At the corner of Main Street and Bothell Way NE, a lot that sat mostly vacant now holds six murals, a row of small prefab shops, covered seating, community flowerpots and a pad for food trucks. The City of Bothell calls it Triangle Junction. In its September announcement, the city called it "a once-overlooked corner of downtown Bothell" that has since become an outdoor gallery.
Those features are temporary. Nothing permanent can go up on the ground underneath them for years, and in June the city bought the two parcels next door so it could combine all three into one future redevelopment site. Triangle Junction is a planned interim use. The shops, trucks and murals you can visit this month are what the city chose to put on this corner while the bigger plan takes shape.
Why there's no building on this corner
City records call the site Lot EFG. It is a City-owned property of 1.10 acres at the northeast corner of Bothell Way and SR 522, near the Baskin Robbins. In January 2025, the city described it as "currently a remediation site" and estimated that the full cleanup would take six to eight years. A later city release said the contamination came from historic dry-cleaning operations on an adjacent City-owned site.
The city's plan was to use the lot while the cleanup ran. Council asked staff to study ways to "temporarily activate" it. The city defined that as short-term use or programming that would make the space more usable for the public and draw people in. The question of what goes there permanently was handed to the Downtown Subarea Plan update. One familiar habit ended when construction on the activation began in early 2025. The lot had sometimes been used for parking, and the city closed it to parked cars.
What the city put there in the meantime
The Pop Shops came first. In March 2021, the City Council approved four prefab buildings along Main Street and Bothell Way NE. They became a small-business incubator that gives retail space to small, disadvantaged businesses on a rotating basis. According to the city's February 2026 update, the program has grown to eight Pop Shops and now includes mobile food startups, all at Triangle Junction.
The food trucks come through a separate program. The Bothell Mobile Food Incubator chooses new mobile food businesses, works with King County Health to get them mentored and permitted, and gives each one a rotating schedule at Triangle Junction for one year. The city handles restroom agreements and site logistics. Applications for both the 2026–2028 Pop Shops cohort and the food program closed March 23, 2026.
Because both programs rotate, the lineup is meant to change. One current tenant is Brewtastic Biscuits, which makes all-natural dog treats. Its own website lists the Bothell Pop Shops location and gives Thursday through Sunday hours. The city's Pop Shops on Main page is the place to check who else is open before a weekend visit.
The design choices fit the temporary plan. The pieces are prefab buildings, a truck pad, picnic tables and flowerpots, which can all be removed, set on ground that is still being cleaned up.
Six murals on the theme "Intersection"
The newest layer went up this year. In February, Bothell's Arts Commission asked visual and literary artists with strong community ties to submit mural proposals for Triangle Junction on the theme "Intersection." The call promised stipends to the artists selected. More than 20 artists applied and the commission chose six:
- Julio Velela, a Bothell resident and graphic designer, painted the places and activities that bring people together downtown.
- Devika Kapoor combined traditional Warli folk art of India with present-day Bothell imagery.
- Ananda Basak used music and bold color to show cultures and people connecting.
- Luke Brannon painted Where We Meet in the style of haiga, a Japanese art form that pairs images with haiku.
- Taylor Ruhland painted Confluence and Currents, about how local waterways, wildlife and plants depend on each other.
- Students from the Alyssa Burnett Center painted rainbows, community, nature, transportation, geometric forms and future goals.
The city scheduled a public dedication with councilmembers and the artists for Saturday, September 26, at 2 p.m. More information is on the city's Triangle Junction page.
Ruhland's subject also connects to a restoration project covered at the end of this post. For artists who want to work on the next round of projects, the Arts Commission is accepting 2027 Creative Arts Grant applications through October 16. Funded projects have to end with an event that is open to the public.
The June purchase that makes this a placeholder
On June 5, 2026, the city announced that the Bothell City Council had approved the purchase of two commercial properties next to the junction. The first, at 10015 Main Street, is the former Gallo De Oro restaurant, which had been vacant since 2020 and was described as deteriorating. The second, at 10007 Main Street, holds the Baskin Robbins, and the city said the shop will keep operating.
