Fancy new Kirkland mall moving forward

Work on the Totem Lake Mall in Kirkland is pushing into the streets.

The Woodinville Weekly reports 120th Avenue near the project site is closed for up to eight months so crews can install new water and sewer utility mains and then reconstruct the road.

Northbound traffic is being rerouted through Totem Lake Boulevard, while southbound traffic must go west on NE 128th Street to 116th Avenue.

The mall is undergoing a major redevelopment after years of neglect.

Related: McDonald’s on First Hill is slated for demolition

Originally built in 1973, the boxy buildings that once surrounded a large parking lot have been torn down and will be replaced with new features that will include a theater, retail, and hundreds of high-end apartments. The California developer previously said they want the mall to feel like University Village in Seattle.

The new mall, which sits on 26 acres, is being built in two phases — the lower mall and upper mall.

The lower mall will be on the property between Totem Lake Boulevard and 120th Avenue NE and consists of nearly 190,000 square feet of retail space and about 200 residential units.

The upper mall sits east of 120th Avenue NE. It includes more than 41,000 square feet of ground-level retail, the theater, and restaurant space. More than 600 residential units will be housed there, along with a public plaza.

At least one of the phases was originally expected to be complete by the end of 2017.

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