Five days following an open record public hearing that occurred on the morning of Jan. 24, Mercer Island Hearing Examiner John E. Galt issued his decision to grant preliminary approval for a proposed development application on the land that once housed the historic East Seattle School at 2825 West Mercer Way.
According to the city of Mercer Island website in October of 2020, two months before the school’s demolition, the property was slated to be subdivided into 14 residential lots.
City documents in late January of this year, note that the project requests, “preliminary long plat approval to subdivide 2.88 acres, zoned R-8.4, into 14 lots with associated infrastructure to support single-family residences.” The docs add that the “proposed development contains a private easement for open space and a community open space tract.”
Applicants and owners of the land are Brett Pudists, Atwell, LLC, and Eric Hansen, OB Mercer Island Properties, LLC.
Built in 1914, the school was demolished in December of 2020 after the city issued a demo permit that was informed by a Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), according to a previous Reporter article. EA Engineering, Science and Technology completed the statement and examined the potential impacts of different alternative actions.
An architectural assessment report in the final EIS, notes that, “for the most part the buildings have reached the end of their architectural lifespan without extensive, and costly rehabilitation.”
Recent city documents read that after a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) responsible official reviewed the environmental checklist, proposed plans, studies, existing environmental documents and more, the official issued a SEPA Threshold Determination of Nonsignificance. According to the Washington Department of Ecology website, that determination signifies “that a proposal is unlikely to have significant adverse environmental impacts.”
For more information on the Jan. 29 decision, including reconsideration or appeal possibilities, view the documents at https://mieplan.mercergov.org/public/SUB19-002
