Groceteria.com

I just thought I'd point out a Blog post I made last night about the former Kmart in Bellevue, WA, which closed during the bankruptcy in 2002, and has sat vacant ever since. Costco has twice come up with possible plans for the site (once to use the existing building for some sort of concept store back around 2004 or so, and the second time to demolish it and put up a regular Costco warehouse,) but just this week they announced that those plans have been cancelled as well, citing difficulties with zoning regulations due to a stream running through a culvert under the parking lot. In the meantime, the building remains vacant, and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

http://thesledgehammer.wordpress.com/20 ... sed-kmart/

Was the addition to the right once a Kmart Foods? Looks like an early seventies store, so would be in the right time frame...

I don't really know anything about the history of this particular store, since I've only lived here since 1994. Eventually I'll get a chance to do some more research, and I'll probably stumble onto this at some point.

On doing some further research last night, it looks like this store was probably built and opened sometime between 1968-1969, since I found an ad for this store in a late 1969 newspaper. If some of the other info I have is correct, the land this store is on was actually in use as farmland up until 1967, so it can't be any older than 1968.

ajsanjua wrote:Was the addition to the right once a Kmart Foods? Looks like an early seventies store, so would be in the right time frame...

From the air, it looks almost identical to the 72nd & Portland store in Tacoma, which was built in 1968 and had a Kmart Foods, visible in this grand opening photo. According to the King County Assessor, the Bellevue Kmart was built in 1967.

While doing some unrelated newspaper research today, I stumbled onto some ads for this store which do confirm that this was in fact a Kmart Foods store when it opened (probably late 1967 or so.) When I get a chance to upload them, I'll post a couple of the things I found.

K-Mart in Montclair CA had city and neighbors angry over a Costco opening. Old K-Mart had all glass store front windows. Costco there very busy and has a gas station.

Finally after nearly a decade of sitting vacant, it looks like this former KMart store will finally be receiving a renovation and new tenants as part of a redevelopment of the shopping center after a zoning variance removed most of the obstacles in the way. It looks like the store will house a health club and an unspecified grocery store. If I had to guess I'd say Safeway seems like the most likely candidate, as there are already two QFCs, an Albertsons and a Top Foods within a couple of miles, and although there was a former Albertson's near here I doubt they're in a position to be opening stores right now. The site of a former Marina Safeway (now a Toyota dealership) is a couple of miles south of here as well.

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/b ... 47133.html