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(47 posts)

Whole Foods going to Fred Meyer...

Started 1 year ago by AlkiBeach
Latest reply from jellyfish

AlkiBeach
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If not Whole Foods, why not Fred Meyer or a quaint hotel with perhaps some type of family entertainment amenities "new release" movie theater, hip bowling center, relocation of the current YMCA, skating rink, roller rink/skateboard park, curling, putt-putt... I think we could really open the tired eyes and ears of developers in West Seattle if we actually started thinking outside the box. What if we had had many of these things in the same development along side condos/offices!?! I think it could be the hottest development in Seattle...hell...maybe purchase the other three/four/five corners and connect everything via tunnels or sky bridges to make it a development campus. Come on West Seattle, get off your bum and let’s orchestrate the change of our neighborhood not some developers from who knows where.

Posted 1 year ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
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AB: Right On! Been spending time in Georgetown of late--exploring the restaurants and shops and just love the old buildings and industrial feel of it. Driving back into WS through this area--the canyon of emptiness--is just so dispiriting. I would love to see a public/private partnership dedicated to funding and developing this area into a vibrant and (oh god, dare I say it?) "green" sustainable model for life/work space. We'll run an ad: "Wanted: Developer with class, community spirit, cash, and cohones."

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiBeach
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I agree totally. The developments in West Seattle over the past 5+/- years have the warmth of HUD/Senior housing projects, even the townhouses look the same.
Big Cohones, any further development in West Seattle or Seattle for that matter, should be required to be LEED cetified. Go Green or go away!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
dawsonct
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As long as it doesn't have a gawdamn Trader Joe's.

Posted 1 year ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
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"Go green or go away"--LOL.

We already have the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA) doing really great development for West Seattle (Croft Place Townhomes, Vivian McLean Place, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, West Seattle Food Bank, etc.) We've got the talent and vision, now we need the finance and wherewithal to get it done.

Look at the Thornton Creek restoration and development up near Northgate--they took a parking lot and turned it into a community amenity. Some folks I know were recently wondering whether anyone had done a study on how much or how little the folks who live there drive their cars.

I'd love to see the Canyon of Emptiness lose some parking lots, gain some green space (hooray carbon sequestering!) and become a livable area again. And oooh, how about some wind turbines while we're fantasizing? ;-)

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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I want a "gawdamn Trader Joe's"

but i would rather see it in High Point...

Posted 1 year ago #
dawsonct
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Just a preemptive strike, JoB.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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I'd still love to see Whole Foods there. A mini-movie complex would be nice although that might be a bit too "big city" for us. I wouldn't want to do anything to threaten the Admiral. At one time I was told that Westwood Village would be getting one, but that didn't happen. I think we should be cautious with development as we don't want to ruin the small town flavor that makes WS special. It would be lovely if we could create a district a bit like old Ballard with eclectic shops, restaurants & services. Lots of good ideas above.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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The one thing West Seattle lacks is a good small destination hotel...

Siting it in the junction makes sense since the "free" beach loop has a stop there and it connects with the water taxi.. not to mention the direct bus service from the junction...

i know there are b&bs and short stay rentals in west seattle... but they are more difficult to use on short notice... and i think a small hotel would bring more business to west seattle and create overflow...

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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in the meantime... one of our West Seattle business associations ought to consider a central number referral and/or booking service for all those scattered short term options...

We do want those tourist dollars in our shops and restaurants and bars.. don't we?

Posted 1 year ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
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JoB: Good point about the connection to the Water Taxi Shuttle.

The City of Seattle is proposing to become a "Carbon-Neutral" city. In one of my classes, we recently discussed how this could happen.

Wouldn't it be great if we could create a carbon-neutral urban village in this area? It would have to generate a certain amount of its own energy (solar panels) produce some of its own food (pea patches and rooftop gardens) have low energy demand to begin with (buildings with low heating/cooling demands and natural ventilation) be able to filter toxins associated with runoff (rain gardens and bioswales) and have major access to public transportation.

A smallish eco-friendly hotel as part of the overall development would definitely be a draw.

Ok folks, so how does one small group of dedicated people go about changing the world?

