$46M Safeway center opens in Canyon Park

Safeway has opened a lifestyle shopping center in the Canyon Park area of Bothell.

Property Development Centers, a wholly owned subsidiary of Safeway Inc., developed the project. Freight & Ho was the project architect, and Sierra Construction was the general contractor.

PDC is a national developer of Safeway-anchored centers.

Construction began in July of 2008 and was halted three months later. Work re-started 14 months ago. The total cost is $46 million.

The center is at 24040 Bothell-Everett Highway and has a 55,000-square-foot Safeway and 35,000 square feet of other retail. A second phase could add 30,000 square feet of retail.

Scott Blakenship of Wallace Properties is marketing the space for lease and said there are more potential tenants than space. Wallace’s website says the annual asking rents range from $32 to $40 per square foot.

Safeway decided to build a new center to replace its old store because of Bothell’s growth. City officials expect over the next decade that Bothell’s population will grow faster than the rest of the Eastside. The forecast calls for 12,000 new housing units.

Safeway says the grocery will have one of the largest wine collections in the state. The store will hold wine tastings and highlight Bothell’s growing wine-making industry.