It almost seems ludicrous for me to call it the “Babalu” building since it’s been a Wallingford landmark since 1926; but hey, it made for a snappy headline.
The building I’m referring to, of course, is the one in brick, located on the corner of N. 45th Street at Wallingford Avenue North, which is up for sale for a mere $5,500,000. Here’s the listing:
One of the most prominent corners in Wallingford is up for sale. 11,000 square foot mixed use building with 7 apartments, all rented and retail space with solid tenants. Property brings in 16,000 per month currently. Once leased to Seattle Best Coffee, many structural improvements were made that would benefit another coffee house wanting to be the anchor tenent on the corner. Across from the new QFC and Wallingford Center, this is a PRIME corner to remodel, rebuild or land bank.
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So late nights might get a bit quieter for residents near this corner perhaps?
It has been terrible again lately. We will celebrate when the Babalu is gone.
See they’re asking $5.5 – assume that’s the building?
Haven’t seen the RR around lately either.
While I hope whomever buys it doesn’t tear it down to rebuild, we also need a new coffee shop in that space as much as we need another sushi or Thai restaurant.
Hopefully the new owner wants to get rid of Babalu, but you never know…
If everyone who hates this place chips in, we can raise $5 mill easy. Quick! Someone set up a Kickstarter!
I like Babalu.
Anyone know what “land bank” (from the for-sale description) means?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_banking
I am still surprised at the meanness from K# and Jacqui.. do we allow that here?
Apparently.
Story is that guy who runs the bar (and needs to comb his hair) – his mother owns the property. Babalu seems to be mostly open on weekends – not sure a business can survive on that basis. Unless your mom owns the property.
Doubt very much that it will be torn down, unless of course Suzie Burke owns it (she doesn’t but does own 3400 Stone) – then someone will declare it super-green or something and it’s gone.
I agree, we do not need another coffee place, but almost anything would be better than Bablu. A good specialty food store would be wonderful.
The building is presently owned by the parents of Michael Prineas, Babalu’s proprietor.
Think that’s what I said.
no John you said it was owned by the guy who needs to comb his hairs’ mother.
an unneeded insult for the effect of??????????????
What is the problem with Babalu? We live a couple of blocks away and have never noticed a problem.
I like Babalu too. And I also like that some people have fun, crazy hair.
My problems have been primarily (a) being harassed constantly by patrons; (b) being harassed by drug dealers (“Ask for me – the bartender can track me down”) repeatedly; (c) drug dealers offering to sell to my 9-year-old in the QFC parking lot… I could go on, but you get the idea. Ask the QFC night checkers, they’ll fill you in.
Then there is this:
http://www.wallyhood.org/2009/03/what-did-you-do-babalu/
I shop at QFC during the day oe early evening. Drug dealers and vagrants try to sell, beg fo rmoney, call out, harass.. and then are the Real Change sellers and the red shirt human cause volunteer money gatherers.
It’s like running a gauntlet…. but they are not Babalu customers.. they are parking lot vagrants.. vultures looking ot profit from a crowd.
Some of them are, actually. I have seen them enter the club, been harassed walking by the club, and as I noted, more than one told me to ask for them by name IN THE CLUB.
Not all, by any means – but the vagrants aren’t offering high-grade cocaine.
I’d hate to see this building torn down. Does it have any historic significance that could ensure its preservation?
yes, and they shop at QFC.. maybe we should ask to have QFC closed..
They shop at Bartells.. close it?
1 – The building will not be torn down; don’t be silly. Suzie Burke doesn’t own it.
2 – I got my information from someone who knows where most of the bodies are buried around here – and they said it was owned by his mom. Guess ‘parents’ is close. And perhaps, rumor has it, the parents finally said, enough is enough with this hobby..
3 – The guy does need to comb his hair – he’s one of those people who tries to be a character but as is often the case, is just odd and tiresome. Is that a ‘rumor’ – no. Just the opinion of many.
4 – Much like what’s happening in Belltown, these places sometimes attract a certain class of undesirables; might not be good for the neighborhood. Rumor? also, no (just talk to Belltown residents who are seeing it’s decline).
5 – Proposing to close QFC and Bartells is stupid.
The bodies are buried where?
Will be very, very glad to have Babalu (and the noise it generates on a summer night) gone.
for gosh sakes.. it will take over 2 yrs to sell
how about Winchells?
Everytime I walk by there and then pass over I-5 I am scared and harrassed. Let’s close down Winchells and I-5.
Winchells closed four years ago.
It is still there and vagrants walk by, hang around and are scary when they come over to ‘chat’ when I am getting gas.
Just use common sense and you’ll be fine.
Regardless of what you think of this bar (I happen to think Wednesday salsa night is really fun), I’m disturbed by talk of “undesirables.” There are other bars in the neighborhood that can also be loud, but I don’t hear them spoken of in this way. Is this because Babalu is one of the only places in our neighborhood that is patronized largely by people of color? Let’s dispense with the thinly veiled racism in comments, please.
No one I know is using ‘undesirable’ as code for people of color.
Undesirables come in all flavors; thinly veiled reference to ice cream?
What an interesting coincidence.
Question for #25: why would it take two years to sell?
Thank you Neighbor. Murphy’s often has a wild contingent. When you enter and are an outside person youcan smell the beer and old carpet.
The line outside and the rowdy drunken behavior on St. Patricks Day is a horrilbe example to our area’s children.
Neighbor #30 if you have been reading this blog for awhile it should be clear who the “undesirables” are. They are people who do not meet some of our neighbors expectations of who a Wallingford resident should be. “Undesirables” have different tastes in things, different incomes, different intrests..They might even eat at Subway or shop at Wallgreens and drive an old gas guzzling car.
ooooh, I thought the undesirables were those guys drunk homeless sitting on the sidewalk with cardboard signs asking for help and money.. or that sunburned woman who sits on sidewalk looking very spaced out. ALL wear old ratty clothes and ar eoften mind-altered and sometimes slurring words.
If undesirable is to mean not ‘normal’ high income wallie script, then we must look at the clients of Al’s, the old Rat hole and Goldie’s as undesirable also.
On further reflection I guess we should include drunk/high/unkempt apparently homeless people as “undesirables”. I remember the huge uproar when a local church had the nerve to host homeless in their church at night and another hosted Nickelsville..
I do consider drunks, homeless begging, drunk and drug sales persons as undesirables. I do not like being accosted or yelled at in front of a grocery store nor trying to evade them at a bus stop.