Posted 1 year ago #
flowerpetal
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I'm not sure I am keen on the idea of a destination hotel... or anything in that space. In one breath we are complaining about the amount of traffic on the bridge (which will only get worse for the next few years)and the over-taking of Alki by people not from West Seattle. And then we want to create a hotel for more traffic and guests. I'm with anonyme, I would rather preserve our small town feel. Soon we will be Ballard but only without the lutefisk.

Posted 1 year ago #
flowerpetal
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Oh, so my suggestion is to fill in the durn hole and make a small park for residents in the congested area.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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if we don't become something better..
we will eventually become ballard...

Posted 1 year ago #
flowerpetal
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I guess better is in the eye of the beholder JoB. Today's Sesame Street is brought to you by the letter B. :-)

Posted 1 year ago #
KBear
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Oh, we'll never be as great as Ballard. They have their own Trader Joe's!

Posted 1 year ago #
flowerpetal
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They can keep it too. Not having a TJ's is one of those things that makes WS great. Oh dear, why is it that every post seems to eventually get back to the topic of Trader Joes.

Posted 1 year ago #
pam
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I agree with filling the 'whole hole' with dirt and making it a park - a nice statue park, continuing with the kids on the logs theme.... a couple benches and an occasional hot dog vendor....

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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A park isn't likely to happen for a couple of reasons.. the first being that the land is so valuable commercially.. the second being that it is on a major thoroughfare...

flowerpetal... what i mean by better is that if West Seattle doesn't figure out what it is other than a small town and establish it's identity.. it will soon be over-run with the kind of condo development that has occurred in Ballard.

You might ask yourself whether you would rather have West Seattle become a tourist destination worth preserving or a bedroom community with benefits like Ballard.

something is going to happen here once the money starts flowing again... and whatever happens.. it will have little to do with trader joes.

Posted 1 year ago #
austin
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I have a feeling the whole foods hole is going to be just as useful and important to the community in coming years as the hole they dug on stone way however many years ago.

Posted 1 year ago #
flowerpetal
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Funny you should say so. I was thinking the same thought; I lived in that neighborhood many years ago and used to walk down to that grocery store before it was taken down. Likewise, I shopped at both Hancock and the auto parts store before they were bulldozed only to leave an empty hole.

JoB, I was mostly being light-hearted about TJ's. and Ballard etc. I hope there are more options than a tourist destination and a community like Ballard. I recognize my own shortcoming, I just want West Seattle to stand still and be like it is/was Flowerpetal says grumpily.

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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methinks the city needs to curb develpers...that before they can take a shovel to the ground everything has to be in order...plans, permits, money, i's dotted, t's crossed...everything. And that, if they have some sort of problem like this, there is a plans to at least fill in the hole, put up an attractive fence, plants, something...so we don't have to look at their destruction.

Yeah - fat chance, huh!

Posted 1 year ago #
flowerpetal
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I agree Jan. And I think your idea runs counter to bankruptcy laws which give individuals and corporations an "out" when finances go south for whatever reason. I don't know what the answer is.

I am reminded though that the City ordered a whole filled in when construction was halted downtown and there was a real concern about the instability of the land/streets around the hole. I wonder if that could happen with the whole foods hole

Posted 1 year ago #
celeste17
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And I get the pleasure of looking at the whole in the ground every day, Its just down the street from my house. When ever I need to get out onto Alaska Street I get to see it up close and personal.

Posted 1 year ago #
flowerpetal
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Another good reason to fill in the hole. With all of the good deeds you do Celeste, we don't want the hole to swallow you car and all.

