In 2006 community and developer hopes were high for Fauntleroy Place at 3922 s.w. Alaska St at the northwest corner of the Fauntleroy Junction between 40th Ave s.w. and 39th Ave s.w.

Northwest Resource Management Group announced a mixed-use development that would include a Whole Foods Market, Hancock Fabrics, 185 apartments and four floors of underground parking, designed by Seattle architect firm Stricker Cato Murphy.

Excavation began in 2008 and a massive hole was dug in preparation for Fauntleroy Place to rise out of it.

Four years later, that massive hole is still here - long enough to earn its nickname, The Hole.

According to a Puget Sound Business Journal article earlier this year, the project developer Bluestar ran into difficulty, fueled by the recession, and construction stopped.

Activity shifted from laying foundation and building walls to lawsuits, court filings and foreclosure proceedings, where it sits today.

The case is currently in King County Superior Court and overseen by Judge Susan Craighead. According to court documents, the property 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 current property title holder Fauntleroy Place LLC.

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.

Court documents from Feb. 23 show Judge Craighead accepted 3922’s request, “because it is virtually certain that 3922 will be the purchaser at that sale” and “3922 is the only party that can rapidly obtain title to the subject Property and thus proceed with development.”

The Puget Sound Business Journal reported on Feb. 25 that Judge Craighead did indeed call off the planned action of the site after 3922 posted the $7.7 million bond. The PSBJ story continued to say 3922, “sought the court’s approval to allow it to foreclose on the property so it could proceed with its own development plans for the site … That motion was denied, pending an appeal.”

And that is where the saga stands today – an appeal process will take place (for an undetermined amount of time) to decide whether 3922 will be allowed to proceed with their purchase and start development on The Hole.

In the meantime, The Hole will simply remain a hole.

In April of 2010 the Southwest District Council sent a letter to Seattle Capital Corporation (yet another involved party in a complex history) to express their, “concern … over the condition, aesthetics and most importantly the safety of the now stalled Fauntleroy Place construction project site.”

The letter, which you can read in its entirety here, also said, “We are all struggling during these trying times. We are trying to keep our businesses open, we are trying to keep our homes and neighborhoods attractive and welcoming, and we are trying to build a future where West Seattle emerges prosperous and revitalized. The reaction that residents, visitors and retail shoppers are having to your site – as expressed to us as by the community – is that of seeing urban blight and neglect at the heart of our neighborhood.”