As widely expected, Kenmore City Council has approved extending the development contract for the delayed Kenmore Village mixed-use construction project.

With one member absent, council voted to allow Seattle’s Urban Partners until 2014 to make the 9.6-acre development happen.

The city first awarded Urban Partners an exclusive development deal for Kenmore Village in 2006. But company officials repeatedly have said the stalled economy has stalled any progress.

With several officials stating they wanted the city out of the commercial leasing business, council also handed Urban Partners a ground lease for the existing Kenmore Village, of which the city retains ownership.

“It’s not a city’s primary purpose to be leasing businesses,” said Mayor David Baker.

As they have in the case of previous stories, Urban Partners didn’t return a phone call requesting comment for this piece. Baker said the company already has retained a leasing firm to handle the operation of Kenmore Village. While he declined to go into details, Baker hinted some of Kenmore Village might be leased to new tenants sometime this summer.

The ground lease did take some flak from residents at a recent public hearing. Several comments focused on the fact Urban Partners will pay the city $1 a year for the leasing rights. Baker countered the firm owes the city $50,000 a year for every year there is no progress on the new Kenmore Village.

Baker added the ground lease also takes the maintenance of the property off the city’s hands. But he and other Kenmore officials, most notably Councilman Allan Van Ness, said how much renovation of the property makes sense has yet to be seen.

Van Ness has recently stated it might not be practical for Urban Partners to put a lot of cash and effort into buildings they hope to tear down in the next few years. Baker agreed.

“There may be a building or two that’s just not worth the money,” he said.

Baker confirmed that the terms of the ground lease allow Urban Partners to begin tearing down the existing Kenmore Village even before new construction is planned. He added the city would have to approve any demolition, but didn’t offer details as to what criteria officials might consider should Urban Partners consider tearing down buildings.

Currently, Kenmore Village is home to a grand total of two businesses, the Kenmore Fitness Center and the Best European Deli. Anchor tenants — Ostrom’s pharmacy and more recently Grocery Outlet — have been fleeing the shopping strip one at a time ever since the city announced its plans to redevelop the center.

European Deli owners did not respond to phone calls regarding their plans for the future.

“It’s a really weird situation,” said Kenmore Fitness operator Tom Dooley.

Dooley added that Urban Partners quickly had offered him a new lease, but he didn’t feel he could accept the terms. The company sent him a second proposal, one he said he still is mulling over.

For his part, Baker said Urban Partners is free to negotiate new deals with current Kenmore Village tenants, but added the company will honor any existing leases.

Under the current agreement, Urban Partners must give lease holders a one-year notice to vacate. According to Baker, those same lease holders only are required to give one month’s notice should they decide to leave.

Long-range plans for Kenmore Village still call for a mixed-use development stretching from Northeast 181st Street and 68th Avenue Northeast to the Park-and-Ride lot near Northeast 185th Street.