Historic, infamous building on Madison Street for sale

It’s been called a “blight” on the otherwise picturesque strip of commercial businesses on East Madison Street by residents and bloggers.

And now it’s for sale.

The historic 1926 building in Madison Park’s bustling retail district at 4114-4118 East Madison Street is now on the market.

Owner Constance Gillespie, whose family has owned the three-storefront property since 1937, has placed the building up for bids, with a minimum asking price of $3 million.

The building currently has one tenant, Spa Jolie. The other two storefronts are currently vacant and have fallen into disrepair, entangling Gillespie with the City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development.

In 2014, the property was found to violate several codes for a vacant property, including insufficient protection from the elements, damaged eaves and fascia on the exterior and a decaying roof.

One of the notes from an inspector regarding the building reflected this succinctly.

“Secure the building against the weather, including but not limited to openings in the collapsed roof and walls,” it reads.

This was exacerbated in March of 2016 when an inspector found a large portion of the roof had collapsed.

Tim Blevins, a Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections structural inspector, wrote up a building code violation report.

“Approximately 1/3 of the roof has failed and the brick façade wall at NE property line is bowed due to the loss of the roof diaphragm,” Blevins noted.

The city found additional issues in February of this year, imposing penalties against Gillespie for not complying. As recently as last year, Gillespie had said she was not interested in selling.

The current listing on CommercialMLS.com reads that the location will take bids until July 21, with the seller making a decision by July 26. The $3 million quoted is Gillespie’s reserve price, meaning that’s the lowest amount to be accepted, pending seller approval.

The building is 2,787 square feet on a 4,900 square foot lot, or .11 acres. It is zoned NC1P-30, which according to listing agent Cameron Jones, means a buyer could build it up to 30-feet high with the option for a rooftop greenhouse if supplying a restaurant below.

“One might also consider restoring/maintaining the street side façade to maintain Madison Park charm,” Jones wrote.