Last week I wrote a piece on downtown Mercer Island that was heavy on the pictures and light on the analysis, and it begged for a followup. Because the transformation on Mercer Island is a complex story.
For instance, what up and coming urban village would be complete without a new Starbucks? The one on Mercer Island looks good and engages the sidewalk well (see photo above), though of course there’s no way they would put a in new Starbucks if it couldn’t have its own dedicated parking lot, complete with massive curb cuts for pedestrians to enjoy crossing.
Which leads me to the aspect of the downtown Mercer Island story that I find most compelling, and that’s how the place is such a fascinating living example of our struggles to retrofit suburbia. It’s a classic, last-century, unabashedly car-oriented built environment being invaded by walkable urbanism. It’s a jarring mix, like awkward adolescence, stuck in the middle and still trying to have it both ways.
Here we have the two worlds facing off across SE 27th St:
And what have we here, right across the street from the new Aljoya midrise senior housing project? Yes, like an omen, it’s a gas station for lease:
The Mercer Island downtown is loaded with primo examples of suburban design like these:
And check out the gargantuan parking structure at 77th and 29th on the south edge of downtown. Can anyone fill me in on what they were thinking?
And in case you need to be reminded of how deeply embedded car dependence is on this island that can only be reached via interstate freeway, wandering just a few dozen yards north of the new 77 Central mixed use project will bring you to a precipice overlooking the roaring canyon of I-90:
So yes, the transformation is a Herculean task. Nevertheless, it is happening. And not by accident. The planning process began in 1992, and the city adopted a Town Center Plan in 1994. In 2001, the Growth Management Act implemented targets that require Mercer Island to accommodate 1,437 new housing units between 2022. Game on.
Add to that the coming of East Link light rail in 2020. The Mercer Island station will be located in the I-90 median (near the left side in the photo of I-90 above), just a short walk from the downtown center. The convenient access to high-capacity transit is sure to be be a catalyst for further infill and densification, and car-free living in the center will be an increasingly attractive option.
That said, the Mercer Island station area has limited potential to support a high-performing transit oriented community, because it has a relatively low capacity for housing and jobs, and also because of the non-ideal freeway location of the station. To put things in perspective, a recent report recommends a minimum capacity of 15,000 housing units within a half-mile radius station area. As of 2008, the entire population of Mercer Island was 22, 650.
One final unique facet of Mercer Island: The median household income is $152,000. Thus you might expect think Mercer Island would be able to pay for the infrastructure and amenities necessary for high-quality walkable urbanism. And rents are high enough to keep developers happy. And they’re getting a light rail station. So if Mercer Island can’t pull off a transformation of its town center, who can?
