Update 5 for Aug. 23
On Aug. 12 King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead made it official that West Seattle’s Hole at the corner of Fauntleroy and Alaska is going up for sale, coordinated by the King County Sheriff.

The sale will occur on Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. at the King County Courthouse and will likely mark the first clear step in The Hole’s transition into something ... other than a hole.

The Hole was original slated to become a mixed-use combination of Whole Foods Market, Hancock Fabrics and 185 apartments with underground parking, but in 2008 construction stopped.

Update 4 June 22
Word came down June 3 that a settlement had been reached in the several-year litigation process over “The Hole” at 3922 S.W. Alaska St. It was originally stated that details of the settlement were confidential, but new court documents released on June 22 provide new details.

Firstly, Aero Construction Company, Inc (a plaintiff in the case attempting to recover money sunk into The Hole from Fauntleroy Place, LLC) “acknowledges the receipt of payment in full” for their judgment, however that actual number was not revealed.

A myriad of plaintiffs against 3922 SW Alaska LLC, which holds the deed to the property, also agreed to dismiss an appeal of 3922’s request to stall a foreclosure sale. 3922 put up $7.7 million to cover the property’s value and liens against it from various construction companies. This means the trial set for August 8 has been “stricken.”

In addition, the $7.7 million put up by 3922 SW Alaska LLC (and held in a Key Bank public market savings account) so they could hold their own foreclosure sale on the property will be refunded, minus a five percent cut that goes to the King County Clerk’s office.

As for the future of The Hole, court documents state, “The only remaining issues to be addressed by the Superior Court in this matter are those concerning the issuance of a new Order of Sale for the purpose of a judicial sheriff’s sale of the subject property …”

From West Seattle’s perspective, the above quote means more waiting to see if The Hole becomes a structure … or a park … or a parking lot. One thing is certain: the original plan of a mixed-use combination of Whole Foods Market, Hancock Fabrics and 185 apartments with underground parking is not going to happen.

More updates to come as details emerge.

Update 3 June 3:
The case brought by Ledcor Construction, represented by attorneys Scheer and Zender LLP regarding Fauntleroy Place (or "The Hole" ) has reached a settlement, the terms of which are confidential according to lead attorney for Ledcor Anthony R. Scisciani III and King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead Bailiff Jennie Cowan who confirmed that the case was stricken.

While not commenting directly on the case Scisciani said, "Settlements always bring about mixed emotions."

What happens next is unclear, but the owners of the land, 3922 SW Alaska LLC are being sued by the Chicago Title Insurance Company in a contract insurance dispute. The case was filed in Washington Western District Court on Feb. 11, Judge Richard A. Jones presiding.

Update 2 April 7:
King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead denied Ledcor Construction, Inc.'s claim that the deed of trust for Fauntleroy Place is a fraud and should be nullified, according to court documents.

Her judgment came down April 1st after hearing oral arguments from both sides of the case.

Staring into The Hole might become far more interesting in the near future, however, as the Seattle City Council just approved a program to bring art, movies and vendors to abandoned lots and construction projects in the city. To read more, please check out the Herald story Are you ready for performance art in 'The Hole'?.

To read more on the fraud claim please read the original coverage from March below.

Original story from March 9:
Ledcor Construction, Inc. filed a motion with King County Superior Court on March 4 calling the $19 million deed of trust for Fauntleroy Place (aka “The Hole”) “a fraud and a charade” – claiming the deed was never a real loan but “created as a ploy by SCC (Seattle Capital Corporation) to convert previously unsecured debt into credit and to fool a prospective investor (UDR – United Dominion Realty) and Ledcor.”

Judge Susan Craighead will hear arguments on Ledcor’s motion to nullify the deed on April 1, which changes the plans as they stood late last month for the massive pit at the northwest corner of Fauntleroy Way s.w. and s.w. Alaska St.

The pit has remained a pit since 2008, when the economy stalled and construction stopped on the multi-use complex originally slated to include a Whole Foods Market, Hancock Fabrics, apartments and underground parking.

In the Herald article "The Hole" in West Seattle dwelling in court proceedings from March 4, it was reported that the deed of trust is currently held by 3922 SW Alaska LLC, which they purchased from Seattle Capital Corporation.

According to court documents, The Hole was scheduled for a foreclosure sale on Feb. 25 to satisfy liens of three senior creditors (Aero Construction Company, Inc, Ledcor Construction, Inc. and Kleinfelder West, Inc.) against the property title holder Fauntleroy Place LLC (comprised of Bluestar Management Group, BAJ Capital Inc and Seattle Capital Corporation).

On Feb. 1, 2011, 3922 SW Alaska LLC (a party that holds a deed of trust but doesn’t actually own the property; referred to as 3922 from here on out) filed an appeal to stop the foreclosure sale, saying they would post security in the amount of $7.7 million – enough to cover the estimated value of the property ($5.16 million) and an additional bond of $2.6 million to cover the above mentioned liens, according to court documents.

Judge Craighead accepted 3922’s appeal, and 3922 hoped they could bypass the foreclosure sale and start building at the site after a successful appeal.

However, if Ledcor’s claim that the deed is a fraud is accepted, it would nullify the deed of trust’s validity and therefore hampers 3922’s claim to the property.

According to court documents, Ledcor is owed $4.5 million for the work they did on the ultimately stalled Fauntleroy Place project.

Ledcor’s attorneys from Scheer & Zehnder LLP contend the following in their claim:

“First, the approximately $19.0 million loan by SCC to FP (Fauntleroy Place) – which the Deed of Trust supposedly secured – was a sham. There was never a ‘loan.’ … SCC represented to Ledcor that approximately $4.5 million of the ‘loan’ was ‘allocated’ to pay Ledcor’s contract amount. The money was never allocated, which makes perfect sense given there was never any loan.”

“Second, the obligation memorialized by the Deed of Trust (from FP to SCC) was a transfer to an insider. Weeks before the creation of the Deed of Trust, SCC initiated a series of stronghold transactions against the minority shareholders that made it the 75 (percent) owner of FP and, importantly, FP’s managing member. At the time the Deed of Trust was created, the creditor (SCC) was the managing member of the debtor (FP).”

The claim goes on to state Fauntleroy Place, LLC retained possession of The Hole, transferring the Deed of Trust to 3922 but retaining the title to the property.

“That is simply because Seattle Capital did not want all of the liens and other encumbrances attached to the property.”

And finally, the claim states, “the Deed of Trust represented all of FP LLC’s assets, as evidenced by the fact that FP LLC became insolvent immediately after the Deed of Trust was transferred (to 3922). Its only asset was the property and SCC admits that the Deed of Trust encumbered the property in an amount greater than the market value of the property.”

“The facts of this case demonstrate a textbook case of a fraudulent transfer.”

Court documents show that Ledcor feels a second trial (that being the appeal process filed by 3922 last month) “would not be necessary if this motion is granted because this Court already ruled that FP breached its contract with Ledcor (FP admitted through its representative, after all, that the only reason for not paying Ledcor was that it had no money).”

For now the waiting game continues until April 1 when King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead hears oral arguments on Ledcor’s claim.

The Hole’s uncertain future persists.