Three storefronts sit within a few doors of each other on Old Bellevue's Main Street. Veritables, at 10220 Main, told customers it would close October 15 after 18 years. Glassybaby left 10230 Main, where it had been since October 2009, and opened a larger store at Design Market on October 1. Matcha Magic, which opened at 10246 Main in May 2022, was set to close its original café on Sunday, November 1.
All three buildings are on the site of North of Main, an eight-story project from Vander Hoek Corporation. As Bellevue Beacon reported on October 9, it will replace every structure on the block with 176 market-rate apartments, 10,363 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 154 parking stalls on roughly 0.71 acres at Main Street and 103rd Avenue NE. The block is emptying in the same year the City Council passed rules to protect Main Street's character. Those rules don't apply to this project. For anyone who owns, or is thinking about owning, near this stretch of West Bellevue, that gap explains how the street is likely to change from here.
The Rules Arrived After the Project Had Vested
On February 10, 2026, the Bellevue City Council voted 4-3 to adopt an interim official control covering Main Street between 100th Avenue NE and Bellevue Way. The Urbanist reported that a property owner now has to show a façade is under 50 years old or holds "no historic or cultural value" before demolishing it. New buildings placed between or among older ones must also match their neighbors in features and composition.
The same outlet described the Vander Hoek submittal as "a major driving force behind these interim controls." Because the project had already entered the pipeline under the earlier zoning, it does not have to meet any of the new standards. Downtown Bellevue Network reported the same exemption for projects already approved or vested under prior zoning, so the interim control applies to Main Street properties that have not yet entered permitting.
The developer's own project page describes North of Main as "currently permitting." Bellevue Beacon's October 9 report said no construction start date had been confirmed.
Who the Controls Actually Bind
If the rules can't reach the project that prompted them, they apply to everyone else on those two blocks. The Urbanist counted around 10 parcels fronting Main Street with buildings over 50 years old, though some may have newer façades. One example is the 1915 Brazen Building, home to 520 Bar & Grill, where any redevelopment would have to keep the façade.
At the February meeting, city staff said they knew of no active projects in the affected area beyond the exempt Vander Hoek proposal. The controls therefore bind owners who had not filed anything. The Urbanist also noted the incentive this creates: an owner considering redevelopment has good reason to hold off until the permanent rules are known.
Lynne Robinson, the then-mayor who first proposed the idea, said the waiting was the point:
"My reason for wanting the IOC is so that we don't get a rush to permitting before any decision is made."
She also said no one on the council wanted to restrict development, as The Urbanist reported. Councilmembers Jared Nieuwenhuis, Dave Hamilton and Claire Sumadiwirya voted no. Nieuwenhuis said he saw no emergency, Hamilton raised the chance that other neighborhoods would ask for similar controls, and Sumadiwirya pointed to unpredictability for Main Street business owners.
The rules stop a filing rush, and in practice they have also stopped new filings on the rest of the street.
What July Changed, and What It Didn't
Owners and developers raised concerns about compliance costs and unclear design requirements. On July 14, 2026, the council unanimously renewed and amended the controls through February 2027, according to Downtown Bellevue Network. The council records list the action as Ordinance 6929. The amended ordinance text does the following:
- Applies the façade standards to new development and says they do not apply to alterations of existing façades
- Requires a publicly accessible door facing Main Street, with doors at intervals of no more than 30 feet
- Requires solid vertical elements 1 to 10 feet wide, also at intervals of no more than 30 feet, plus a cornice and alignment with adjacent buildings
- Requires documentation before demolishing or significantly altering a building over 50 years old, covering the address, parcel, construction year, uses, style, materials and photographs taken before the work
The incentive for keeping an old façade also grew. The original ordinance awarded 40 bonus points per $1,000 of documented preservation cost, and the amended text raises that to 100 points per $1,000.
Neither version addresses tenants. Downtown Bellevue Network reported that the city has no authority to require property owners to keep specific commercial occupants through redevelopment.
