By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Totem Lake Mall, which opened in 1973, is the 150-ton granite rock on which commercial development in the area stands. But this is one boulder no one wants to blow apart; they only want to polish it.

The mall, located at the intersection of Interstate 405 and 124th Avenue Northeast, doesn't have the same luster and reputation today that it once had. Larger shopping centers have been built in surrounding communities, siphoning off many customers. And the closing of all Ernst stores in the area early last year left the mall without one of its anchor tenants.

But the mall has new owners; Lynnwood-based Gramore Development, which bought the shopping center, is promising revitalization of the multistore facility.

"The mall has been allowed to become ... well, tired," says David Ramsey, Kirkland's city manager. "It has not been re-energized for some time. But now we have a new owner there, and we are hopeful they are going to pump new life into the mall."

That can only add to the success of commercial ventures throughout the area, which generate big bucks for the city of Kirkland.

Wholesale and retail sales in the Totem Lake area totaled $632 million in 1995, the most recent year for which figures are available, says Marilyn Beard, Kirkland's finance director.

"Totem Lake is very important to the city. That's where the bulk of the car dealerships are located and, like it or not, car dealers are a significant revenue source for any city.

"Totem Lake has been the commercial place to shop in Kirkland. It is the biggest area for sales-tax collections in the city," Beard adds.

But Totem Lake hasn't even begun to tap its potential for generating revenue, Beard says.

She expects even better times ahead.

"It has the potential to become the retail destination point on the Eastside if put together with regional transit. I think everybody believes it has the potential to develop into something like University Village (in Seattle) or Crossroads (in Bellevue)."

"It has just scratched the surface of its potential so far," Ramsey says.

But many of the restaurants, stores and other small businesses that surround the mall and fill up most of the Totem Lake area already are thriving.

Larry's Market is one of them, and it is committed to the neighborhood, says Dawn Remington, director of the which stocks items customers can't find in many other supermarkets. The approach appears to be succeeding.

"We try to educate the customers with samplings, demonstrations and giving out information," Remington says. Most shoppers come from the Totem Lake area. "But we get a lot of people from Bothell and the Snohomish area, especially on weekends."

Food displays are so tempting that if everyone shopped there, we all might weigh 450 pounds and have to phone in our orders.

"Or we'd all be very healthy," laughs city manager Ramsey, with faith that shoppers would make their selections wisely.

"Either way, it's a wonderful asset within Totem Lake. As I say, Totem Lake is more than just the mall," he says. "There is a wonderful diversity up there ... and it is made to work well."

Despite its prominence as a retail center, Totem Lake is fairly quiet when it comes to crime.

"It has a relatively low crime rate," Kirkland police Chief Pleas Green says. "There are some bad-checks cases.

"There is some shoplifting in the retail area. And we get a few car prowls and vandalisms. But there is a very low reported burglary rate.

"It is much like the rest of Kirkland. It is a safe and secure part of our community. It's a nice area with a good mix of uses."