You can help! Build West Seattle’s next playground on Saturday
(WSB photo, June 2017)
Though EC Hughes Elementary is getting some work done before Roxhill Elementary moves there in September, it doesn’t include the playground – so community volunteers are making that happen. This Saturday, you can help. From Friends of Roxhill:
Friends of Roxhill Elementary invites the greater West Seattle community to help build our new playground at E.C. Hughes, located at 7700 34th Avenue SW [map], this Saturday, June 2, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
We have two slots available: 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Snacks, water, coffee and lunch provided!
We’ll be led by PlayCreation representatives to assemble and build our selected Landscape Structures playground.
Please note that no children under age 14 may be within the build site. If you are a student in need of service hours, you may help put together components under adult supervision outside the build area, but all installation must be completed by those 17 and up.
We’re so excited to make this happen together. Together, our community can do anything. Also, there will be food. Did we mention that?
Can’t make it? Let us know and we’ll add you to the list for the next day of work: laying down all the engineered wood fiber so our playground has a safe surface for kids to land on. That date is still TBD. Email us at friendsofroxhill@gmail.com to be notified.
While we’re talking about murals … what do you want to see at Roxhill/EC Hughes?
(WSB photo)
Tonight we seem to have an art theme going. Above is artist Henry Luke, who is leading the community mural project for the future home of Roxhill Elementary at renovated EC Hughes Elementary in Sunrise Heighs. He’s been offering workshops for youth interested in getting involved – and now there are two chances for everyone, all ages, to get involved, at two design meetings:
These will be a chance to discuss our ideas for the mural design which will be painted 8′ x 40′ at the new EC Hughes playground this summer. What is important to illustrate about the cultures and communities of Roxhill? How do you want to be represented in this mural? What is your vision for a bright future for the neighborhood?
Sunday, May 27, 11 am
DubSea Coffee: 9910 8th Ave SW
Tuesday, May 29, 6:30 pm
Southwest Branch Library: 9010 35th Ave SW
The mural will be painted this summer after the new playground is installed.
BIZNOTE: Don’t panic if you see the cow come down during Best of Hands Barrelhouse work
(WSB photo)
It’s been somewhat slow going for the Best of Hands Barrelhouse crew as they continue remodeling the former deli space at 35th and Webster. After a few recent reader questions, we checked back in with Nick Marianetti, who replied with this update:
Things are moving along quickly now that SCL and PSE have us on their schedules and are installing the power upgrades we require to operate a brewing facility and taproom. Build out on the inside has been moving along steadily, and our neighbors will begin to see changes to the outside of the building as well. … We’ll be pulling off old siding and replacing it; re-roofing the taproom side (old market side); installing new HVAC systems; painting the whole building, and adding a patio on the south wall of the taproom! We will also be giving the iconic cow a new paint job, so if we’re required to take her off the roof to do so, fear not, she will return to her perch atop the building!
Opening dates are still a moving target at this time. Once the power installs are completed we can install our brewing system, and then we will have a better idea of how quickly we can be up and brewing.
For more backstory, check out our first report on the Best of Hands plan in February 2017.
35th/Holden crash, after police pullover attempt
Thanks to Bruce for the tip about that crash at 35th SW/SW Holden. Police tell us they were trying to pull over the driver of the white car, but the driver wouldn’t stop – until hitting the parked car. No injuries, according to police; they told us the pullover attempt was related to an investigation of someone reported to have shoplifted at Home Depot. They were still questioning a possible suspect at last report.
UPDATE: Police investigation blocking southbound 35th SW at Webster
5:15 PM: Police at the scene aren’t saying much but the black car in the southbound lane of 35th SW just north of SW Webster is stolen, according to scanner traffic, and officers are searching for two men last seen running west from there. A K-9 team is now joining the search.
6:06 PM: No luck so far in finding the suspects. The car is no longer in the travel lane.
FOLLOWUP: Dates set for EC Hughes Playground overhaul meetings – and a survey’s online now
(WSB photo, taken this morning)(WSB photo from last week)
As noted here last week, the EC Hughes Playground overhaul project is gearing up (along with others in West Seattle). This is the playground at 2805 SW Holden, same park as the wading pool, although that’s not part of the project. Two ways to let Parks know what you’d like to see in the project:
#1 – Answer this new online survey
#2 – Join Parks staff for two meetings – first, to talk about the new play area’s design, 5-6:30 pm Thursday, April 19th, at Southwest Teen Life Center (2801 SW Thistle); second, to review the “preferred design,” 1-3 pm Wednesday, June 13th, at the park. Kids welcome at both meetings – the playground users have the best input!