Storefront Size Is the Lever the February Rules Left Out
In February, The Urbanist pointed out that new commercial space is likely to rent for more than space in the older buildings, and that the interim rules set no limits on storefront size, "a major factor behind rent." A preserved brick front with one large tenant behind it keeps the look of Old Bellevue but not the mix of small businesses.
The permanent rules address this. The Downtown Livability 2.0 public first draft, dated October 7, 2026, is the first update to the downtown land use code since 2017, per the Bellevue Chamber. It goes after floor area directly.
| Question | Interim control, as amended in July 2026 | Downtown Livability 2.0 first draft, Oct. 7, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Façades | Standards for new façades and documentation before demolishing buildings over 50 years old | Incentive points for preserving historic façades |
| Ground-floor tenant size | No limit | Individual ground-floor commercial spaces in the DT-OB district capped at 5,000 sq ft |
| Storefront rhythm | Doors and vertical elements at intervals of no more than 30 ft | Main Street storefronts wider than 15 ft divided into bays of 15 ft or less |
| Active uses on Main Street | No limit | 100% of the street wall between 100th Ave NE and Bellevue Way NE |
| Tenant retention | Not required | Not required; the draft adds an affordable commercial space incentive |
Existing tenant spaces over 5,000 square feet could stay as they are. If one is later reduced to 5,000 square feet or less, the draft says it cannot grow past the cap again. The staff comment in the draft links the pieces together. It says limits on commercial space size, the affordable commercial space bonus and historic preservation "will work together to bring in more small businesses and retain the historic character of Old Bellevue." The Chamber's recap also reported that the draft proposes no downtown height increases.
So the parcels that waited are the ones most likely to be built under these standards. North of Main is not subject to them.
The Calendar Has a Gap
The key dates, in order:
- February 10, 2026. The interim controls pass, 4-3.
- July 14, 2026. The council renews and amends the controls unanimously, through February 2027.
- October 7, 2026. The Downtown Livability 2.0 public first draft is published.
- October 28, 2026. The Planning Commission's first study session on the draft, with written and spoken public comment invited.
- February 2027. The interim controls expire.
- Second quarter of 2027. The Chamber's report gives this as the target for council action on the permanent code.
The interim rules run out before the permanent code is scheduled for a vote. The ordinance allows another six-month renewal only after a public hearing and findings. If it isn't renewed, the temporary rules lapse and the underlying land use code applies. Unless the schedule speeds up, the council would need a third round of interim controls to keep standards on Main Street through spring 2027. The city's project page lists no adoption date yet.
What This Means Close to Main Street
For an owner of one of the older Main Street parcels, the question has changed. Whether redevelopment is allowed matters less than which set of rules will apply when it happens. Today that means the interim façade standards. If the draft is adopted, it means a 5,000-square-foot cap on individual ground-floor spaces, 15-foot bays and higher preservation incentives. Those rules affect how a parcel can be used. Valuing one now depends on reading a draft that has had only one study session, while the street's best-known example, North of Main, is moving through permitting under different rules.
For a buyer considering a condo or home within walking distance of Downtown Park, the near-term change is easy to see. One block of small shops is closing this fall, and an eight-story building with 10,363 square feet of commercial space will eventually take its place. The longer-term direction for the rest of the street is the one in the draft: smaller storefronts, all-active ground floors and incentives to keep older façades.
Questions We Hear About Main Street
Does the interim control apply to North of Main? No. The project vested under earlier zoning, so it is exempt from the interim rules.
Are any Main Street buildings official historic landmarks? None in the corridor holds landmark status at the state or national level, according to Downtown Bellevue Network.
Where did the departing businesses go? Glassybaby moved to Design Market at 1048 116th Ave. NE. The operator of Matcha Magic said it is looking for a new Bellevue location, and Veritables' owner wrote, "This is not the last chapter."
This post is general information about the city's rules, not legal, tax or development advice. Owners should confirm how these rules affect a specific parcel with an attorney or land use professional.
If you own on or near Main Street and want to know how the interim rules, the draft code and the 2027 calendar could affect your property's value and timing, Whittlesey Properties can help. We have worked on land and redevelopment questions on the Eastside for four decades and would welcome a consultation.
