Developer: Park Pointe could break ground in 2011
December 22, 2009
The developer behind Park Pointe said ground could be broken for the embattled Tiger Mountain residential project as early as a year after it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearings. But city officials, accustomed to long delays related to Park Pointe, described the timeline as ambitious. Read more
Developer: Park Pointe could be ready for 2011 groundbreaking
December 10, 2009
NEW — 10:08 a.m. Dec. 10, 2009
The developer behind Park Pointe said ground could be broken for the embattled Tiger Mountain community as early as a year after the developer emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearings.
Wellington Park Pointe Vice President Ron Slater said the company would be ready to break ground on the Tiger Mountain subdivision 12 to 18 months after emerging from Chapter 11.
Slater spoke during a Tuesday hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Seattle. He described the challenges Park Pointe has faced since the project was proposed in the mid-1990s — everything from concerns about traffic to a zoning switch at the development site.
The initial meeting between Slater and a trustee assigned to the case provided a glimpse of the project timeline. Slater said the project could be ready to break ground in 2011.
Park Pointe developer files for bankruptcy
November 10, 2009
Long-planned development is stalled again
The developer behind the troubled Park Pointe project filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, just before the Tiger Mountain land where the development would rise headed to a foreclosure auction. Read more
Park Pointe stalled again as developer files for Chapter 11
November 6, 2009
NEW — 11:05 a.m. Nov. 6, 2009
The developer behind the troubled Park Pointe project filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, just before the Tiger Mountain land where the development would rise headed to a foreclosure auction.
The project developer, Wellington Park Pointe LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday as the company worked to restructure a loan from Regal Financial Bank. The developer failed to make payments on a loan from the Seattle-based bank and in June defaulted on nearly $12 million. Wellington held $29 million in assets but owes about $15 million, court filings show. The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tacoma halted the foreclosure auction planned for today at the King County Administration Building.
Park Pointe developers envisioned hundreds of homes on 67 forested acres on the west slope of Tiger Mountain, behind Issaquah High School. Developers proposed Park Pointe in the mid-1990s, but the project withered amid community opposition, zoning changes and a tough construction climate.
Park Pointe goes to auction Friday
November 3, 2009
The proposed Park Pointe development would be built on 67 acres near Issaquah High School, but the project is in limbo as the land heads to auction Nov. 6. Source: city of Issaquah
City planners detailed last week how the long-planned Park Pointe project could impact Tiger Mountain views, wetlands and wildlife. But the information could be useless because the land where Park Pointe would be built heads to auction Nov. 6.
The project developer, Wellington Park Pointe LLC, failed to make payments on a loan from Regal Financial Bank and in June defaulted on nearly $12 million owed. Developers envisioned hundreds of homes on 67 forested acres on the west slope of Tiger Mountain, behind Issaquah High School.
City planners released the long-awaited environmental impact statement for the project last week. The timing carries a particular irony: The final environmental impact statement for Park Pointe was released Oct. 30 — a week before the land heads to auction.
Meanwhile, city officials hope to smooth the way toward a development-rights transfer to keep the Park Pointe site undeveloped. The transfer of development rights between the Park Pointe developer and Issaquah Highlands developer Port Blakely Communities would leave Park Pointe undeveloped; additional houses would be built in the highlands instead.
Major Development Review Team Manager Keith Niven said city officials still want the development-rights deal to materialize. He said city officials entered discussions with developers to gauge interest in the Park Pointe site and a transfer of the development rights. Read more
Park Pointe parcel heads to auction block
August 25, 2009
Housing developer defaults on loan
A parcel of land on the lower west slopes of Tiger Mountain known as Park Pointe development will be auctioned Nov. 6, county documents state. Read more
Developer defaults on $11.5 million loan
June 16, 2009
Tiger Mountain land could go to public auction
Wellington Park Pointe LLC — developer of the planned Park Pointe community — has failed to make payments on a loan and defaulted on nearly $11.6 million. A default notice issued June 11 said Wellington did not meet payment deadlines for the loan. Read more
Critics slam Park Pointe proposal; developer touts preservation
February 24, 2009
City planners are seeking comments from residents regarding the latest proposal for Park Pointe, a proposed Tiger Mountain housing development announced more than a decade ago and since revised numerous times. Comments will be accepted until Feb. 27, and will be included in a city environmental report about the controversial development.
How Park Pointe will be built — with 344 homes or 251 homes — and even the location of the development remain unanswered questions. The developer, which proposed two options for the 67-acre Tiger Mountain site, is also pursuing a development-rights swap with another homebuilder. If the swap was successful, homes would be built in the Issaquah Highlands instead of the proposed Park Pointe site. Read more
Highlands human services campus could join theater complex
October 27, 2008
NEW — 12:54 p.m. October 27, 2008
A human services campus proposed for Northeast Park Drive in the highlands might now be built as part of a new movie theater complex instead. Read more
Council begins work on Park Pointe land deal
September 23, 2008
Tiger Mountain land west of Issaquah High School would have become Park Pointe housing. File photo.
With the announcement last week that the Park Pointe land on Tiger Mountain could be saved from development through a complicated three-way deal involving the city, seller First Wellington LLC and buyer Port Blakely Communities, the focus now shifts to making the deal work.
The first steps toward that goal were taken Sept. 22 by the Major Development Ad Hoc Committee, a part of the City Council formed to tackle the Park Pointe deal. On the committee are Council Read more