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiBeach
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WOW!!! West Seattle you seemed to have woken-up!!! I had originally posted the idea of us to start thinking outside the box, but you still seem to be holding back with some reservations...the 'old boy school' seems to be most peoples comfort zones. I hear your heart beating with excitement but your fingers are tethered by those same 'old boy school' reservations.
Ok, West Seattle, we "all" love the idea of keeping West Seattle quaint, precious, and small but we are, for all intentional purposes, we live on the 'edge' of downtown - Seattle U.S.A. We are one of the most respected, smartest, richest, hippest, progressive, friendliest, youngest, politically active and most attractive cities that is still a destination point for many other yet to relocate here. Can you say GROWTH…? Yet we permit these gray, shadow casting, personality lacking, boxes to be built on every square foot available. Why? So, like I said in my original post. Get off your bum!!! Let’s start attending our local planning meetings, neighborhood associations, chamber meetings and let’s congeal and have a vision for West Seattle. With something that’s worthy of a community that is everything that our city is known for being” friendly, respected, smartest, richest, hippest, progressive, youthful, that lends itself to promoting our active personalities. If you’re still looking at the Whole Foods site as a potential park, at least stick your head outside the box and open your eyes! If it’s a park you want, why not have that at surface and some or all the things I had originally thrown out there built below grade? If you’ve ever traveled around the world many cities have major developments below grade! You’re thinking like a developer, start thinking like a Seattleite. The core of what we stand for is not to settle. They say that the average Seattleite, even those that confined to their bed, at least once in their life, will take a position on a political cause or become some type of activist. Let’s make sure that not another development comes here without each one of them knowing that West Seattle citizens are going to want something out of this development other than four walls and a parking garage!
I think it would be great if the West Seattle Chamber would host a “Define West Seattle’s Identity” conference. It should include of course city planners, developers, architecture firms and West Seattle Neighbors such as what the Seattle Monorail did for the stations that were proposed here. What do you think?

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
Member Profile

Alkibeach..
with all due respect..
the act of posting is getting off our bums...

that said.. i really like the idea of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce hosting a "Define West Seattle's Identity" conference... or workshop.. or series of workshops.

flowerpetal..
we don't stand a chance of anything remaining the same as it was... but rampant gentrification is not inevitable... and for the most part not desirable.

we may not be able to set a separate set of planning restrictions for West Seattle.. but we can give developers an idea of what kind of development the community will support...

the latest round of developments were planned and eventually built on the concepts developed around a monorail station.

It's true that the monorail failed.. but the development proceeded...

sometimes a plan is a good thing... and we are in a unique position because of the faltering economy to tweak this one more to our liking.

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiBeach
Member Profile

JoB,
Thank you for your perspective. We seem to agree on a lot more than you think. However, I do see things different, when it comes to 'getting off our bums’...the fact that you see typing on a key board as 'getting of your bum' I have to disagree 100%. While for a few cases, this may be the only option due to medical issues, work schedules, etc. this does not hold water to the 'collective whole'. I know you understand what I'm talking about. 'Getting off our bums' would hopefully imply, taking something to the next level.
In West Seattle's case, I'm definitely talking about taking it to the next level. The reason we are getting these types of lame projects is because those that make the decisions to approve them aren’t getting any sense that they shouldn’t. They’re not responsible, nor should they be, for checking the West Seattle Blog! My God, were just friken bloggers. Maybe I’m an eight years old, living in Thailand and I’m tinkering around on here because my teacher told me to find a foreign website that would will allow me to communicate with someone on a regular bases…that’s not Facebook or MySpace. The fact that people seem to think they are ‘getting off their bum ‘ by doing this blogger thing is laughable. Maybe, just maybe, if our decision makers got a sense that there was a ‘community wide movement’ to do different - they would.
JoB, please… please...don’t think I’m knocking you. You’re just the last one who responded. Your comments are usually right on and ROCK! I’m purely knocking the West Seattle status-quo. I’m tired of hearing people rationalize everything! West Seattle should be better than that. Hmmmm…maybe, we just discovered our identity after all.

Posted 1 year ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
Member Profile

Well, all movements gotta start somewhere--brainstorming on this blog has certainly been the catalyst for any number of events and opportunities for community involvement in WS.

I believe that most major developments have public opinion opportunities--and if the WS community truly wants to see some change in what's being built here, then the public needs to show up and present some logical arguments against the status quo.

AlkiBeach, your initial post inspired some creative ideas and legitimate concerns. I know you started a separate thread about finding West Seattle's "identity." Please keep the conversation going--those who are truly interested in planning the future of WS should participate in community council meetings, public design hearings, etc. that are regularly posted on the blog.

Posted 1 year ago #
austin
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Eschew Seattle Garbage and Sewer: Use The Hole Instead.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
Member Profile

Alkibeach...

the concerted effort of several thousand of us "getting of our bums" via our keyboards finally convinced both Murray and Cantwell to sign the letter requesting a public option inclusion in health care reform...

i agree.. it hasn't become a done deal.. and i doubt it will.. but never underestimate the power of a keyboard to exert political pressure.

or the power of a single voice...

