By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
With their lease up this month, the owners of Junction Hot Yoga (4747 California Ave SW) are closing their business after 5 years in a building that’s been the location of yoga studios for more than 20 years and is part of a future redevelopment project that includes the building next door.
“Our landlords have been really good — transparent,” said studio co-owner Karen Weigelt. She explained that a below-market lease rate made the studio pencil out, while at the same time, the uncertainty of how soon, rven if the construction would start, made long-term planning a challenge. To keep their clientele in the loop, they announced the closure 6 months ago.
Though the redevelopment project has its major permits, it’s not expected to start any time soon. That’s what Husky Deli proprietor Jack Miller tells WSB. The project – a seven-story, 79-unit apartment building with ground-level commercial space, replacing the studio and the Sleepers space to its north – was billed as a new home for Husky. It went through much of the review process 2018-2020 and has a Master Use Permit good until 2030, a key step toward full permit approval. But development conditions remain unfavorable, Miller said, so don’t expect to see the studio closure followed by the arrival of construction equipment.
So the immediate future of the studio building – which Miller doesn’t own – is still unclear. Weigelt says she’s been told some “refurbishing” may be planned for the space, though property owners Westside Local LLC (governed by development company HB Management LLC) said “no comment” via Weigelt.
So what’s next for the Junction Hot Yoga teachers and the Weigelts? “None of our team is opening a studio nearby,” she says, though there is interest. “A couple of former teachers have been looking and would love to open something in West Seattle and my husband and I would be willing, but nothing seems to be working out. The good news is there are definitely, in my view, good-quality yoga offerings in West Seattle that are good alternatives. I hope the community will give those other businesses a try.”
As business winds down, the last days of classes are already scheduled. Weigelt and co-founder Audrey Benton will be teaching the final two classes on the 30th. “I really wanted to give an opportunity for people to come in. I think it’s nice for us both to be able to say goodbye to folks.”
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