A month and a half ago, we reported on the sale of the site south of The Junction known as “Spring Hill”(no relation to the restaurant), once slated to be developed by BlueStar, the original developer of what is now “The Hole.” The broker announced the new owners wanted to break ground ASAP on the mixed-use project site at 5020 California SW, currently holding three vacant, rundown buildings. Tonight, it looks like that plan is moving forward – the demolition permit has just been granted. And the city webpage for that permit reveals who the new owner is, something that wasn’t made public at the time the sale was announced – Burien-based F & M Development, which mentions the project on its website. A new land-use application indicates the project is changing somewhat from what was approved three years ago – it’s now set for 101 apartments, instead of 91 units, though the retail space is still described as the same size, 4,000 square feet. The renderings on the F & M website appear to be the same as those produced back in 2008, and the site mentions the same architect (Hewitt). Most of the projects listed on the F & M website are outside Seattle; the nearest one is Coronado Springs, a public-housing complex in White Center, redeveloped by F & M in 2004. We’ll be contacting them to find out more about the Spring Hill timetable and plan.
Since the weekend traffic alerts start early this time around – with I-90 closures for the Blue Angels each of the next four days – SDOT is already out with its citywide weekend traffic advisory. Those closures are part of it, and there’s more, ahead:Read More
Two quick notes: First, “The Big Bonanza” is back this year in The Junction. The big Junction-wide sale is set for August 20th, and the list of more than 30 participants is already on The Junction’s website – see it here. Again this year, just look for the red balloons and checked tablecloths! Second, longtime WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits has announced a special event for tomorrow night’s edition of “Shop Late Thursdays” – West Seattle-based cookbook authorKim O’Donnel will be at Click! with tastings of dishes from her “Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook,” 6 pm tomorrow. (Any other “Shop Late” participants with something special tomorrow? Let us know!)
(Exterior signage going up this afternoon; photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
The official opening date and time is finally set for the new Admiral Safeway, which is close to complete, as you’ve noticed if you have driven by (or checked the construction webcam): It will open to the public at noon on Thursday, August 11th, Safeway’s Sara Osborne tells WSB. That’s ten days short of one year after the old store closed, three and a half years after first indication the store would be replaced, and one day earlier than the tentative opening date mentioned previously. More details about the opening festivities will be out soon, according to Osborne.
Other recent updates we’ve published regarding the redeveloped site (which is more than the store): Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt will join Umpqua Bank as a tenant in the new retail building north of the store along California SW, opening in September, and the 78-unit apartment project on the southeast side of the site will be called Element 42, with leasing scheduled to start sometime next year.
1:50 PM: The Seafair Fleet Parade of Ships show actually started off west-facing West Seattle – as they staged between Beach Drive and Bainbridge Island before turning to head toward Elliott Bay. The ship that looks like an aircraft carrier is the amphibious-assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard. It led the way, and along with the other parading ships is now headed toward the downtown waterfront. (added) Here’s video featuring a stand-up paddleboarder watching seemingly close-up while it headed that way:
Hope you caught the early alerts via Facebook or Twitter if you weren’t already out on the shore – as LOTS of people were, and still are; we’re by Duwamish Head but have been tracking the ships since Emma Schmitz Viewpoint on Beach Drive. (photo added) Madge Bloom caught this view of the BR’s stern, and the U.S. Coast Guard alongside:
ADDED 2:15 PM: One of the flybys – so far they’ve all been along the downtown waterfront, but visible from here (particularly with zoom):
Not sure yet which aircraft that was. More video to be added. The biggest ship in the parade, meantime, the Bonhomme Richard, is headed west out of the bay right now but will have to come back this way since it’s moored at Terminal 25 by the bridge for Seafair – so you have another chance to see it if you haven’t yet.
3:11 PM UPDATE: Now the show – from West Seattle shores, anyway – is just about over. We’ll be adding even more video and photos – starting with another one of the flybys, ahead (NOTE: also adding yet more this evening – thanks to everyone who’s shared pix – and thanks also to Seafair for sharing photos taken on board the Bonhomme Richard as it sailed by!):
Today we welcome a new sponsor, The Kenney, West Seattle’s original senior-living community. If you or a loved one is looking for a place where you can get a little help with such things as managing your medications, bathing and dressing, meal or activity reminders, The Kenney would like you to know that they have been providing that kind of care for a little over a century.
Here’s what else they would like you to know: At The Kenney, we provide life how it’s supposed to be lived. Here, we’re all about community – staying active, making new friends, loving life – while also serving each resident’s unique and individual needs. You’ll live each day to the fullest at The Kenney, secure in the knowledge that you’ll be cared for, in good health or poor health, for the rest of your life. Whether you join our community in independent living, assisted living, or our nursing and rehab center, you’ll be able to access all lifestyles at The Kenney if and when you need them. As a not-for-profit community, our only priorities are our residents’ comfort, security and care. Our revenue is used to enrich the lives of the people who live here, not to pay investors. And, we have a better staff-to-resident ratio than most for-profit retirement communities. That’s the not-for-profit difference. As resident Gisela Schultz says, “The Kenney feels like a tight-knit family, and best of all, I don’t have to worry about home repairs and yard work. I wish I had moved here ten years ago!”
(“Sparkling Seattle” Hi-Yu float parked alongside Admiral Safeway before West Seattle Grand Parade 7/23/2011)
One of the many unique attributes about our wonderful part of the city is the fact it’s the LAST neighborhood in Seattle with its own traveling parade float. West Seattle Hi-Yu keeps afloat, so to speak, thanks to the hard work of a relatively small group of volunteers, and community support. Today, Hi-Yu has an urgent request for help with something that volunteers can’t just pull out of thin air – someplace to put the float:
West Seattle Hi-Yu has been having an amazing award-winning parade season with our “Sparkling Seattle” parade float and we are very proud that we have been able to represent West Seattle as the last community parade float in Seattle again this year.
