Pine Forest Properties is asking the state Supreme Court to hear its case for why the city of Bellevue should return 84,000 square feet of property to the developer once the land is done being used for staging transportation construction projects. The company claims — after numerous meetings over the past two years — it still doesn’t know why the city insists on keeping it.

The development company applied in April 2013 to use 8.2 acres of its Bellevue property for constructing eight mixed-used buildings near the future site of Sound Transit’s East Link 120th Avenue Northeast light rail station and the Spring District development.

Five months later, the city council authorized taking through condemnation 240,000 square feet of Pine Forest’s property at 1445 120th Ave. N.E. for constructing a new 15th Street, widening 120th and future light rail projects. Pine Forest offered the city a temporary easement for 84,049 square feet of the property for construction staging, with the condition it later be returned to the developer, so it could continue its transit-oriented development, said Matt Wickens, Pine Forest president.

That portion of the property is planned for siting two of the mixed-use buildings identified in Pine Forest’s master development plan for its 1.16 million-square-foot transit-oriented development project.

The city offered Pine Forest $5 million for the property, Wickens said, even though it has conceded it will not need the parcel once East Link and other multimodal construction projects are completed. The Washington Court of Appeals Division 1 decided in favor of the city in December, upholding a lower court decision that light rail is a public use, and that without final design for the light rail project or city road improvement projects, Bellevue was justified in condemning the property in its entirety.

“What we don’t understand is why they are not accepting our free offer,” Wickens said, the development company concerned how a loss of the property will affect its plans. “It’s a real overreach for the city.”

The city replied to a request by the Reporter for comment about the condemnation of Pine Forest’s 84,049-square-foot parcel by providing background on the issue, but declined to discuss current litigation or why it would rather buy the property than use it at no cost.

“… since the litigation is still pending, it is inappropriate to discuss the details of the negotiations or the city’s legal strategy in a public forum,” according to the statement. “In the event the parties, cannot reach agreement as to the acquisition of the property, there will be a trial at which time the court will determine the amount of just compensation due to Pine Forest Properties for the acquisition of the property.”

Wickens said Sprint was forced to vacate one building in the staging area in late 2014 and Pine Forest has not been able to make tenant space available in the interim, not expecting Sound Transit to need the property until late 2016. He added said the city is allowing Pine Forest to temporarily lease a portion of the property to AutoNation, the auto dealer relocating its Ford dealership from 116th Avenue Northeast following a total-loss fire in April.

Tiffiny Brown, director of land development for Pine Forest parent company Burnstead Construction, said the development company contends the city will also be wasting $5 million — likely more if a trial is needed to determine the fair value — on a property it is being offered to use for free.

“What is the problem?” she said. “That’s something we can’t figure out.”

Wickens said Pine Forest expects the state Supreme Court to decide whether it will take up the developer’s petition in mid-July, where the company would continue to argue the city has shown no long-term public use for the property and should return it once construction is complete.