A judge recently ruled a jury should decide whether the owner of Ken’s Korner Shopping Plaza in Clinton has the right to evict a grocery store.

The landlord filed an unlawful detainer action in Island County Superior Court on Feb. 25 against Tbrierley LLC, which does business as Ken’s Korner Red Apple Market. The grocery store contested the action.

The uncertainly about the future of the grocery store has stoked community concerns that the owners of the shopping plaza may convert retail stores into mini-storage units.

The complaint identifies the owners of the South Whidbey strip mall as five limited liability corporations, namely Ken’s Korner WA, Ken’s Korner NV LLC, Crystal View Holding Co, Crystal View Capital Fund and Crystal View Management. The out-of-state companies purchased the property in 2021.

The Crystal View website states that it specializes in self-storage and manufactured housing.

The companies claim that Red Apple did not properly extend its lease two years ago; Red Apple disputes this.

It’s an issue that has a lot of public interest in the Clinton area as several beloved business reside at Ken’s Korner, including Pickles Deli, Critters & Co. and Whidbey Island Bagel Factory.

A decision by the landlord in 2022 to increase the rent for longtime tenant Good Cheer Food Bank thrift store caused consternation in South Whidbey social media circles. The managing company of the shopping plaza, Osprey Management, told The Record at the time that there were no plans to displace any of the current tenants.

Yet the company also confirmed community concerns that it might be looking to create more self-storage space at the expense of retail.

“We have not had steady inquiries on the available retail space, our research has shown that self-storage is also a need in the community,” Osprey Management wrote in an email in 2022. “As a result of the lack of interest in the retail space and the need for self-storage we are looking at potential options to use the empty space at Ken’s Korner to accommodate those needs as well.”

The attorney for Red Apple wrote in an email that he’s heard a rumor about a desire to convert the shopping center to self storage units, but he doesn’t know that to be a fact. He noted that the landlord entered the Red Apple a few weeks ago to inspect some structural elements, which could be consistent with such a plan.

Island County commissioners, however, are considering prohibiting self-storage units in Ken’s Korner and other higher-density, unincorporated areas as part of the process of updating the county’s Comprehensive Plan. This week, the commissioners discussed the possibility of imposing a development moratorium in those areas while the update is being completed.

According to court documents, Red Apple entered into a lease with the landlord in 2018, with a term through June 2023; the agreement includes four five-year extensions available at the grocery store’s option. That means the lease could potentially be extended until 2043.

Red Apple claimed it exercised its first renewal option in January 2023, which means the lease extension would not expire until June 2028. Management of the grocery store, however, were surprised when the landlord gave notice of termination of a month-to-month lease in January.

The landlord argues that Red Apple did not properly extend the lease two years ago and had been on a month-to-month lease since then. The landlord claims that it did not receive a letter that Red Apple said was sent with a January 2023 rent check; even if it was, the landlord states that the date was too late.

The grocery store claims the notice of termination this January was the first time in two years that the landlord did anything to suggest that the lease had switched to a month-to-month arrangement.

Red Apple also filed a counterclaim against the landlord, claiming that the landlord had failed to provide detailed calculations of the pro rata share of common area maintenance and expenses because it was overcharging. Tom Brierley, owner of Red Apple, wrote in an affidavit that the cost of utilities increased from about $9,400 in 2020 to $49,000 in 2021 without explanation. Likewise, the management fee went from $16,000 in 2020 to $47,000 in 2021 without explanation, the document states.

Yet Brierley also wrote that Red Apple pays significantly less per square foot than the current market rate.

The landlord filed a reply stating that it had provided Red Apple an accounting of the common area costs.

On April 3, both sides appeared before Island County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Cliff. The landlord asked for a summary proceeding for an unlawful detainer action. Cliff, however, found that unresolved questions of fact remained, such as whether the lease extension was extended and whether the landlord needs to post a bond.

As a result, Cliff ruled that the case should be noted for a jury trial sometime in the future.

Osprey Management and the attorney for the landlord did not respond to a request for comment.