Metropolitan Market brings much needed refresh of Houghton Center
Rendering of remodeled Houghton Center
The Houghton Center is undergoing a major facelift as they prepare for the arrival of a new Metropolitan Market, hopefully in 2010. The old Houghton Market is long gone and only a shell of the building remains. This past week a rendering was posted shedding light on what the future holds for the site.
Design work at Nelson Legacy Group’s Houghton Center in Kirkland involves both the vision for what the facility will be in 25 years and the design of an immediate upgrade to accommodate new tenants, including Metropolitan Market. The current project will remove a building front that was installed in the 1980’s. The original buildings will be exposed with a variety of store fronts and pedestrian amenities. In the long-term vision, the main level will remain retail while offices and up to six floors of residential above structured parking will be added.
Source: The Driftmier Architects, PS
The Metropolitan Market is one of the nicest grocery store chains in our region. From their About Us page:
Bouquets of fresh flowers greet you with a fragrant, uplifting scent and brilliant array of colors reminiscent of an old-world-style market in Europe. From the moment you enter Metropolitan Market, you know instantly that this is going to be a different grocery-shopping experience.
And that is exactly what it is—an experience. From our decadent deli, where our chefs cook up restaurant quality creations every day, to our world-class cheese counter, where our fromagère, or cheese expert, consults with a connoisseur to see what cheese goes best with Pinot Noir—this is a place where food is celebrated and those who love food find bliss.
Bringing You the Best for More Than 35 Years
It all began in 1971 with one store location in Seattle known as Food Markets Northwest, Inc. Today, more than 35 years later, Metropolitan Market has become an award-winning store with multiple locations throughout Seattle and Tacoma.
Throughout the years, it has always been our goal as the area’s leading progressive, independent grocer to always be the first to bring you the best. Our specialists travel the world to find unique products of the highest quality that will satisfy even the most discriminating palate. Everything in our stores reflects this passion for food, from our knowledgeable specialist in each department, to the thousands of Good Cuisine recipes we’ve developed and our cooking kiosks, where you can experience the quality foods from our stores firsthand.
The Community Is at the Heart of All We Do
From Queen Anne and Admiral in West Seattle, to Sand Point, Federal Way and Tacoma’s Proctor District, people in the communities that our stores call home are not only our customers but our neighbors as well. To show our support for these communities, we actively participate in building the community and reaching out to its members. From rebuilding the park at Sand Point, to hosting community events at Queen Anne—we are proud to be your community market.
Source: Metropolitan Market
All rendering from The Driftmier Architects, PS website.
Posted by Rob Butcher on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Filed under Advertisement, Business, Editorial, Headlines, Neighborhoods, Snapshots · Tagged with Development, Food, Houghton, Market
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This looks like a welcome change from the dowdy building that’s there now. As Kirklanders always expect there will be a deluge of naysayers claiming smaller is better. They’ll claim that we’re losing some imagined quaint aspect to our town.
I’m looking forward to the change to a full service, modern market within biking and walking distance for myself and others. (It would be very nice if the long time employees of the closed Houghton Market were part of the new scene.)
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You might want to send along a letter to the Metropolitan Market folks about your favorite Houghton Market employee. Metropolitan Market is an IGA store as was Houghton Market, so I understand that the former employees can indeed be picked up by Metropolitan. I’m sure they would appreciate a good word from you, especially in this job market. What a great way to thank them.
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I would like to correct myself. Metropolitan Market and Houghton Market are/were both part of the Thriftway chain.
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I hope they replace those extremely ugly light posts in the parking lot! I also wonder why they have just restriped the parking lot. Seems like an odd thing to do when there is a major remodel about to start.
It will be nice to have the new market, which was highly rated in a recent PI article both on price and quality. Metropolitan came in near the top of the comparison and QFC came in dead last!
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I was wondering about this one. The renderings were on Driftmeier’s site back when I was writing about the Redmond Center redevelopment (now completed, with the new Trader Joe’s and other businesses open) but I don’t get out to the Houghton area all that often, so I haven’t kept track of this much.
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I’ve been waiting for this for two years! Met Market is my favorite grocery store in the region. It is more personal than Whole Foods, the prepared foods are fabulous, meat/fish departments fresh, great bakery, the atmosphere is colorful, cheerful and their employees are exceptional. I am a bit concerned there will not be enough parking given the parking lot is half full even now. Hmmm….six stories in the future? I hope not.
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Very happy about this development. I always dream when I go to their West Seattle store, it is pure beauty. Lately I have been missing Larry’s and the pleasure it was to shop there. This will be somewhat the same type of experience and, part of the joy of cooking, is in shopping in the right environment, where all the food offered are inviting. Thanks for keeping us advised.
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