West Seattle, Washington
29 Friday
SPRING HILL ANNOUNCES ‘BRUNCH BAR’: As brunch season – Easter and all that – swings into high gear, West Seattle’s Spring Hill Restaurant and Bar in The Junction just announced a new twist – call it “small plates” for brunch, maybe; Spring Hill calls it the “Brunch Bar.” No, it’s NOT a buffet – rather, a menu full of casual dishes, served at the bar. You can see the menu and the prices in this Spring Hill update; they’re offering the “Brunch Bar” Saturdays and Sundays starting this weekend.
SPEAKING OF BRUNCH: We’re compiling a roundup of Easter brunch highlights to be part of the Easter page we’re launching this week – if you’re offering Easter brunch and haven’t heard already from someone on the WSB editorial team, please e-mail us the what/where/when/how much, editor@westseattleblog.com.
WEST SEATTLE SHARED KITCHEN ON TV: Our friends at KING 5 featured a story tonight about one of the shared commercial kitchen spaces in The Triangle – featuring Janeil’s Alki Pie Company and “healthy chef” Patrick Fagan – watch it here:
DINE OUT FOR JAPAN RELIEF: Tomorrow night (Wednesday), dozens of metro-area restaurants are joining for Red White Unite, donating 10 percent of the night’s sales to Peace Winds America (one of the two beneficiaries of the recent West Seattle for Japan). The list of participants shows two West Seattle participants – Spring Hill and Pagliacci Pizza.
(WSB photo of ‘The Hole,’ taken in February)
How much time, how much money, and how much work do you put into court fights over a complicated (as most parties describe it) case, before just saying, “Can we sit down and talk this out?” This afternoon — after the end of yet another court hearing in the ongoing legal fight over issues related to the stalled project that has left The Hole in the heart of West Seattle instead of the once-envisioned apartments/Whole Foods/Hancock Fabrics project — King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead asked the question: “Have you (lawyers) started talking about mediation yet?” Not really, they said, but it might not be a bad idea, several of them allowed – unofficially, of course, since they have to consult their clients. (And the parties who were not represented in court today, since the afternoon’s proceedings didn’t involve everyone in the case.)
Two notes in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon. First, from Jeff:
For the 2nd time in the past 3 months we have had packages stolen off our front door that were delivered by UPS (w/online confirmation of delivery). We live (in the 900 block of) SW Austin Street [map] and the our front door can only be seen if someone is coming from the East of SW Austin (i.e. someone coming from the apartments on the corner of Holden & Highland Park). I spoke to a UPS driver the other day and mentioned that there have been reports of packages stolen from previous posting on the blog but, he wasn’t aware of any recent incidents.
Meantime, a followup on Wednesday’s SWAT standoff at the Seattle West Inn (which will temporarily close as of Monday, as reported here yesterday) on Wednesday.
Police responded to our request for more information with the narrative from their report. It includes new information, including a mention of something we had heard on the scanner but not had confirmed till now – that the man has a record. Read on:Read More
The doors are open, the kitchen is in action, and the display case is stocked at Chaco Canyon Organic Café, which opened at 7 am this morning on the south side of the brand-new Link (WSB sponsor) building at 38th/Alaska. Here’s another view:
The wall in that photo is where the future retail items will be set up; as owner Chris Maykut had noted recently, that would follow Opening Day by a few weeks; the Kid Zone also has some elements yet to be added, and the beer/wine license is still in the works. But they’re open and serving vegetarian/vegan food, till 9 tonight; hours, menu, and other info can be found on the Chaco Canyon website.
(Wednesday morning photo by Patrick Sand for WSB)
When yesterday’s SWAT-involved situation at West Seattle’s only motel – the Seattle West Inn and Suites – happened, we already had been working on an update about the renovation plans the motel’s new owners have been working on (here are our previous stories – last December 15th and December 21st). The motel owners’ spokesperson, Lynn Sweeney, tells WSB they have changed their plan (which originally was to stay open during renovations):
Effective Monday, April 4, 2011 the Seattle West Inn and Suites will temporarily close all motel operations.
When we purchased the motel in October, the intent was – and has been – to renovate the space to offer West Seattle a clean, safe and family-friendly place to stay in our community. My family has lived in West Seattle for many, many years, so it’s easy to attest to the fact that the existing site has had a negative aura for quite some time.
Our hope was to be able to keep operations going as the renewal took place, but given unfortunate events such as the S.W.A.T incident from this past Wednesday, we’ve decided to close the doors and reopen once the transformation is in full swing.
