The former Spirit Gas station property at NW Market St and 24th Ave NW is on the market for $4.8 million, offering a prominent Ballard corner for redevelopment, but one with documented petroleum contamination in its soil and groundwater.
Spirit closed in early 2025 after 38 years operating on the corner, known for its very expensive gas and food trucks. The listing says the 10,667-square-foot property is still being used by two food trucks, and that it’s “marketed primarily for its underlying land value and redevelopment potential rather than its existing improvements.”
The property’s environmental history could factor into any future redevelopment: It’s listed as an active cleanup site with the Washington State Department of Ecology. The agency lists the Market Street Spirit Texaco property at 5505 24th Ave NW as “awaiting cleanup,” with records for the site dating back to December 2010.
Ecology records show gasoline and benzene contamination above state cleanup levels in both soil and groundwater. Other petroleum-related contamination has also been found above cleanup levels in the soil, while methyl tertiary-butyl ether, or MTBE, a gasoline additive, has been confirmed above cleanup levels in groundwater. Lead and diesel have also been detected at the property but are listed as below state cleanup levels.
The property is being addressed through an independent cleanup process under Washington’s Model Toxics Control Act. Ecology says sites in its cleanup program have confirmed or suspected contamination that could potentially harm people or the environment. The agency also cautions that its contaminant list is based on the best information available when the records were entered and may not reflect current conditions at the property.
Spirit is just across 24th Ave NW from the 2019 fire that prompted the redevelopment of the northeast corner of the intersection.
Photo: Michael Allen Smith