Block that was scene of Thanksgiving 2001 fire sold

For a decade, the empty lot on the corner of Roosevelt Way Northeast and Northeast 89th Street has tottered between being for sale and being just empty. But these days will soon be over.

Dan Duffus with Soleil Development along with another developer and an architect have each purchased one of the three lots that were for sale, with plans to build a combination of 14 or 15 units that combine live-work spaces directly on Roosevelt with town homes in the back.

“We’re each going to do separate development there, but they’re going to tie in together,” Duffus said.

Because the developers are just building the space, Duffus can’t address what kind of retail might end up in the spaces, or even say for certain whether any of the spaces will become storefronts. But in his experience, he says the ground floors of similar live-work spaces often become retail.

“The other stuff that we’ve done has been very well received,” he said, giving as an example a new development he completed in West Seattle with a Cafe Fiore and an art gallery on the ground floor.

For more examples, he urges those interested to look at the Knoll Development website, which has developed various live-work communities.

Duffus said the development will likely be completed in about a year.