When reopened, the site will offer our community a clean, friendly, safe, welcoming and convenient lodging option, somewhat similar (although not exact) to what was done with the former Travel Lodge in Boise, which is now a well-regarded and popular destination, The Modern Hotel (themodernhotel.com). …
We aim to have model guest rooms complete in the next three to four weeks and exterior paint with some landscaping in the same general time frame, weather permitting. In addition to a new guest room product (which includes soundproofing, carpet, paint, tile, counters, window treatments, bed, and fixtures and furniture) a few of the enhancements include a new central security and door lock system, a credit-card-only policy, a non-smoking environment, and complimentary breakfast and WiFi in the lobby.
While we don’t have a soft opening date set as of yet, we anticipate it will be prior to the first of June and in time for the summer season.
A separate followup is in the works regarding the aftermath of yesterday’s incident.
(Photo by Katie Meyer for WSB, swapped at 6:46 pm for previous camphone photo by Celeste)
4:05 PM: We’re on our way to 35th and Avalon, where a heavy-rescue response – many fire and police units – is reportedly answering a call about a car hitting a building. More in a moment.
4:15 PM: WSB contributor Katie Meyer arrived on scene first and says it’s The Bridge, the new bar/restaurant, which has some damage to repair but this has been downgraded from a major response.
4:20 PM: Just talked with The Bridge’s co-owner Trevor Garand, who says nobody inside was hurt and they ARE open. “Karaoke night is ON!” he told WSB’s Patrick Sand. They’re already making plans for repairs. I
Chaco Canyon Café opens in Link (38th/Alaska) next Friday – but tonight, you can get a sneak preview by coming to the open house that’s under way right now. Some of Chaco Canyon’s food and beverage vendors – this is their second location, after #1 in the University District – are on hand, like Jay from Tiny’s Organic:
Chaco Canyon owner Chris Maykut says this will be a CSA pickup spot for Tiny’s produce – as they do with their U-District location. It’s also a family-friendly place, with a play area that’s already in action tonight:
You have till 11 pm to come down, have food and beverage samples (wine, beer, coffee), take a look around the restaurant space – there are still finishing touches to be put in before the grand-opening day on Friday. And say hi to Chris, whose proud parents are here – we managed to get him to pause for a second to pose with mom Naydene (photo right). You can also sneak a peek outside the rest of Link, which is now officially open, with its first tenants having moved in just in the past day or so (as we reported here last night).
If you were moving into an apartment building with a rooftop view deck – what a perfect day to do it. We went over to Link (WSB sponsor) at 38th/Alaska in The Triangle to doublecheck on reports that the first tenants would be moving in right about now – and manager Rose confirmed they’re in, while allowing us up on the rooftop deck for a look at the beautiful afternoon (plus the furnishings and garden containers that have gone in since our last visit).
Back inside Link, the lobby’s water feature is in action, too:
And on Link’s south side, along SW Alaska, you will get your first chance tomorrow night to visit Chaco Canyon Organic Café, the vegetarian/vegan restaurant that’s expanding here to add to its University District location, partly at the encouragement of hundreds of WSB’ers (remember the comments?) Their open house is 7-11 pm tomorrow night, everyone welcome, as owner Chris Maykut told us last week (here’s our sneak peek inside, before it was all finished).
(One of the “massing” graphics from the meeting presentation)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Harbor Properties‘ next West Seattle development Nova (36th/Snoqualmie) stirred little controversy as it sailed through “early design guidance” last night, at the Southwest Design Review Board‘s first meeting in seven months (if there’s no project to review, they don’t meet).
However, a revelation about recent city code changes loomed large: The fact that Nova and other developments in certain areas of the city could be built with no on-site parking at all (though Harbor is currently looking at providing .6 of a space per unit, about the same as its nearby Link and Mural [WSB sponsors] developments).
“When did (the rule) change?” asked Triangle property owner Jim Sweeney, saying that he believes few are aware of the changes.
