Building TODs Before The T?

"Maps of a project planned for Bellevue's Bel-Red corridor include a light rail station adjacent to the 36-acre site.

Of course, the light rail route depends on voters approving Proposition 1 -- the latest roads-and-transit package -- on Nov. 6.

And even if the measure passes, trains wouldn't run past the site until years after the first buildings open, and the location of the proposed line and station could change.

"We're building our development plans around the concept of a transit node," said Greg Johnson, president of developer Wright Runstad & Co., which along with Shorenstein Properties LLC plans more than 3 million square feet of office space, about 100,000 square feet of retail space and 800 to 1,000 homes on the Bel-Red site.

"But obviously we won't be building it around a light rail station, because we'll be long gone before the light rail comes through," he said Tuesday. The company aims to finish the project's first phase in 2010.

Light rail is a big draw for developers such as Johnson. But they also say it only makes sense at this point to work on projects that are viable with or without the light rail extensions in Proposition 1, and that would be the case even if voters approve the measure."