West Seattle history: Alki Homestead listed for sale, again
December 6, 2013 at 10:26 am | In Alki Homestead, West Seattle history, West Seattle news | 7 Comments
(WSB photo, taken this morning)
Thanks to Richard Hesik for spotting the listing and sending the link: Almost five years after the electrical fire that damaged and closed the historic-landmark Alki Homestead, it’s listed for sale, again. It had been on the market before the fire; a year and a half afterward, owner Tom Lin said he would put it back on the market, but no listing ever appeared. He then engaged a team of local architects to pursue a restoration plan that went before the city Landmarks Board Architectural Review Committee four times (reports are in our archive of Homestead coverage) before the project went dormant. Now, the 110-year-old former Fir Lodge, a city landmark on a 14k-square-foot lot, is listed for $1,850,000, with Paragon Real Estate Advisors‘ flyer declaring that the Homestead is “now waiting for a new owner to bring it back to life and carry on the legacy,” while also noting, “The list price does not include the cost of rehabilitation of the structure.”
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I’m no real estate expert…but does that seem crazy? $1.85 million…for a damaged neglected property that needs hundreds of thousands to million of repairs to be legally usable as a commercial interest again. I mean GOOD luck if you can get it, but that seems a bit nuts. Everything about this place makes me mad and sad. It was a thriving business for 100 years, until a stupid overuse of Christmas lights and resulting fire caused it to sit abandoned for years. Then cutting down all the old trees in front. When I moved to Seattle I loved going do dinner there with my folks. The damage done to this wonderful property is just horrible.
Comment by David — 11:13 am December 6, 2013 #
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Not to far off on price. It’s all about location and zoning. 14,000 sqft lot gives a builder a lot of options. Would be neat to see it restored but cost would be huge. Worked there as a young teen pan frying chicken it was the best.
Comment by wetone — 12:21 pm December 6, 2013 #
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Fair point. I’d understand the price if you were just buying the “lot” for the traditional rip down and 6 story mixed use condo development. But I ASSUME since this is a historic registered building you can’t just bulldoze it to build a condo, you’d HAVE TO keep/use the building. I’m assuming.
Comment by David — 12:39 pm December 6, 2013 #
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Turn it into a Pizza Hut/Taco Bell or a gas station/fireworks stand.
Comment by Guy — 12:48 pm December 6, 2013 #
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David: That was a point that never got to the Landmarks Board to settle – whether it could be “re-created” or “restored,” with expert opinions on whether any of the original logs were reusable – the contention at one point was that the prior ownership had allowed deterioration even before the fire, as detailed in our coverage of the discussions with the board’s architecture-reviewing committee, such as this story from July 2011: http://westseattleblog.com/2011/07/alki-homestead-3-ideas-outlined-for-restorationreconstruction – TR
Comment by WSB — 1:02 pm December 6, 2013 #
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When it sells let’s get an angry mob together and welcome the new owner.
Comment by MrB — 1:36 pm December 6, 2013 #
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Alki Homestead was a community treasure, a truly charming, unique and beautiful ambience.
All-you-can-eat, family-style fried chicken dinners there, with friends and family, are memories I cherish.
I hope someone with vision (and, obviously, lots of $$$) can do something to save this structure, regardless of the impossibility of returning it to its glory days.Comment by pupsarebest — 1:51 pm December 6, 2013 #
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