As first reported here April 8, the Southwest District Council voted to send a letter to the owners of The Hole – the excavated-then-stalled Fauntleroy Place/Whole Foods site at 39th/Alaska/Fauntleroy – voicing concerns about safety and aesthetics issues. (Here’s our April 13 report with the final text of the letter.) Then at last week’s Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting (WSB coverage here), president Erica Karlovits announced a date was set for a representative for the company that wants to take over the site, Madison Development, to come out for a walking tour and firsthand look at the concerns.
Last night, that tour happened. In the top photo, that’s Madison spokesperson Natalie Quick with Karlovits, her fellow SWDC co-chair Chas Redmond, and West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose, who originally proposed the letter. In this clip shot and edited for WSB by Christopher Boffoli, they explain the tour:
As for whether Madison Development is currently liable for The Hole, Quick is checking on that – in a complicated series of transactions tied up with the legal action involving the site, an entity called 3922 SW Alaska LLC holds the note and has filed for judicial foreclosure.
Read on for our notes from the tour, and more photos:
While the site’s eyesore status is certainly a valid topic, the “tour guides” kept stressing that safety is the first concern. Here Karlovits points to a spot along the site’s west edge, where she says the barricades aren’t properly secured:
Redmond noted that as well, adding that the barriers around the site are not continuous and consistent, particularly on the Alaska side. Sidewalk access for those with disabilities is a concern too; Melrose explained to Quick that those issues are often addressed by the city, and she gets notification if there’s a problem within the Junction business district’s boundaries. She also reiterated that the community had been excited about the original project, but now it’s time for some resolution. Karlovits wondered how long the site could continue getting exposed to the elements without further deterioration, given that it’s now gone through two winters.
While grocery needs aren’t going unmet, given the new QFC and old Safeway nearby, plus the possibility of Trader Joe’s across the street from The Hole, Melrose pointed out there’s been plenty of clamor to get Hancock Fabrics back – it was supposed to be part of the project, after the demolition took out its old store. Something else that’s been out of commission since the work began, then stalled – access to the small triangular park at the 39th/Alaska corner, now overgrown, fenced off and heavily littered; Redmond asked if public access to the spot could be restored.
As the tour wrapped up, Madison Development spokesperson Quick told Karlovits, Redmond and Melrose that she would be their central point of contact on this, and that she understood the primary concern is safety. She also reiterated that the site’s caught up in a legal tangle including the judicial foreclosure, none of which, she affirmed, is expected to be resolved any time soon.
We just checked the case files (as we do, often) – the consolidated case involving what originally were multiple lawsuits is currently set for trial this October, but various hearings have been held along the way on a variety of motions, including at least one that has affirmed who is in line to get paid first in any kind of judgment. Yet another hearing on a “motion for summary judgment” is set for later this week, challenging earlier decisions on which liens take precedence.)
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