Children's Hospital Selling Homes Purchased At Start Of Expansion In 2007 Around Property Perimeter



Hospital owned home on 44th Avenue NE

Children's Hospital has been selling some of the eight homes they purchased in 2007 and 2008,  around the hospital's perimeter, on NE 45th Street, 45th Avenue NE and 44th Avenue NE,  during the construction of the Melinda French Gates ("Whale")  building and garage and right before the impending large expansion and demolition of Laurelon Terrace condominiums. 

Of the eight houses, Children's has now sold four and a fifth is currently on the market. at  4702 44th Avenue NE.

At the time, the hospital approached homeowners to sell their homes and some homeowners contacted the hospital about the sales which were purchased "at the then-market value," Todd Johnson, Children's Vice President of Facilities told us.

"Children's did make known its willingness to purchase immediately adjacent homes,  "The sales were also probably motivated by unknowns related to Children's proposed Major Institutions Master Plan and the impacts that it could have had in its pre-Laurelon Terrace state," Todd added from information given to him by Ruth Benfield, who was the Children's executive over facilities at the time of the purchases. he said.

The homes were and are rented to people associated with the hospital, as well as college students, Laurelhurst Elementary school families and others.  A couple of the houses were rented back for a period to one or two of the previous owners of the homes.

Todd told us that "recently, as the real estate market has heated up, residents of a few of the homes approached the hospital with offers to purchase. 
 
Of the three occupied homes Children's now owns, two are inhabited by doctors and their families, the third in rented by a long-time Children's staff member.

The homes recently sold are: 4319 NE 45th Street; 4334 NE 45th Street; 4736 44th Ave NE; and 4554 45th Ave NE.



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