The play equipment is being replaced because of damage discovered in an inspection that followed the discovery of wood damage that forced the Lincoln Park South Play Area structure (which is ) to be closed last year.
Use E.C. Hughes Playground? Here’s what you need to know about upcoming renovations
(WSB photo, taken this morning)
Thanks to Kenneth for the tip that the sign’s up at EC Hughes Playground (2805 SW Holden), where play-area renovations are starting soon. We first reported last fall that Seattle Parks decided the play equipment needed to be replaced, after inspections done following the discovery of wood damage in a similar structure at Lincoln Park South Play Area.
The sign does not mean work at EC Hughes is starting soon, though. We checked in with Parks’ project point person Libby Hughes, who tells WSB that two public-outreach meetings are planned, in April and June (dates/times/locations soon), and construction is expected to start this fall, “after school starts.” The goal of the project, she says, is “to renovate the play equipment with structures that meet current safety standards and are accessible to children of all abilities, ages 2-5 and 5-12 years, and to make some ADA improvements for access to the play area.” The EC Hughes wading pool is not involved in the project. Hughes adds that she’s also working on yet another play-area renovation in West Seattle, “similar scope and timeline” – Puget Ridge Playground (6029 21st SW). More details on that one soon.
NEW PLAYGROUND: Invitation and updates from Friends of Roxhill Elementary
(Playground at EC Hughes, June 2017)
Less than half a year until Roxhill Elementary School moves to the EC Hughes Elementary campus in Sunrise Heights. As we’ve been reporting, a playground upgrade is in the works thanks to the community volunteers with Friends of Roxhill – it wasn’t part of the original project. And now FoRE has an invitation and updates for you:
Friends of Roxhill Elementary, a 501c3 serving the Roxhill Elementary community, invites members of the West Seattle community to provide input on its planned playground at the renovated E.C. Hughes Elementary, where Roxhill is moving in fall 2018. On Tuesday, April 3, interested community members can come to the Southwest Library at 6 p.m. to view renderings and vote for a favorite option.
The new playground at E.C. Hughes has been made possible through a $100,000 Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Neighborhood Matching Fund grant. Most of the projects’ required volunteer match is being fulfilled by a pledge of professional services. Last summer, Friends of Roxhill also requested pledges for donations and volunteer hours. With the playground planned to be installed in June, now is the time for these pledges to be collected. If you are still able to help with the volunteer build and other assistance, please reach out to friendsofroxhill@gmail.com. More details will be coming soon about the planned community build.
At the same time, Friends of Roxhill is also working to select an artist to lead a community process for creating a public mural on the northeast corner of the E.C. Hughes site. More information about who has been selected and ways to share community feedback coming soon.
HAPPENING NOW: Visit your local Seattle Fire station for Neighbor Day 2018
Four of the five Seattle Fire Department stations in West Seattle are having open houses right now as part of Neighbor Day, and you are welcome to stop in before 1 pm. Our photo’s from Station 37 at 35th SW and SW Holden [map] in Sunrise Heights, West Seattle’s second-newest station, completed in 2010 – replacing a smaller old city-landmark building a few blocks north – and home to Engine 37.
(added) Also there today – one of SFD’s SUVs, B77:
And SFD Lt. Harold Webb introduced us to his “newest recruit,” firefighter Chris Tarkir:
In the background is an illuminated “37” you might notice if you pass by the station at night – we thought, seeing it from a distance, that it was neon, but found out today that it’s not – it’s a holiday-lighting holdover.
Also open for you to visit before 1 pm:
-Fire Station 11 in Highland Park (16th/Holden)
-Fire Station 29 in North Admiral (2139 Ferry SW)
-Fire Station 32 in The Triangle (38th/Alaska – just completed and opened last year)
READER REPORT: Package opened, dumped in Sunrise Heights
While on her way to work this morning, Krystal spotted and photographed that open-and-dumped package at the corner of 30th and Holden. Whether the contents were originally with that box, impossible to tell, but the box is labeled with the name and address of someone nearby, in the 7700 block of 30th SW.
FOLLOWUP: Friends of Roxhill gets $100,000 grant for EC Hughes playground project
(Playground at EC Hughes, photographed last June)
A big boost for Friends of Roxhill Elementary‘s plan to improve the EC Hughes Elementary playground before Roxhill kids move in next school year, since the playground isn’t part of the school district’s modernization project … the city has awarded Friends oF Roxhill the $100,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund grant they were seeking for the project. That of course doesn’t cover the entire project – Jenny Rose Ryan from Friends of Roxhill tells WSB, “Our community match is almost $60K, and all of that is professional service and other donated time from our leadership team (all members of Friends of Roxhill Elementary). We will accept anything anyone wants to give or pledge in support of the project.” You’ll hear more soon about opportunities for community involvement – for example, she says, “we’re painting a mural as part of the project and would love help from E.C. Hughes neighbors to design and paint it, for example.” We first reported last June about the group’s playground-improvement push.
