lake Forest Park Task Force's work is complete. Their final report, including recommendations for the second phase of the project, was presented to the City Council: Final Task Force Report

Members of the Council made recommendations in response to the report. A summary of their responses can be downloaded here: Town Center Study: Summary of City Councilmembers' Responses

Individual documents from the first phase can be downloaded below:

Community Forums

Establishing the Task Force

Facilitated Task Force Meetings

City Council Briefings

Additional Materials

Media Coverage