Redmond Town Center master plan proposal advances to Oct. 21 hearing after council Q&A on open space, pedestrian uses and aquifer protections

City planning staff on Tuesday briefed the City Council on a proposed master plan and development agreement (MPD) for Redmond Town Center, a roughly 19-acre site adjacent to the Downtown light-rail station. Staff said the applicant proposes a five-phase, 10–15 year redevelopment that would preserve much of the existing retail center, add new mixed-use buildings up to 12 stories through an incentives program and deliver public benefits — but the project raises questions about pedestrian-generating commercial square footage and aquifer protections.

Senior planner Alex Hunt summarized the proposal as a conceptual MPD that sets massing, uses, open-space locations and public-benefit commitments; phase-level design and site engineering would return later in individual land-use entitlements. “This master plan is proposed to be developed in 5 phase, 5 phases. The 5 phase master plan development would be the long term development plan, for this site to be developed over the next 10 to 15 years,” Hunt said.

Key project elements and public benefits - Site and phasing: The proposal covers a roughly 19-acre site divided into five phases. About 9 acres would be affected in the redevelopment footprint; the center sits within Critical Aquifer Recharge Area 1. The project would use above-grade structured parking (no subterranean parking) to limit groundwater impacts. - Housing and commercial: At full…