In 1974, Denny’s Pet World was the first business to sign a lease in the upper section of the Totem Lake Malls. Now, 41 years later, the store and many other businesses in the upper and lower mall are leaving in anticipation of the long-awaited redevelopment. According to several business owners the Reporter spoke to, almost all of the businesses have had their leases terminated.

Owner John Fleshman first started working at the pet store when he was 14, later purchasing the business from his brother, Dennis Fleshman. He described the malls during the 1970s and 1980s as packed, with the storefronts 100 percent occupied compared to the all-but empty spaces it has now.

While Fleshman said the malls have been in need of an upgrade, it also means a permanent departure for stores like Denny’s Pet World, which have been at the mall for 41 years.

“It’s kind of a bummer,” he said.

By November, they plan to open their new location at 13123 NE 124th Street across from Toyota of Kirkland, while keeping their current store open until January.

“We just hope everyone will find us,” he said.

For many of their loyal customers, the announcement has come as a shock, though Fleshman said among the business owners the talk of redevelopment has been going on for years. In fact, he said he has plans from nearly a decade ago by the previous developers. In 2004, Coventry Real Estate Advisors and Developers Diversified Realty purchased the Totem Lake Malls from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System for $37 million, intending to redevelop the site. Instead, the site became entangled in a $500 million fraud lawsuit filed in New York state. In April, Village at Totem Lake LLC purchased the mall. The Village at Totem Lake LLC is a joint venture partnership between CenterCal and PCCP, LLC. The developers have released their conceptual master plan and in July had a conceptual design conference with the city. A design response conference with the design review board has yet to be scheduled.

Meanwhile, businesses like My Home Store have already started a moving sale, with plans to relocate somewhere else on the Eastside this winter, while those like the Hallmark store and Totem Lake Cinema have already closed. The cinema building, which played Bollywood and second-run films, is expected to be demolished as part of the redevelopment, according to the conceptual master plan.

Other businesses like Jannell’s, a gluten-free grocery store in the upper mall, hope to remain at their current location until the end of the year, but don’t plan on returning once redevelopment is finished. Although CenterCal has invited some of the businesses to return, Fleshman and others have said the new rent rate is too high for them to afford.

“The rent would be extreme,” he said.

Added to that would be the costs associated with moving to and from locations and informing their customer base.

However, businesses like the Ross department store, Famous Footware and Car Toys in the lower mall will remain open throughout the redevelopment and there is not plan to demolish that building. The Totem Lake Hotel, located adjacent to the malls and the Totem Lake Cinema, is taking advantage of the redevelopment by engaging in its own renovation work.

A Trader Joe’s spokesperson told the Reporter last month that the grocery store has no plan to move away from Totem Lake despite the fact that Whole Foods has been announced as the anchor tenant for the new development.

According to the conceptual master plan for the malls, most of the one-story retail building in the lower mall will be demolished, leaving the northern section intact. Most of the upper mall buildings will also be demolished, as well.

At the moment, the conceptual master plan doesn’t anticipate expansion in the near future.

Economic Development Director Ellen Miller-Wolfe said the city is hoping to keep the current business impacted by the redevelopment by helping them find leasing space elsewhere, something they’ve already done for businesses at Parkplace.

“We’re as interested in business retention as much as business attraction,” she said. One place businesses can go is nwproperty.net, which allows them to search for available commercial property.