Our "blog" here at WSB is the modern version of a town square... where all political movements gained their traction. I expect it to become more effective in the long run than the town square because it is so easier for huge numbers of people to participate.. if only by reading.

the velvet bulldog is right "brainstorming on this blog has certainly been the catalyst for any number of events and opportunities for community involvement in WS."

If you didn't believe that.. you wouldn't bother to post:)

I will gladly lend the power of my keyboard to your quest to knock the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce off it's bum.

Give West Seattle "bloggers" a cause worth rallying behind and they come out in droves... i discovered that with our first WSB forum fundraiser.

If you build it.. they will come:)

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
Member Profile

Austin...

i had to put this in a separate post...

i want you to know that thanks to you the image of the great West Seattle Out House has taken root in my fertile imagination...

And being old enough to have not only used one but helped construct one on the original family homestead... now called the cabin... my imagination has a solid base upon which to build:(

i have long noted the lack of public restrooms in the junction.. but this wasn't what i had in mind..

until you firmly planted the image..

i am seeing rows of brightly striped bathing cabanas lining all four sides ... modesty prevails ;->

Posted 1 year ago #
francis57
Member Profile

Fred Meyer would be a welcome addition and much more practical than a Whole Foods in my opinion.

Posted 1 year ago #
nuni
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or they could just build a strip mall with a coffee shop, nail salon and taco del mar! Oh and a bank :)

Posted 1 year ago #
KBear
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I was thinking maybe an auto parts store and a fabric store...

Posted 1 year ago #
dawsonct
Member Profile

A big trans-national corporate bank that gambles on derivatives with our deposits and collateral and then uses OUR tax dollars to keep it from failing, THAT'S what we need.
Oh, wait, we ALREADY have Chase, BoA, Wells/Fargo...
--
Time to start enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust act again, and really mean it.
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=old&doc=51

Posted 1 year ago #
moxilot
Member Profile

You're GOT to be joking with the Fred Meyer suggestions. I don't see how a FM would improve the quality of the neighborhood or the other businesses in the area. There are already two grocery stores within two blocks of the site, and Fred Meyer isn't enough of a 'specialty' store to justify putting another grocer there- Even if half of it is textile goods. I equate Fred Meyer with Walmart (the absolute antithesis of local living), and would never shop there when other options are available.

Posted 1 year ago #
pigeonmom
Member Profile

Where is the Trader Joe's in Ballard?

Edit..Nevermind, I found it.

Posted 1 year ago #
KBear
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Near Fred Meyer.

Posted 1 year ago #
francis57
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Making a note of yet another subject to avoid on this site: Fred Meyer.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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but.. i like Fred Meyer..

it was the one store i really missed when we lived in Minnesota:)

Posted 1 year ago #
johnnyblegs
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nuni - don't forget about a tanning salon. uuuuhg.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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if we are getting creative..
how about a conservatory.. with a butterfly garden?

Posted 1 year ago #
thansen
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I am not a fan of Fred Meyer stores...they seem a lot like WalMarts...they sell crappy things for low prices. I think West Seattle needs to elevate itself from Burien and Renton.

Posted 1 year ago #
dawsonct
Member Profile

MAYBE when Freddy's were a Portland company, but we have a Kroger's just two blocks West. I doubt they would ever consider putting another Kroger's THAT close.
--
Wouldn't make much sense, would it?
--
Those big corporate stores are just distribution centers for goods we once manufactured, but have now been off-shored (along with the profits) to China and other third-world manufacturing bases, anyway.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
Member Profile

thansen...
evidently you haven't seen the lack of selection and crappy good marketed to the greater midwest:(

my favorite store there was a farm and feed store :)
fred meyers without the frills ;)

and yes.. freddies was substantially different when it was a Portland company...

not so very very long ago... but definately a land far far away

Posted 1 year ago #
jellyfish
Member Profile

I would love to see some public space mixed in with interesting businesses. The public space could include water fountains kids can play in during the summer, with some grass area, public art works, and local musicians. Instead of expensive clothing stores, it would be great to have more coffee shops, book stores, and places to just hang out. West Seattle is lacking a place like this in the downtown area. It would be a gathering place for the community, make WS seem more thriving, and draw other great businesses to our neighborhood. Trader Joes would also be a plus (it draws huge crowds).

Posted 1 year ago #

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