The reason was assembly. Combined with the City-owned Triangle Junction lot, the two parcels give the city one larger redevelopment area, which it says will help attract "high quality, community-oriented development partners." The city expects to recover the purchase cost through a future sale or partnership. It said any deal would reflect community goals, including more downtown housing choices, economic vitality and a walkable downtown.
City Manager Kyle Stannert called the combined parcels "an ideal canvas to work from." The plan that will shape what happens there is still in draft. In July, the city released a draft Downtown Subarea Plan update meant to guide the next 20 years of growth, transportation, parking, public spaces, art and historic preservation, and said it was not yet final. The proposed 2027–2028 city budget, sent to Council on September 8, lists downtown planning as one of its main themes, with adoption expected in November or December.
Taken together, the city's own documents show a plan. While the ground is cleaned and the redevelopment takes shape, the corner is meant to stay busy, and this year's murals are the city's latest addition to that interim use.
How October uses the corner
Triangle Junction sits where Main Street meets Bothell Way NE, and three of this month's four downtown events are on Main Street.
Thursday, October 8, 5 to 8 p.m.: Bothell Art Walk. Arts Alive Bothell organizes this free walk, and the Bothell Kenmore Chamber calls it one of three art walks this year. You can pick up a passport at any participating stop, begin and end anywhere, and turn in a completed passport for a raffle. Stops close to the junction include Sugar Rush Candy Store at 10030 Main, Longevity Loft at 10026 Main, Alpine Body Arts at 10028 Main, the Bothell Kenmore Chamber of Commerce at 10031 Main, Ohh, Macarons at 10035 Main, First & Main Design Market at 10100 Main and Willard Art & Frame at 10101 Main. Farther up are Woodlawn Optical of Bothell at 10116 Main, Nancy Pipinich State Farm at 10134 Main, Wanderlust Book Lounge on NE 185th Street and the gallery at Bothell City Hall, 18415 101st Ave NE. The full list of stops is on Arts Alive Bothell's locations page. The murals at the junction aren't an official stop, but they're a short walk from the Main Street stores at the 10000 block.
Friday, October 9, 7 p.m.: Anderson School's 95th birthday. McMenamins Anderson School is holding an '80s-themed Homecoming Party in Haynes' Hall at 18607 Bothell Way NE. Nite Wave plays live, DJ Dance Dance spins, and there will be birthday cake and a Class of 2026 Birthday Beer at The Market while it lasts. Guests must be 21 or older, and tickets are sold in advance.
Saturday, October 17, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Crow Fest. The fourth annual Crow Fest brings about 70 small local handmade businesses and food trucks to downtown Main Street, rain or shine. Free family activities run alongside tarot readings, tattoos and professional photo sessions.
Friday, October 30, 5 to 7 p.m.: Trick-or-Treat on Main Street. More than 30 businesses and community groups will hand out treats along Main Street and 101st Ave NE. Bothell Fire, Police, Parks and Public Works will bring decorated booths and specialty vehicles. The city recommends free parking at the Bothell City Hall Parking Garage, on city streets, or at the gravel lot at Park at Bothell Landing. A map of participating stops goes up on the city's event page one week before the event.
The Triangle Junction lot isn't on the city's parking list for Trick-or-Treat. It has been closed to parking since the activation work started in 2025.
The other downtown-adjacent site being rebuilt slowly
Triangle Junction isn't the only well-used open space in Bothell that is being reworked over several years. On September 8, construction began on the Sammamish River and Waynita Creek Restoration Project at Wayne Open Space. The project will re-meander the creek, widen its floodplain and add cold-water habitat for migrating Chinook salmon, the same kind of ecosystem Ruhland painted at the junction. The "Back 9" of the former Wayne Golf Course will be closed from now through winter 2027, with reopening planned for early 2028 and new trails, pedestrian bridges and viewing areas to follow. The "Front 9" and Blyth Park next door stay open. Project updates are posted at bothellwa.gov/waynita.
Wayne Open Space has a planned reopening date, but the city hasn't set a permanent use for Triangle Junction yet. The murals at Main Street and Bothell Way NE are up now, and the Art Walk is October 8.
If you live near downtown Bothell and want to know how a redevelopment at Triangle Junction could affect your street and your home's value, Lynette Thomas follows these plans closely and is glad to talk them through. Ready to sell? Get a free home valuation and a personalized marketing plan.