Here’s the answer we found afterward:Read More
(The west side of the “massing” for the “preferred scheme” for the new development, from the packet)
We’ve been reporting on Harbor Properties‘ proposal for another development in The Triangle, just as they get ready to open Link. Here’s our latest report on the project, named Nova, proposed for what’s currently a parking lot immediately north of the Seattle West Suites motel. Nova’s “early design guidance” meeting – first meeting in many months for the Southwest Design Review Board – is tomorrow; the “packet” for the meeting is online today, with copious quantities of information about the proposal and the surrounding area. You can review it here. Caveat that this is NOT a plan for what the building would eventually look like; “early design guidance” is meant to bring forward at least three options for how a development might be “massed” and arranged on its site, dealing with its size and shape. The three options in the packet for tomorrow’s meeting include “Option A” with 63 units and one live-work unit, “Option B” with 65 units and four live-work units, and “Option C,” which is identified as the developer’s “preferred scheme,” with 62 units and one “community space.” Public comment is welcome at tomorrow night’s hearing, which is set for 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon). This is the first of what would be at least two Design Review meetings on the project – once it passes “early design guidance,” there would be at least one meeting to review a more fully fleshed-out plan for how it would look and what it would include.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
One week from tonight, the Southwest Design Review Board convenes for the first time in many months, to offer “early design guidance” on a new West Seattle project. As reported here previously, that project is by Harbor Properties, which is about to open Link in The Triangle, a followup to its mixed-use sibling in The Junction, Mural. (Both are WSB sponsors.)
The new project is in The Triangle, two blocks east of Link, on a relatively small parcel (4600 36th SW) that Harbor bought while also at one time holding an option on the adjacent motel, an option it didn’t convert (as reported here last year, the motel has new owners and a new plan). We just spoke with Emi McKittrick and Denny Onslow of Harbor, who say the new project has a name: Nova. They’re looking at around 60 apartments, mostly one- and two-bedroom, and no retail – “because of where it’s located on 36th, we don’t think retail can thrive there; the site is kind of ‘tucked in’,” McKittrick explained. They’re aiming for six stories, and an as-yet-undetermined amount of parking – most likely similar to Link, with about two-thirds as many spaces as units.
With Link already having secured tenants for more than a quarter of its 195 units, before the first move-in (which is about a week away), Harbor is still banking on strong apartment demand in West Seattle: “It went undiscovered for so long as a delightful place to be,” Onslow observed. They don’t have sketches for Nova just yet, but we’ll see them in pre-meeting material sometime before next week’s Design Review Board meeting, 6:30 pm Thursday 3/24 at the Senior Center of West Seattle (SE corner of California/Oregon).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Eleven months ago, we published Chaco Canyon Organic Café‘s request for your opinion: Would their vegetarian/vegan cuisine be welcomed in West Seattle? The response was an overwhelming “yes” – and today, they are two weeks away from their April 1st opening in The Triangle’s new development Link (WSB sponsor).
Though finishing touches remain, we stopped in on Tuesday for the first sneak peek inside, courtesy of the same team we had interviewed at Chaco Canyon’s U-District location 4 months ago – owner Chris Maykut and West Seattle general manager Sarah Coyle.
They are excited and ebullient about West Seattle-homegrown components to the new café – from the soon-to-be-hung light fixtures (above) created “in a studio under the West Seattle Bridge,” to a staff with a significant number of West Seattleites, including two who also plan to live upstairs at Link (whose first tenants move in on March 25th).
This week, there were still decisions to be made – like, how many tables? The tables and wood trim (above) around the new restaurant are made with recycled materials, which thrills Chris to no end – recycled palettes, to be specific, “glue-laminated.”
They are also excited about the community room on the north side of the 2,800-square-foot space. It’ll hold between 30 and 40 people, and will be rentable for meetings and classes, Chris explains – when it’s not in use, it’ll be more space for people to sit down and enjoy Chaco Canyon food and drink.
Any changes since last time we spoke? They’ve decided not to be open Sunday nights, for now – Sarah added, “We want to grow into it.” On Sundays, they will be open for brunch, 9 am-3 pm. Mondays-Fridays, Chaco Canyon will be open 7 am-9 pm, and on Saturdays, it’ll be 9 am-9 pm.
Their staff already is in training, having done an orientation at the original Chaco Canyon and then a followup last Friday at the new location. Before they get into “friends and family” shakedown cruises the last few days before the scheduled April 1st opening, they are inviting you to a March 26th open house.
Even on official opening day, some parts of the new café – which you’ll enter from the southwestern corner of Link (38th/Alaska, above) – will be a work in progress. The retail space along the eastern wall – where you will eventually find cookbooks, among other things – will not be fully fleshed out. Chris says they need to “nose around West Seattle” to see what there’s a need for, particularly relating to vegan, organic, raw, gluten-free nutrition. They might sell art, as well – art will have a prominent place inside Chaco Canyon, as it does throughout the rest of Link (the Twilight Artist Collective curation for the main part of the building doesn’t extend into its businesses, but Chris notes he is a longtime friend of one of Twilight’s trio of founders).
