There appears to have been a break in the negotiations between King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office and YarrowBay over the Summit Place property.
According to Sung Yang, director of government relations for Constantine, a one-year extension for the purchase and sale of the property has been offered with YarrowBay paying more money in the first two phased payments of the property, but the purchase price of the property would not increase.
The price of the land is $51 million with phased payments over a period of years.
Summit Place, or the donut hole, is a 156-acre site at 22801 S.E. 272nd St., which is inside the city limits of Maple Valley, but owned by the county.
Yang said the new agreement would mean the Kirkland-based YarrowBay would pay $1.6 million more in the first two payments, and that amount would be deducted over the final two payments in the agreement.
If the extension is accepted by all parties, YarrowBay would pay $1.75 million in earnest money in one year.
The current deadline for the earnest money is Saturday, Feb. 20.
A proposal for YarrowBay to pay $50,000 for an extension to August is also on the table.
Yang said the King County Council adopted a revised amendment, which approves the agreement.
According to Yang, King County Councilman Reagan Dunn was instrumental in moving the deal forward.
Dunn brought the parties together over the weekend to try and work out a deal before the Saturday deadline.
The councilman said he was “trying to make sure the deal didn’t fall apart while still making sure we protected Maple Valley and the county got what it needed…. I didn’t want to see YarrowBay walk away.”
YarrowBay has not committed to the agreement yet, according to Yang.
According to sources there is still some disagreement over amount of land YarrowBay would take possession of during the phased payments.
“We believe it is a reasonable offer,” Yang said. “This allows them (YarowBay) to receive an extension and the county is able to cover their cost through this arrangement.”
The county currently has a roads maintenance facility located at the site and is in the process of designing a new facility.
The executive’s office and YarrowBay have been negotiating an extension to the purchase and sale agreement, which, according to sources, had bogged down when the executive asked for $2.5 million for a one-year extension.
The new offer allows the county to cover the cost of designing a new facility and planning a move.
The County Council amendment also states YarrowBay must submit building permits to Maple Valley after the land is annexed into the city. This has been a critical issue for the city.
