For the most part, they all have leases through October.

But they still feel as though their businesses are twisting in the wind, facing unfairly, uncertain futures.

“I’m not anti-development,” said Tom Dooley, owner and operator of the Kenmore Fitness Center in the current Kenmore Village.

“We are all stable businesses in this community,” said Judy Bartlow, owner and operator of the Grocery Outlet, another Kenmore Village tenant. “But it feels like we’re not getting any respect.”

Manager of the charity thrift store Hidden Treasures, Jenni Jensen said maybe the city needs to look at retail trends throughout the country. Jensen believes it is small, solo businesses that seem to be weathering the current economic storm fairly well, while bigger chains — from Starbucks to Circuit City — are in deep trouble or have gone under completely.

What has these business owners worried are the city’s plans for the strip mall in which they have all set up shop. While there has been some debate, most Kenmore officials have a well-publicized vision for what is officially known as Kenmore Village by the Lake: an upscale, mixed-use development, combining retail and residential development stretching 10 acres from the corner of Northeast 181st Street and 68th Avenue Northeast to the nearby Park-and-Ride near Northeast 185th Street.

Ultimately, the plan may or may not include the current tenants of Kenmore Village, but Dooley said initial lease rates quoted by the city’s chosen developer would have most current tenants looking for a new home, likely one outside of Kenmore. Those possibilities don’t sit well with most of the current tenants, but what seems more bothersome are the questions surrounding the new Kenmore Village.

“If they are going to build it, build it,” Dooley said. “If they are going to evict us, evict us.”

In the meantime, tenants say their businesses are floundering to some extent, along with their employees and even their customers, who Bartlow said constantly question her on how long the store is going to stay put.

“They think I know and I don’t,” she said.

Dooley and Little Gym owner Linda Hicks said the questions over how long they can stay makes it tough for them to sell long-term memberships to their facilities, which they both described as key to their survival.

City officials chose Seattle’s Urban Partners as the developer of Kenmore Village by the Lake in 2007. Original plans called for construction to start in 2008, with the first homes and retail space available this year. Instead, Urban Partners has asked City Council to postpone the start of the project five times. City Manager Frederick Stouder confirmed another possible extension is on the table, with some decision expected from council by June. Stouder did add that the administration hopes to have some idea of council’s intention by April or May.

While current business owners complained of a lack of communication between themselves, the city and Urban Partners, Stouder insisted that is simply not the case.

“We keep them informed,” he said, stating the city had met with the center’s current tenants just in the last few weeks. Shortly after the Reporter spoke with Stouder, Dooley stated the city had invited current Kenmore Village tenants to a meeting March 27. As he talked about the situation, Stouder said he knows the existing tenants would like long-term leases, not agreements that might change from month to month.

But Stouder also stated that, on the other hand, those business owners have known for some time that, eventually, month-to-month leases might be in the offing.

If Dooley and Jensen especially seemed to question the continued viability of Kenmore Village by the Lake, Stouder insisted he has every reason to believe the project ultimately will become a reality. As have other officials in the past, Stouder blamed delays on the current economic turmoil. He further stated a belief Urban Partners will not abandon the project and that they have the experience and financial wherewithal to make it happen.

At least one major Kenmore Village tenant is already vacating. Ostrom’s Drugs and Gifts is headed next month for new digs on Bothell Way Northeast. The remaining tenants aren’t certain how that will affect them.

“I know this,” Hicks said. “Ostrom’s leaving just puts more fear into our customers.”