They’re also reaching out to other Triangle businesses; Sarah says she’s been talking with the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) and is “really inspired” by what they are doing and offering.
But back to details. As we wrap up our chat, Chris is wondering about the light bulbs for the new glass fixtures (he pointed out to us earlier that many of the lights in the restaurant will be LEDs, with a major energy savings).
And as we all look out the window at what was at the time a rainy morning, he and Sarah mention there will be outdoor seating when the weather gets nicer, along the west-facing facade, 16 to 20 people.
That’s still a few months away. In the meantime, the doors will officially swing open at 7 am Friday, April 1st, after that March 26th sneak peek, which will be 7-11 pm, with appetizers, beer, and wine – no RSVP needed, “if 500 people show up, we’ll feed 500 people,” Chris promises.
One day before the first tenants are expected to move into Harbor Properties‘ new Link (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle on March 25th, its plan for another Triangle site will be shown to the Southwest Design Review Board. The SWDRB meeting for Harbor’s proposal at 4600 36th SW (just north of the motel) is set for 6:30 pm March 24th at the Senior Center of West Seattle. We first reported two months ago that Harbor was planning to develop the site, currently used for parking. They’re promising more details later this week, but in the meantime, the city webpage for the proposal describes it as “a 5-story, multifamily residential structure containing 63 units of housing.” That’s about a third of the number of units in Link, two blocks west. Side note – since few major developments have been under consideration around here lately, this will be the SWDRB’s first meeting since its “early design guidance” session seven months ago for the 7100 Delridge proposal (which has yet to go to a second SWDRB meeting).
(Erin, Cheryl, and Mary from Twilight Artist Collective, powering along at Link)
So you’ve spent months working on curating, installing, and in some cases creating, ALL the art for an entire new block-long mixed-use development. Could be grounds for fatigue. Do the proprietors of Twilight Artist Collective look tired? On the contrary, they were positively perky when we revisited them the other day, checking on the progress of their work at Link (now about a month away from opening) in The Triangle. The Junction photo mural is one of the newest pieces; the stairwell mural is also finished (here are our previous photos while it was still a work-in-progress), featuring birds and bees, among other touches:
Other birds you’ll see in Link include seagulls on the 4th floor, courtesy of Mary:
Link’s lobby is showcasing art too, including this “bridge to nowhere”:
The Twilight team tells us their installation work should be done this week. Link continues pre-leasing, with move-ins to start next month; its three retail tenants are also preparing to open – Chaco Canyon Organic Café and Breathe Hot Yoga in April, Bright Horizons in May (we’re taking a closer look at them later this weekend, in advance of their next “parent information night” coming up this Thursday).
Seldom have we seen a West Seattle story in citywide/regional media generate this many notes suggesting we recommend it to everyone! But our mailbox has overflowed this afternoon/evening with notes about KUOW Radio‘s story on the Beloved Mexico food truck that has taken up residence on the West Seattle Produce lot along Fauntleroy Way south of SW Alaska. Listen for yourself here.
(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
You still have a few hours to be part of opening night at The Bridge, the new hangout/bar/eatery at 4439 35th SW (map), not far from the Fauntleroy entrance to its namesake. WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen visited shortly after The Bridge officially opened its doors and started to pour – 4 pm today. Of course proprietors Rita Dixson and Trevor Garand were greeting their first customers:
This day/night will be memorable for them for more than the obvious reason – for one, as mentioned in our preview last week, today is also Rita’s birthday. And then – there was the snow shower that moved through the area right around opening time – Trevor was a good sport about posing on The Bridge’s 1,800-square-foot patio:
Inside, the big brick fireplace was waiting to warm everyone up:
The Bridge is online here, and on Facebook here. P.S. They tell us they’re planning on Wednesday karaoke. Per their FB page, they’re opening at 4 pm weekdays, 1 pm weekends.
(WSB photo of “The Hole,” taken last month)
We’re back at the King County Courthouse, where the foreclosure sale originally planned tomorrow for “The Hole” – the long-stalled West Seattle development site at 39th/Alaska (map) – is now off, or “stayed” in legal terms. That’s the result of multiple hearings over the past week, concluding with the decision this morning.
