What does a church and 3 local colleges have in common?
Answer: 22 acres, an existing structure and a cool $6.1 million!
Yep. That’s right. When it comes to real estate, we all know it’s about “location, location, location.” In this case, the now defunct Mars Hill Church that was located in the highly desirable “hood” of Sammamish, is selling off assets. This include the 31,000 square foot structure (with accompanying 330 stalls of parking) and 22 acres of some strategically sited land. What’s that saying again? Oh yeah…”They don’t make dirt any any more….”
So, with this very tempting morsel right in the heart of residential real estate, it has been hard for city officials to pass.
Originally, the property had been listed for nearly $9 million, but rumour has it that the price was reduced twice due to the limited development potential within the residential zoning. Enter the city officials who are “god” (little g this time), want to control the land/structure/development, and gathered together letters of intent from 3 colleges: Cascadia, Bellevue CC and Lake WA Institute of Technology, which are a bit further away from Sammamish, and who’d be willing to operate satellite locations onsite in Sammamish.
Should cut down a bit on commute too, I would guess, since three high schools are right within reach of the property. Kids who are part of the Running Start Programs have been driving to the colleges much further away. Now, if it all comes together, they’ll be stayin’ in da hood to attend closer to home. That’s a good thing, right?
If the deal comes together in the end, Seattle Times writer Lynn Thompson says that the city will be taking the funds from existing reserves.
What do I think of this? Well, convenience certainly gets a nod, but traffic and noise impact come to mind for me. As a homeowner, if you were tolerant of having a mega church nearby, you could reason that the traffic and noise would be only on Sundays and maaaaybe one more day in the week at night for bible study or whatever. Now that it’s going to be a satellite for the colleges, how would YOU feel about this?
If you’re ready to jump ship, I know of a good agent. Call Rita Harris, Broker of WP & Associates. She’ll consult with you about your needs and come up with a plan of action to your satisfaction!