P.S. Friends of Roxhill does have a fundraiser tomorrow that you can help with – a tasty one, at that – they’ll benefit from a percentage of the proceeds all day at Zippy’s Giant Burgers in White Center (8 am-9 pm Thursday).
BIZNOTE: Best of Hands Brewery and Barrelhouse gets one permit, awaits another
(WSB photo from February)
Our current most-inquired-about-by-readers West Seattle business-in-progress is Best of Hands Brewery and Barrelhouse, the brewery/taproom coming to the cow-topped ex-deli space at 35th and Webster. So we checked in to see where they’re at, and have just heard back from co-proprietor and brewer Nicholas Marianetti:
We just received issuance of our construction permit last Friday, October 20th. We can now begin the buildout process. However, due to new King County regulations, we are awaiting the approval of our plumbing plan — which is needed before we can install all new drainage and venting, and upgrade the water service to the building — we were given a tentative date of November 9th. The bulk of the construction won’t begin until the plumbing is complete, but we will be tackling tasks that we could not complete prior to the construction permit issuance in the meantime. Because the permitting is out of our hands, and we’re not yet running on our contractors’ schedules, we’ll have to get back to ya’ll in regards to an official timeline or opening date.
Marianetti also says they’re working on their “initial branding and logo systems” with design firm Blindtiger. It’s been eight months since we first reported on the Best of Hands plan for the building that had held John’s Corner Deli until last January.
BIZNOTE: Happy 7th anniversary, West Seattle Autoworks!
Congratulations to West Seattle Autoworks (7501 35th SW; WSB sponsor) on seven years in business! We stopped by this morning for a photo – co-proprietor Todd Ainsworth is at center, with Sam Smith and Jesse Coffin. Todd and Chris Christensen opened WS Autoworks in October 2010, and have a gift for customers to celebrate the anniversary:
It’s been a pleasure and an honor to make our homes and our business in West Seattle and we’d like to thank you for your support!
If you make an appointment with us online during the month of October, receive a free travel mug, cup, or T-shirt! It’s just one small thing we can do to say “Thank You”!
With longtime West Seattleites at the helm, WS Autoworks supports the community – among other efforts, they co-present the annual West Seattle Car Show, which is a benefit for the South Seattle College Automotive Technology Program.
Crash takes out hydrant on 35th SW
No injuries or traffic jams around 4:30 this afternoon when a driver went partly onto the sidewalk on southbound 35th SW at Holden – but he damaged another car and took out a hydrant:
That corner happens to be across the street from Fire Station 37.
WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Sunrise Heights package theft
A team of package thieves to watch for, according to this reader:
A package theft on 28th Ave SW near Holden around 2 pm (Tuesday). Amazon box containing a couple clothing items stolen from a front porch. Neighbor witnessed and reported a 1990s teal Subaru with a white female driver and an black male accomplice– white t-shirt & track pants, maybe about 6′ tall, who ran up the driveway, grabbed the package, and both fled in the vehicle.
Gunshots? Police investigating sounds heard in Sunrise Heights, Gatewood
We’ve heard from multiple people about possible gunshots heard around 10 pm – and we heard them ourselves in the distance. People in Sunrise Heights and Gatewood say they called 911 and were told many others had. Monitoring the scanner, we haven’t heard about anything that would confirm gunfire – casings or property damage; please let us know if police are in your neighborhood and seem to be finding something.
Best of Hands Barrelhouse hit by thieves, but moving on toward December opening
(WSB photo from February)
Two and a half months ago, we told you about the Best of Hands Barrelhouse, coming to the southeast corner of 35th/Webster. Last night, we heard from proprietor Nicholas Marianetti, who is asking for neighbors to keep an eye on the site, after metal thieves struck:
We began working at around 2:00 PM (Monday, May 8th) at the former site of John’s Corner Deli (we’ve been demoing there since mid April), and noticed that someone had come by between then and Sunday night when we were there last, and had cut apart and stolen copper piping from the back of the building. It looks like they may have been scared off by something as they left one large piece of piping behind as well as a tool they were using.