But the party that sought the stay, the site’s current note-holder 3922 SW Alaska, did not get the other big thing they wanted in seeking the stay. They were denied their request to be allowed to proceed with their own foreclosure sale so they could take possession and, they said, start working on the site, even while their appeal of Judge Susan Craighead‘s original ruling proceeded through the Court of Appeals. (Her original ruling, last November, was simply to determine whose lien against the stalled project came before whose – she ruled that the two construction companies and another contractor had precedence before 3922 SW Alaska.)
Today, Judge Craighead said no to the proposal for 3922 SW Alaska’s own foreclosure sale, even while making it clear she doesn’t want to keep the site idle. In fact, during this morning’s hearing, as she has done before, the judge repeatedly voiced concern about the West Seattle community’s desire to see something done with the property, which that was going to be a Whole Foods store, a Hancock Fabrics store, and apartments, over a big parking garage, till the project fell apart two and a half years ago and turned into a multi-party legal fight.
The judge instead declared that the way to bring about a resolution sooner was to push the Court of Appeals to speed up its consideration of the appeal (even as the fight over the collapsed project moves toward another trial this summer). In the meantime, 3922 SW Alaska – which is associated with Madison Development‘s owner – has put up $7,714,799, to protect the interests of the three lienholders in line ahead of it. (The money was in the form of a cashier’s check brought to court this morning.)
Bottom line: The Hole remains The Hole at least until the Court of Appeals decides on the challenge filed by 3922 SW Alaska LLC. We’ll be watching to see if it does indeed get sped up (the judge noted one case of hers once made it through the appeals court in a month).
It can get a little confusing if you start talking about “the mural at Link,” since the new Triangle building in the Harbor Properties family is sibling to Mural in The Junction (both are WSB sponsors) … but here, the pictures tell the story.
Work has begun on the mural decorating the stairwell at Link, part of the 40-plus-work buildingwide art collection being curated by Twilight Artist Collective in The Junction. They’re putting up the other work too. And one of Twilight’s trio of proprietors is among the mural’s artists:
Twilight’s Erin Staffeld is working on the mural with Curtis Ashby and John Osgood (more of his work can be seen here).
According to Harbor’s Emi McKittrick, the first move-ins at Link are still expected to happen sometime next month.
They’re celebrating a big anniversary at Tom’s Automotive Service (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle today – 40 years in business! Though the office is decked with balloons and streamers, and trays of cupcakes are on the counter and in the waiting room – all in the red/white/blue theme that are also their company colors – they’re not stopping down for a party; we could barely get everyone together for our photo; the phone just kept ringing. Tom’s was founded at 6047 1/2 California SW on this date in 1971 (that’s namesake Tom Smith in our photo, fourth from the right). The business moved to The Triangle in 1973. There’s a bit more about Tom’s Automotive in our official WSB welcome from last year, including their community involvement (signs of which are all over the office – with certificates, photos, and the basket for food-bank donations you’re invited to bring in for a discount on your bill).
With six weeks having gone by since our last progress report on the West Seattle Trader Joe’s, we weren’t surprised to see questions come up in the comment thread on this past Monday’s Triangle open house. Then, just as we got ready to start on an update, two people e-mailed to say the Burien Trader Joe’s staff — long a source of West Seattle rumors, it seems – had told West Seattle shoppers that the project was allegedly having permit problems. Keep in mind, the formal permit application was made just two months ago, and these things seldom move swiftly through the city pipeline. But to get a better idea of where it’s at, we did two things: 1. Went downtown to the Department of Planning and Development to look into the application file. 2. Talked to John Wunder, who represents properties (including this one at 4545 Fauntleroy Way) owned by Steve Huling and family (the site was the longtime Huling Brothers Buick showroom). Here’s what we found out:
THE FILE: The documents we reviewed at DPD HQ at noontime yesterday appear relatively routine. The newest one-sheet, from the land-use review, was dated February 1st. Most of the back-and-forth has to do with parking for the store, some of which will be on the building’s rooftop parking area, some of which will be on the ground-level lot. According to the documents, some of the parking was in conflict with a strip that’s on the record as an alley, so the city asked that parking proposed for that “alley” area be removed. The city asked for a traffic study and more information on where the “loading berth” will be. A few data points of interest are also in the application – it’s expected the project will generate 1,365 daily vehicle trips. The exterior modifications (architect rendering at right) will bring the height to 39’9″ in at least one spot, a few feet higher than it is now. It appears that only one comment was received during the recent open-comment period for the project’s environmental review; a North Seattle woman wrote that she felt the project would have an environmental impact, and hoped that trees would be included. (The proposal does call for adding “landscaping islands” that are projected to reduce the amount of “impervious” surface on the site.)
