The Crown Hill QFC's lease expires in August and the store will close down by the time the new Ballard location is open in the fall. Click the image for a photo of the under-construction Ballard QFC.
With the pending re-opening of the Ballard QFC, closed for rebuilding since December 2007, the Crown Hill location is slated for closure.
Kristen Maas, with the real estate division of QFC corporate, said the lease for the QFC located at 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 85th Street will expire in August.
QFC is working with the landlord to possibly extend that deadline until the new store at 24th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 57th Street opens in the fall.
A Crown Hill QFC employee said the store is closing because it barely makes a profit and has too much competition in the area.
The store received a 25 to 30 percent boost in sales with the closure of the Ballard location, and it is expected it will lose that with the opening of the new Ballard store, the employee said.
The Crown Hill location, situated between the Holman Road and Ballard QFC locations, across the street from a Safeway, and down the road from the Greenwood Fred Meyer, is also a factor, the employee said.
The employee said Crown Hill employees could be transferred to either the new Ballard store, the new North Seattle store or the remodeled Wallingford store, though there have been no specific promises about placement.
"They know that because we are important to the community, most of us will go to Ballard," the employee said.
The new Ballard QFC is under construction adjacent to Ballard Corners Park. It is an eight story development with six stories of apartment units and underground parking.