Earlier in the day, a reader had in fact asked us how Best of Hands was coming along, so we asked about that – here’s the reply:
So, right now we’re aiming for a December opening. Of course, this will depend on how quickly permitting works its way through the city and the Federal governments. According to our architect, we should expect to see our building permits sometime early-mid June. We plan to demo the rest of the month and perhaps into June, and be ready to build out as soon as the permits arrive. Hopefully build-out will be done by September, and we’ll be able to test-batch while we’re waiting for our federal TTB permits to clear (they were about 6 months out when we applied in April). We’ve already acquired a 7BBL brewhouse, so we’ve got our ducks in a row.
John’s Corner Deli closed in late January.
From the ‘in case you wondered too’ file: Commercial in Sunrise Heights
(WSB photo)
Thanks to Corie for asking about the film/video crew in Sunrise Heights, near 32nd and Webster. Before getting there, we guessed this just might be a beautiful day to shoot a commercial … and turns out that’s indeed what’s going on. For Amazon. Wasn’t easy to find someone to ask; no further details, but we’ll check back later.
WEST SEATTLE BEER: The Best of Hands Barrelhouse’s plan for ex-Corner Deli space
(WSB photo)
One month after John’s Corner Deli closed in Sunrise Heights, we know more about The Best of Hands Barrelhouse, which is taking over the space at 7500 35th Avenue SW. When we first contacted co-proprietor
Nicholas Marianetti last month, after we found an early-stage site plan in city permit files, he said he’d be happy to comment once they finished negotiating a lease. Now, he tells WSB that’s happened, and they’re signing this week, so here’s what’s planned:
The Best of Hands Barrelhouse is a startup specialty brewery with a target launch date of late fall/early winter 2017.
The Barrelhouse will specialize in barrel-aged and barrel-fermented beers as well as wild ales that utilize different souring methods and multiple strains of Brettanomyces. While these sour and/or funky beers will be the brewery’s main focus, we will also produce “clean beers” fermented exclusively by Saccharomyces (brewer’s yeast) that have a proven following here in the Pacific Northwest. We aim to yield styles such as IPAs, barrel-aged stouts, farmhouse ales (such as saisons), and beers crafted in various traditional brewing methods from around the world.
The brewery and taproom will be managed and directed by co-owners Nicholas Marianetti, Gregory Marlor, and Chris Richardson. All three are longtime West Seattleites and veterans of the food and beverage industry. Nicholas and Gregory are Certified Cicerones®, and award winning homebrewers. Chris is a small business owner with 20 years experience in small business operations.
The team is excited to bring their brews and vision to the West Seattle community later this year!
As part of the permit process, the city has to grant a permit for changing the building’s use from retail to “drinking establishment”; Monday’s Land Use Information Bulletin included notice of that application, opening a comment period until March 13th.
‘This is going to be our school’: Roxhill families tour EC Hughes
(EC Hughes entryway, WSB photo from 2016)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
There hasn’t been much of a public process around the plan to move the Roxhill Elementary School program to EC Hughes Elementary, a mile and a half north.
We first reported on what was described as a possible move almost a year and a half ago, after following up on a commenter’s question about why the district was pursuing plans to renovate the school but hadn’t given it distinct attendance boundaries on the longterm maps.
Since then, there’s been no pivotal hearing, no major discussion. An internal School Design Advisory Team, including Roxhill’s former principal, met a few times (four dates in March and April 2016, according to this document we found half a year later). That was a contrast to high-profile discussions about school changes and closures last decade. But the decision to make the move in fall 2018 has been made, and renovation work will start this spring.
And members of the Roxhill community seem ready to make the best of it.
Following up on a briefing last fall, this month’s PTSA meeting was moved to EC Hughes, pre-renovations, one week ago tonight, for a briefing and tour with reps from Seattle Public Schools and architects DLR Group.
“This is going to be our school,” declared PTSA president Amanda Kay Helmick. Read More
NEIGHBOR DAY: Fire-station tours in West Seattle
11:29 AM: Until 1 pm, you’re invited to a centerpiece of Neighbor Day – touring a local fire station. In West Seattle, two stations are open for tours, recently renovated Station 29 in Admiral (2139 Ferry SW) and relatively new Station 37 in Sunrise Heights (35th SW/SW Holden). As our photo (taken a few minutes ago at Station 37) shows, all ages are welcome – it’s your annual chance to meet local firefighters outside times of emergency! (Other Neighbor Day events are in today’s West Seattle Saturday highlights list.)
2:16 PM: Two more photos added – above, neighbors getting a closer look at Engine 37; below, a REALLY close-up look for some:
You might just get another chance for a fire-station tour this year – we’ll be watching for completion of the new Station 32 in The Triangle.
| 6 COMMENTS