The Navy inked a deal with American Eagle Communities LLC on Monday this week to take over almost 4,000 units of military housing in the Puget Sound region, according to an Oct. 31 story by The Associated Press.
American Eagle will reportedly pay the Navy $170 million in the deal, but missing from the AP story was any mention of Navy housing in Discovery Park.
There was a reason for that, according to Seattle Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Dewey Potter.
"They went ahead and signed the agreement, but we continue to work with American Eagle," she said of Parks Department negotiations about the future of the Capehart housing cluster and other Navy properties in the middle of the Magnolia park. "The discussions are going apace," Potter added, "but there is nothing to report."
However, the future of the Admiral's House near the west end of the Magnolia Bridge offers a glimpse of the possibilities. Like the Capehart property, the goal is for the Navy to divest itself of the Admiral's House, said Rick Huling, spokesman for Navy Region Northwest.
"He's still there, and Adm. Hering will be there for the rest of his tour," Huling said. But Huling also said that the Rear Adm. Len Hering Sr. is near the end of his tour, adding that a new Navy commander will most likely be housed on the Kitsap Peninsula.
The Admiral's House was built in 1944, and it's costly to maintain, Huling said. "The Navy now doesn't see any point in keeping it."
Demolishing the house could be blocked if it's deemed to be an historic landmark, he conceded. Whether it's historic still needs to be determined, according to Beth Chave from the city's Landmark's Preservation Board.
"It's not currently a city of Seattle landmark," she said. "Historic preservation will have to be addressed," Chave said of a memorandum of agreement that will cover all of the Navy's historic property in Seattle.
The house and the four acres of land it sits on have an assessed value of $3.1 million, according to Stan Roe, executive assistant to King County Assessor Scott Noble. The house and land are currently exempt from property taxes because they are federal property, he added.
That would change when the house ends up in private hands, and the value could very well increase if landmark status doesn't apply. That's because the property could be subdivided, according to Department of Planning and Development spokesman Alan Justad.
"You could short plat as long as you meet the standards," he said. "It's certainly a prime piece there."
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