When we last left Bellevue real-estate developer Kemper Freeman, he was telling us that we didn’t need light rail to Bellevue, our highways and buses were just fine, thanks!
Now we learn that Freeman’s company is looking to make use of a helipad on top of Bellvue Square that’s been sitting dormant for 20 years. The reason for the increased interest in helicopter travel won’t surprise you:
The Freeman family, which controls Kemper and built Bellevue Place, Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square, has a longstanding interest in helicopters, Hill says, and it figured the pad might be useful someday.
It’s been used twice, he says, and the time seems right to prepare for more frequent use. Kemper is seeking a permit to allow up to three takeoffs and three landings daily, and up to 200 of each per year.
Why gear up for regular operations now? Because, with traffic getting worse, the helistop will provide another way to get in and out of downtown Bellevue for at least a few people, Hill says. Plus it’s an amenity that could appeal to some prospective office tenants.
In other words, Freeman does believe in the effectiveness of grade-separated transit, but only for him and his rich buddies. Everyone else should be forced to sit in traffic.
If I were Bellevue, I’d offer Freeman and his company a deal: you can have your helipad, in exchange for, oh, say… $1 billion to build a light rail tunnel under your mall.
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