West Seattle demolition watch: Arbor Heights, Genesee Hill, Whittaker updates

| Arbor Heights | Development | Genesee Hill | Triangle | West Seattle news

Went out this morning to check on the three largest demolition sites working in West Seattle:

ARBOR HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY: At the Arbor Heights site, the buildings are now all gone. Teardown work here started the Friday before Labor Day, but didn’t really rev up for another week. Seattle Public Schools says work will stop down for much of the winter before the second phase, construction, begins. A decision is also pending on whether the new $42 million school will be built to 500 or 650 capacity. During the two-year construction period, AHES is sharing the Boren Building with K-5 STEM.

Now to the district’s other big WS project:

ON GENESEE HILL: The future home of the Schmitz Park Elementary program is now five weeks into the demolition phase. As shown in our photo, just a bit of the main building of the former Genesee Hill Elementary is still standing, toward the east side of the site. This school will be built for 650 students.

And on the private-development front:

‘THE WHITTAKER’ SITE UPDATE: Back on Wednesday, we reported on the start of abatement and demolition work at the site of West Seattle’s biggest current project, The Whittaker (4755 Fauntleroy Way SW). The work has focused so far on the middle section of the site, between 40th (above) and Fauntleroy – yesterday, that included the wooden building that was the original home of West Seattle Produce (which has long since moved across the street):

A project spokesperson tells us the major demolition work is likely still more than a week away. The site also holds a former auto dealership, former used-car lot, former gas station, and former funeral home. The mural on the side of the dealership is to be digitally re-created on a wall of the new development, which will have almost 400 apartments over street-level retail, plus almost 600 off-street parking spaces.

Diane October 10, 2014 (1:00 pm)

sure wish they would save the actual mural

norskgirl October 10, 2014 (2:13 pm)

I wonder just how much/what was saved from the site compared to what was available to save? I saw whole pieces of the metal & plastic play structure in the demolition heap, as well as what appeared to be whole wooden doors. That was disappointing to see, along with the several evergreen trees chopped to pieces (I understand some trees were very fortunately saved, but it’s still not pleasant to see nature destroyed.)

morgan October 10, 2014 (8:02 pm)

I’ve wondered about the mural. What does that mean “digitally recreated”?

WSB October 10, 2014 (9:51 pm)

As explained by the project team during review meetings, since it is painted on concrete blocks, it can’t be simply moved, so they were going to make a digital copy of the image to re-create on the new building. Not quite sure how that happens; I will have to ask, since it’s been a while since this was last discussed.

sbre October 11, 2014 (5:48 pm)

The tearing-down of Gen. Hill Elem. is a twice-a-day ‘classroom’ for the kids on my bus going to/from Alki Elem.

Our route takes us up/down Genesee so we stop each morning and afternoon for a minute to watch the work and monitor their progress.

The kids have taken to calling the machines “Daddy Dinosaur”, “Mommy Dinosaur” and “Baby Dinosaur”, and get the biggest thrill when Daddy and Mommy are dumping bucket-loads of debris into the trucks to be hauled away.

Most visits include the workers and kids sharing waves with each other, and we’re all excited to see how much progress we get to witness before the end of the school year!!!

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