Helping a Friend: Delridge Neighborhood Questions

[JayDee]

My friend is looking to buy a house/townhouse in the Delridge area, specifically near the northern part of Delridge south of Nucor and Allstar Fitness.

While I have lived in Alki for 12 years, my experience with this part of Delridge is based on driving through it. Can anyone offer their opinions on:

1. The proximity of the Nucor Steel Plant? Does it make a lot of noise or noxious fumes? When the winds blow from the north (like during the nice days in summer when one might be outside), can one tell one lives downwind of a steel plant?

2. My friend is concerned with her personal safety, and I think that there are some areas to the south of this neighborhood near the main drag where I’d be somewhat concerned if I was female and walking back home from a bus stop on Delridge, especially in the dark. MSN used to have the Terraserver site where one could check demographics and reported crime but that feature is gone. I thought I would ask the WSB community for their opinion(s) on the matter of safety.

3. Are there any other significant concerns one should know about?

Thanks for your opinions.

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[TheVelvetBulldog]

Hi JayDee – I would refer your friend to the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association. They work in that community and have been involved in lots of housing projects and the library project their office is in. I’m sure any of their project managers would be happy to talk about the pros and cons of Delridge living. A few I can think of off the top of my head: con: Traffic! pro: Good Bus Service! con: sketchy areas. pro: Police Station down the street! And all pros: Longfellow Creek and it’s paths, lots and lots of parks and greenspace, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Arco – cheapest gas in WS, Bubbles, Uptown… etc. etc…

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[WSB]

Also, the North Delridge Neighborhood Council.

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[MikeDady]

I love the Dragonfly Pavilion & Park located at 28th and Dakota and try to walk it when I am at Allstar. Watching Longfellow Creek in that area throughout the seasons is a great way to stay based in reality:-)

The constantly graffitied industrial building just south of Allstar Fitness and next to Dragonfly is slated to come down and be replaced with housing at some point. To think that this building could have been used as a space for artists to do their thing and perhaps even live-in was a missed opportunity on the part of the ownership. Can’t say I will miss the existing structure due to its neglect on the part of the absentee owners who like many absentee owners are a plague on the neighborhoods they ‘invest’ in.

A multi-storied condo project and retail is making its way through the permit process and will be located in what is now a parking lot on the West side of the DSHS building located at 4045 Delrige Way SW.

Your friend can use the SPD Crime Statistics and DPD Population and Demographics websites to gather information about crime trends and demographics city wide. Although both of them should be taken with a grain of salt.

I can’t comment on the noise or aroma from the steel plant as our home is to the Southeast on 23rd Ave SW but if you would like to connect your friend with some neighbors who have lived in the area you are referring to for for a long, long time let me know and I can aid with making the connection.

Mike Dady – chigiwigi@hotmail.com

Co-Chair – North Delridge Neighborhood Council

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[JayDee]

Thanks to all for your reply. My friend is contemplating an offer so your help is still timely. Mike — I have forwarded this link to her, and if she feels comfortable contacting your friends, she’ll touch base with you–thanks for the offer.

JayDee

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