All this year, the Bills Family has kindly been parking and storing the float in their yard, Hi-Yu thanks them for graciously providing us with this space. As the parade season draws to a close, it is necessary for us to vacate, and we are again faced with the dilemma of finding a storage location for our float and trailer. To store the float we would require space in the dimensions of 25′ x 10′ and it could be indoor or outdoor. We are pretty desperate, so if you have space, own or work for a company that has a secure parking lot, or know of anyone who may be able to help us, please contact Tim Winston 206-938-2088 as soon as possible.
Thank you for your support and for helping to keep this community tradition going strong!!
Not that long ago, each Seattle Police precinct had an assigned full-time liaison from the City Attorney’s Office. Many of the cases on which they worked went beyond the standard crime-and-punishment – they included nuisance properties, for example. Then came the cuts, and now, for example, West Seattle’s Southwest Precinct, like its counterparts, has just a share of a city lawyer’s time. City Attorney Pete Holmes is proposing that the next city budget fully restore the program, one liaison per precinct – read on for the news release just in from his office:Read More
U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler, U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler, U.S. Navy P-3 Orion, U.S. Navy E6B Mercury, U.S. Coast Guard HH60 Helicopter, U.S. Coast Guard HH65 Dolphin Helicopter, and the T-34 Mentor.
Again, the Parade of Ships in Elliott Bay is scheduled to start around 1:45 – but that information is mostly geared for those who will watch from the downtown waterfront, so be looking out at the bay from West Seattle sooner if you’re interested, and keep an eye out here (as well as on our Facebook and Twitter channels) for updates.
If you haven’t seen the announcement in the WSB Forums – the Zippy’s Giant Burgers crew are giving advance warning that they’re going on vacation starting August 13th, reopening August 22nd. And they’ll be back to opening on Sundays too as of August 28th. (Got another favorite local burger to suggest people try while they’re gone? Add a comment!)
Been meaning to go look at the Denny school demolition? Time’s running out – as of yesterday afternoon, nothing’s left but part of the main building fronting on 30th SW south of SW Thistle. That work continues today, and here are other highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar;
SEAFAIR FLEET PARADE OF SHIPS TODAY: Around 1:45 pm, you should see the Seafair Parade of Ships in Elliott Bay, from north- and northeast-facing West Seattle shores, as they head to the downtown waterfront. Flyovers are planned too, in honor of the centennial of U.S. Navy aviation. Here’s our original preview listing the participating vessels – note that you may see some of them sooner; the USS Chafee, for example, is coming in this morning. Ship tours are tomorrow-Sunday. More here.
SEE THE DUWAMISH, CLOSE UP: Tonight is the next date in the 2011 Summer Community Kayak Tour series by Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. New start time: 6 pm, running till 8:30 pm. RSVP to Alki Kayak Tours (206) 953-0237. Tours cost $45 per person, we also ask for a $5 donation per person to DRCC/TAG to support our educational programs. All equipment, instructions, and guiding are provided. Tonight, meet at Duwamish Waterway Park (7900 10th Avenue South) in South Park.
BUY FRESH PRODUCE, RIGHT WHERE IT’S GROWN – IN WEST SEATTLE: 3rd week of the High Point Market Garden Farm Stand, 4-7 pm, 32nd Ave SW and SW Juneau. This is a weekly Farm Stand selling seasonal fresh organically grown produce right in the garden where the produce is grown. Accepts Basic Food EBT cards.
NICK DEL CALZO AT THE KENNEY: Meet award-winning photographer Nick Del Calzo, creator and photographer of “Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty” at The Kenney (WSB sponsor; 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW), Community Room 2, 7 – 9 pm. Free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and personalized autographs. RSVP: Reception@TheKenney.org or 206.937.2800.
We’ve been hearing some very persistent howls of what I believe are coyotes. We’re at 46th Ave SW and Erskine, and it’s quite loud. Just might be a good time to remind pet owners to keep animals indoors and just keep an eye out.
And from Dave:
Another reminder to be careful about your outdoor pets.
I live on the 3700 block of SW Webster Street, and sometime (Sunday) night a raccoon or coyote killed our next-door neighbor’s cat and left the remains in our backyard. It was a horrifying way to find out that your pet had been killed.
I’m sure our proximity to the Orchard Ravine green belt makes us more likely to see this sort of activity, and raccoons are always around. We haven’t seen a coyote around here, but it was something of size, because the scene was macabre.
(no relation to the restaurant), once slated to be developed by BlueStar, the original developer of what is now “The Hole.” The broker announced the new owners wanted to break ground ASAP on the mixed-use project site at 5020 California SW, currently holding three vacant, rundown buildings. Tonight, it looks like that plan is moving forward – 
Here’s what else they would like you to know: At The Kenney, we provide life how it’s supposed to be lived. Here, we’re all about community – staying active, making new friends, loving life – while also serving each resident’s unique and individual needs. You’ll live each day to the fullest at The Kenney, secure in the knowledge that you’ll be cared for, in good health or poor health, for the rest of your life. Whether you join our community in independent living, assisted living, or our nursing and rehab center, you’ll be able to access all lifestyles at The Kenney if and when you need them. As a not-for-profit community, our only priorities are our residents’ comfort, security and care. Our revenue is used to enrich the lives of the people who live here, not to pay investors. And, we have a better staff-to-resident ratio than most for-profit retirement communities. That’s the not-for-profit difference. As resident Gisela Schultz says, “The Kenney feels like a tight-knit family, and best of all, I don’t have to worry about home repairs and yard work. I wish I had moved here ten years ago!”
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