Four units remain for sale in the Fini condos at 68th & Greenwood, and three of them have been drastically reduced in price.

The 912-square-foot, one-bedroom model home on the top floor was originally priced at $539,990, but has been slashed to $399,990. Another one-bedroom model home on the top floor, with 923-square-feet, was originally priced at $569,990 but has been cut to $449,990.

Click here to see prices and floor plans for all four remaining units.

The 6010 Phinney Ave. N. project is now posted on the Department of Planning & Development’s website for review. The 23-page report is what Kilburn Architects will present at the final design review meeting at 6:30 Monday night at Ballard High School’s library.

The four-story apartment building with retail on the ground level will replace the current building, which houses Roosters Cafe, Chef Liao, Daily Planet Antiques and Phinney Ridge Cleaners.

MyBallard reports that the Take 5 Urban Market at 8th Ave NW and NW 70th St. is now open for business. They had a “soft opening” on Tuesday.

Take 5 has all the grocery basics, including produce, plus sandwiches, soup, coffee and wine. They plan to eventually have some prepared meals. Take 5 replaces the old Wicker Basket convenience store.

Makeda Coffee hosted a meeting last night to discuss the rash of break-ins at neighborhood businesses. KING 5 reporter Owen Lei had a report just after the meeting wrapped up last night. A representative from Seattle Police Crime Prevention talked to the group about how to try to prevent burglaries. Seattle Police also plans to have extra patrols in the area.

See the story below about the arrests of two people suspected in at least 20 break-ins in the area.

Seattle Police are attributing a string of break-ins in Greenwood and Ballard to the two people arrested at a motel on Greenlake Way earlier this week, according to a report.

The man, a alleged methamphetamine addict, confessed to 30 burglaries during the last six months. He led detectives to locations where he stashed stolen computers, a stolen car, and other items, court documents say.

Here’s something I missed from last week, when the governor released her report to streamline state government to save money: Greenwood is one of the 25 Department of Licensing offices that will close around the state. That will leave just 41 DOL offices statewide.

The closures will happen in waves beginning next month and ending in April 2010. The Greenwood DOL is slated to close sometime between March and May of this year. The state estimates the closures will save $2.6 million in the 2009-2011 biennium, and $2.9 million in subsequent budget periods.

The state plans to expand hours at regional service centers (including West Seattle and Lynnwood), and install self-service kiosks in the affected communities. The kiosks would be installed in the remaining driver licensing offices, county auditor offices, and businesses that act as sub-agents, such as grocery stores.

After the closure, the nearest licensing office would be Shoreline, but it is a limited service office that doesn’t offer driving tests or knowledge tests. The nearest full service license office would be Bothell.

You can read the full report here. And please post your thoughts on how/whether this will affect you and your neighbors in comments below.

MKG Martial Arts is moving from its location of the last nine years at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. (two doors down from the post office) to the basement of Bank of America at 404 N. 85th St. The martial arts studio will be moving by May 1. Their current space is now for lease.

MKG is also opening a second location in Edmonds, with a grand opening set for April 1.

A couple of days ago we told you about burglaries at several neighborhood businesses, including Strut shoe store, Neptune and Makeda coffee shops, and the Greenwood Senior Center. Last night, KING 5 reporter Jim Forman had a report on the rash of crime, interviewing employees at Makeda and Neptune. Watch the video here.

Update 10:20 a.m.: Makeda Coffee, at 153 N. 78th St., is hosting a community meeting tonight from 7-9 p.m. to discuss what the neighborhood can do about crime. They’ve contacted the Seattle Police Department and are hoping a representative will attend.

Update: 4 p.m.: Seattle P-I reports two “prolific” burglary suspects arrested at a motel in the 4400 block of Greenlake Way. No info on whether they’re tied to the recent string of burglaries. See the update.

Construction workers were pouring and smoothing cement today for the new sidewalks around the Piper Village residential/retail development on N. 87th St. behind Blockbuster, Top Ten Toys and Bartell Drugs. Here’s the sidewalk going in by Top Ten Toys:

The parking lot was reconfigured and the plantings were added recently. Now, with the addition of the sidewalk, the area will be much safer for walking.

The new yard waste bins are being delivered in the neighborhood. I saw a bunch along N. 87th St. near Greenwood Park. Here’s what the smallest, 13-gallon, bin looks like:

Starting at the end of March, yard waste will be picked up weekly instead of bi-weekly, and you’ll be able to put meat, fish and dairy scraps into the yard waste cart. The city will automatically provide a 13-gallon mini-can to households that don’t already subscribe to yard/food waste service. But you can fill out an online form to order a 32-gallon or 96-gallon can, or to request an exemption if you compost at home.

The new monthly cost for each bin is: 13-gallon mini-can, $3.60; 32-gallon can, $5.40; 96-gallon can, $6.90.

Someone broke into Neptune Coffee and cut open the safe early this morning, going through a lot of effort to get petty cash.

“Someone broke in through a back window and then cut through the safe with an angle grinder (I’m assuming) and took all the petty cash (which wasn’t that much, we are a coffee shop after all),” Dan tells us. “The cop that came said in his 16 years this was the most effort he’d ever seen anyone do for a break in. He also said they’d been targeting small businesses up and down Greenwood and Aurora.”

Just a few blocks south and a day earlier, someone broke into Makeda Coffee, 153 N. 78th St., kicking in the door to get inside, then going through the cash register sometime early on the 14th. It’s the same MO as the recent break-in at Strut on Tuesday the 10th. And there’s the Greenwood Senior Center burglary a little more than a week ago.

An e-mail going around to local businesses adds more details and asks people to call the police if they see anything amiss:

Last week several Ballard stores were hit, one was robbed during regular business hours – the thieves actually did use a “get away” car.

We wanted to make sure our dear friends and customers knew what was happening in their own neighborhood(s)! We ask for your help – please keep your eyes out – if you see something out of place or out of the ordinary, we ask that you please do call the police.

Help us keep Greenwood/ Phinney Ridge a wonderful place to live, shop, and hang out!  Help us keep Greenwood/ Phinney Ridge (and the surrounding neightborhoods) safe for all our families!

Been meaning to post this for while: Vegetarian restaurant Carmelita, 7314 Greenwood Ave. N, is seeking a change to their liquor license to allow them to serve hard liquor in addition to the beer and wine they already offer in their restaurant and lounge.