Emerald Bay Equity has broken ground on the Seven Hills development at 1919 Queen Anne Ave. N., beginning with the tearing down of two existing structures long standing vacant in anticipation of the project.

The much-delayed project is the third piece of the four-part mixed-use retail/residential development group on the top of the hill called The Commons, which includes the finished Sweetbrier and Eden Hill buildings next door and down the block from the Seven Hills site, and the forthcoming Met Market redevelopment directly across the street.

Just last week Emerald Bay Equity, which had been attempting to sell all four properties in The Commons since April 2010, opted to break up the group and sold the completed Sweetbrier and Eden Hill buildings to affiliates of RREFF, a real-estate subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, for $44 million.

Despite the sale, Emerald Bay Equity has continued construction plans with the remaining two developments, securing approval from the Department of Planning and Development to move forward with the Seven Hills project back in May, with plans to begin construction last month. The Met Market redevelopment project is expected to break ground in 2012.

The completed Seven Hills development will be a four-story mixed-use building with 57 residential units, 8,180 square feet of ground-level retail and underground parking for 68 vehicles. For more information on this project, take a look at the DPD’s decision here (.pdf), the design review proposal here (.pdf), and our past coverage.

Emerald Bay Equity has sold two Upper Queen Anne mixed-use retail/residential buildings – Eden Hill and the Sweetbrier – to affiliates of Deutsche Bank real-estate subsidiary RREEF for a total of $44 million, according to a report by The Seattle Times.

Eden Hill and the Sweetbrier are just two of EBE’s four-part 2.1 acre development plan for Queen Anne, called “The Collection”. The third and fourth phases of the development include the Seven Hills Apartments and Met Market Redevelopment, both of which are scheduled to break ground in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

EBE put all four properties in The Collection up for sale back in April, in the hopes of finding a solution for the projects’ financing challenges. At the time EBE principal Joe Geivett said he preferred the possibility of a joint venture over a sale, but ultimately opted to split the buildings in The Collection between EBE and RREEF in the deal.

Both Eden Hill and the Sweetbrier are apartment complexes with ground-floor retail, both of which were completed in the last three years. Together the buildings have a total of 84 residential units, and over 30,000 square feet of ground-level retail, the Times piece reports.

For more information on EBE’s ongoing developments on Queen Anne, including the forthcoming Seven Hills Apartments and Met Market Redevelopment, check out our ongoing coverage.

Emerald Bay Equity hopes to break ground in the first quarter 2011 on a long-stalled development project on Queen Anne Ave N, according to a report by the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce yesterday.

Artist rendering of Seven Hills project.

The Seven Hills project, located at 1919 Queen Anne Ave just across the street from Metropolitan Market, was originally slated to be a mixed office/retail building, but as we previously reported, the developers changed plans to mixed-use retail/residential back in August. The four story building will include 57 apartments, some 8,200 square feet of retail space, and two levels or underground parking for 68 cars.

This project is the third of EBE’s four-phase development plan for 2.1 acres of property, called “The Collection,” along Upper Queen Anne’s main drag. The first two phases–the Sweetbrier and Eden Hills mixed-use residential/retail buildings–have already been completed.

Until very recently the Sweetbrier was struggling to fill its retail space, but in the last 16 months a number of new tenants have moved in, including Key Bank, Twirl Cafe, and most recently, Menchie’s frozen yogurt.

The plans to move forward with the Seven Hills project comes only eight months after EBE put The Collection of properties from 1911-1919 Queen Anne Ave N up for sale, a package that included both the Sweetbrier and Eden Hills developments, and the half-block where Metropolitan Market is located, EBE’s phase four project.

Artist rendering of Met Market project.

The group still plans to redevelop the final plot into a four-story, 125-unit apartment complex with 40,000 square feet of ground-floor space for the longtime neighborhood grocery and other retailers, and 200 underground parking stalls. According to EBE principal Joe Geivett, the company plans to start this phase in 2012.

When The Collection developments are completed, they will amount to more than $140 million in property value, in 250,000 square feet of mixed-use retail and residential space at the top of the hill, according to a Jones Lang LaSalle report published in April.

Currently EBE is working with an “unnamed partner” to finance the Seven Hills project, according to the DJC. The City of Seattle has tentatively scheduled a design review meeting on the new version of the project for January 19. Read up on past design review recommendations on the project here. Review the project’s permit status here.

Update 12/1 2:30 p.m.: “We are shooting to open up on Saturday,” says Menchie’s representative Elizabeth Garner.

We first told you that frozen yogurt chain Menchie’s would be moving into the corner spot of the Sweetbrier building, at Queen Anne Ave N and W Crockett St, back in September.

Well I have good news for all you frozen yogurt fans out there—according to Menchie’s representative Elizabeth Garner, the new cool sweet spot is less than a week out. The shop will be “opening within the next week (if everything goes as planned),” Garner says.

California-based Menchie’s has locations all over the U.S. and Canada, including two in Washington—in Federal Way and Vancouver. The Queen Anne store will be the first location in the Seattle area.

Menchie’s offers a rotating selection of frozen yogurts and toppings, from classic sprinkles, to local fruits. Read more about the frozen yogurt shop in our past coverage.

We’re waiting to hear back on exactly what day the store is planning to open, and will keep you posted.

Emerald Bay Equity has put 2.1 acres of Queen Anne Ave N property at the top of the hill on the market, looking for either a partner or buyer to step in and take over the company’s current redevelopment plans, according to a report by our news partner, the Seattle Times.

The property package includes the half-block where Metropolitan Market is located, which EBE would like to redevelop into a four-story 120-unit apartment complex with 40,000 square feet of ground-floor space for the longtime neighborhood grocery and other retailers (with underground parking), two retail/residential projects that were recently completed across the street–Sweetbrier and Eden Hills–and a fourth smaller redevelopment site. From the Times:

Emerald Bay principal Joe Geivett said he would prefer a joint venture over a sale.

“Getting financing is challenging,” he said. “That’s been the single biggest barrier.”

EBE purchased the Met Market property for $14 million back in 2008, when the then owners were planning to turn it into a larger mixed-use complex housing QFC. At the time many residents, alongside the Queen Anne Community Council and Queen Anne-Magnolia Design Review Board supported the EBE takeover, and according to QACC land-use review committee chair Craig Hamway, the best option for the community would be to continue the relationship with EBE. From the Times:

“It would be a shame if he had to sell,” Hamway said of Geivett [EBE principal Joe Geivett]. “He’s been good to work with from a community standpoint… He’s viewed as a pretty responsible developer.”

Of EBE’s two finished projects at the top of the hill–Sweetbrier and Eden Hills–the Sweetbrier still has a number of retail vacancies.

Read the full Seattle Times story here.

(Graphic used with permission from the Seattle Times).

Key Bank is opening a branch on the top of the Hill, at 2105 Queen Anne Ave. N.

The new location is on the first floor of the luxury Sweetbrier apartment building on the corner of Crocket Street and Queen Anne Ave. The building opened last month, and still has a lot of retail space available on the bottom floor.

No word yet on the opening date. The bank already has one branch in Lower Queen Anne at 434 Queen Anne Ave N.