THE PROPERTY REP: John Wunder says he’s checked with key players on the project, and there’s really nothing to say other than, it’s proceeding. They hope to finish the permit process this spring.
The documents on file with the city project a 175-day construction schedule – that’s just under six months – so you could certainly conclude the store is not likely to be open before late summer/early fall. (The original TJ’s announcement last June promised only “2011.”) According to the documents, Trader Joe’s would seek to “commence construction immediately” once the permits are granted. The file also notes that “50 to 75 employees” are expected to work at the store.
We reported “live” last night from the West Seattle Triangle open house, which drew more than 60 people, including local neighborhood and business leaders as well as city planners. (Here’s our story, including video of what City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen had to say.) If you couldn’t be there – you can still take a look at what was presented, now that it’s all published to the city’s website. The introductory overview is here; the “boards” are here, including the final few pages focusing on the potential of 85-foot-high buildings in part of The Triangle, 20 feet above current zoning; and a closer look at the “street-use concept” proposal is here. Next steps: These concepts get official city reviews, with more opportunities for you to officially comment.
(The city’s “Triangle Study Area,” which stretches a little beyond the boundaries of the 35th/Fauntleroy/Alaska Triangle itself)
6:12 PM: It’s already home to businesses and residential complexes like the West Seattle Family YMCA and Tom’s Automotive (both WSB sponsors), Alki Lumber and Diva Espresso, the VFW and American Legion halls, medical clinics for people and pets, Fire Station 32, the soon-to-be-made-over Seattle West Inn and Suites, the new Link residential/retail building and Merrill Gardens-West Seattle (WSB sponsors), the future lounge/restaurant The Bridge, Mountain to Sound Outfitters, the future Trader Joe’s and future Les Schwab Tire Center, and more … and from the south end of the West Seattle Bridge, it’s a gateway. So how will The Triangle evolve? Right now, it’s your chance for a closer look at proposed street-use and land-use concepts, potentially phased in over the years ahead, following months of work by city planners and a citizens’ advisory group – and your chance to share what you think about the concepts. The West Seattle Triangle Open House is under way till 8 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon in The Junction, enter from Oregon), with what’s promised to be a “short presentation” at 6:30. More to come.
7:05 PM: More than 60 people are here – both familiar faces from the business and neighborhood-association communities, and others who want to know what might be in store for this pivotal neighborhood. As shown in our photo above, Councilmember Tom Rasmussen – who has been involved in Triangle planning and brainstorming for almost three years – is here too. He spoke briefly (video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown):
Also speaking were city planner Susan McLain and architect David Hewitt. (They presented very brief toplines on the ways in which The Triangle could evolve, including pedestrian streetscapes in its interior, and the latest version of the Fauntleroy Way “boulevard” concept from SW Alaska to The Bridge – which could have two travel lanes in each direction plus a landscaped median – that’s not officially written into any city plans or budgets yet, though, according to our most recent checks.)
Also here, if you have questions – Paul Roybal and Christine Alar from the county and city respectively, answering questions about Metro’s coming-next-year RapidRide (see our latest story here). One of the Luna Park business leaders who is concerned about RapidRide-related parking loss, John Bennett, is here and voiced his concerns as the presentation ended. Harbor Properties’ Denny Onslow followed him, talking about Link, the mixed-use apartments/retail building that’s almost complete in The Triangle, which he expects will bring 300 new residents to The Triangle, as well as dozens of jobs in the restaurant, yoga studio, and child-care center that are moving in. The formal presentation just ended – still an hour left for Q/A, with planning reps, architects, and RapidRide, as noted.
7:51 PM: The public’s gone and the official participants have rolled up the renderings and folded up the aisles – it’s over. McLain says the presentation will be on the city website tomorrow (we’ll post a separate update when it turns up). Next steps, as she noted in her remarks – even more public meetings and comment periods, as city departments formally review these concepts for potential inclusion in official city planning records, where they would be consulted as redevelopment happens in the area in the years and decades ahead.
From tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting – the monthly gathering (usually at South Seattle Community College) of reps from major community groups and organizations around what the city calls the Southwest District (basically western West Seattle) – first three presentations summarized at 8:23 pm, the rest added at 9:13 pm:Read More
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