(WSB photo)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Will the PCC Natural Markets (WSB sponsor) location in West Seattle be the next Admiral District supermarket site to be redeveloped?

Making a routine check of city permit applications, we discovered a very-early-stage plan suggesting a new building is being contemplated for much if not all of the 2749 California SW site, where the current store and its main parking lot are.

But what it will be is too soon to say, as well as how/whether it will proceed.

One of the two documents in the public city online files so far suggests that the proposal is coming from Madison Development Group, the developer that is currently finishing Spruce at the Fauntleroy/Alaska corner once known as, when it stalled under previous ownership, “The Hole.” Kirkland-based Madison bought that site at auction and is completing a project with about 200 apartments plus an LA Fitness gym. Madison also built Element 42, the mixed-use building on the east side of the redeveloped Admiral Safeway property.

As for the PCC site:

We’ve been researching this for several days now. Before we found the document listing Madison as the prospective applicant, we inquired with PCC’s media-relations department, asking whether an expansion might be in store for the market, which opened in 1989 and underwent interior remodeling four years ago.

The reply came from Cate Hardy, the West Seattleite named CEO of PCC back in January. “We recently became aware that our landlord is in discussions about the possibility of selling the site where our store is located. We do have a current lease that is in effect for the next several years.”

We hadn’t realized that PCC didn’t own the property at California/Stevens; records show the landlord is Development Services of America, another of the companies owned by the late Tom Stewart, who had been headquartered in the West Seattle Corporate Center before moving to Arizona.

We continued rooting around for info and contacted PCC CEO Hardy again to clarify that whatever is in the works so far, it wasn’t a PCC-proposed project. She subsequently told us, “At this time, we have not been brought in to any conversations with the potential future owner, so do not have any real insight in to their plans or timing. Our lease is in place through most of this decade, and we would certainly hope and expect to be part of West Seattle well beyond that. We anticipate an introduction to the new owner in the near future, and will look forward to conversations with them about how best to ensure that West Seattle is well-served by PCC Natural Markets for years to come.”

We’ve reached out to Madison’s principals for comment; no reply yet. The “site plan” page in the online file shows only the most rudimentary of outlines for a possible new building covering the footprint of the current one plus most of the parking lot; Hewitt Architects is the firm listed as applicant, and the online file carries notations about a request for “paid zoning coaching” plus an expectation that any resulting project would require Design Review. The site is zoned NC2-40, mixed-use development with a four-story height maximum.

We’ll continue to keep watch.

Share This

Seen off West Seattle: Two helicopters, boat marked ‘Tunisia Navy’

March 26, 2015 2:47 pm

| 20 COMMENTS

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

2:47 PM: An unusual sighting, shared by Gary Jones, who photographs from Alki Point: Seen in the noon hour, a boat marked “Tunisia Navy,” with two helicopters nearby.

Their markings match what we saw on two helicopters passing overhead, westbound, one behind the other, as we arrived at HQ in Upper Fauntleroy after a noontime trip.

Backstory? We don’t know yet. At first, we wondered about a movie shoot (Seattle wouldn’t seem to be much of a stand-in for Tunisia, which is on the Mediterranean Sea in North Africa, but you’ll recall Alki doubling for Florida) – then a bit of Googling revealed that the U.S. donated two similar types of patrol boats to Tunisia seven months ago and was planning to donate more. Still checking around. Know anything? editor@westseattleblog.com as always.

8:44 PM: After a couple of e-mail tipsters suggested we check with local boatmakers that build military-style patrol boats, we sent out queries around 5 pm and just received this reply from sales manager Kevin Rowlee at Bremerton-based SAFE Boats International:

Yes, that was a boat built by SAFE Boats International. It is a “65 Full Cabin – Inboard” destined for the Tunisia Navy. The boat you saw was the second of two boats purchased under the same contract.

Commenter Brian confirms the photo-shoot angle.

Share This

Mayor puts a number on ‘affordable housing’: 20,000 units in 10 years

March 26, 2015 1:52 pm

| 42 COMMENTS

| West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

Will runaway rents chase (more) people out of the city? With heartbreaking tales like this one emerging, and discussions like this one ongoing, Mayor Murray has stepped up While his affordable-housing advisory committee continues to work on its recommendations, Mayor Murray has just given them a goal with a specific number:

Mayor Murray today directed the Housing Affordability and Livability Advisory Committee to meet his new goal for both income-restricted affordable and market-rate units to be created over the coming decade.

Mayor Murray asked the committee to develop specific proposals that will allow the building and preservation of 50,000 housing units over in the next 10 years within the city limits. 20,000 of these must be income-restricted affordable units for individuals and families making 80 percent of the area median income (AMI) and below. 30,000 units would be market rate.

“Seattle is facing a serious lack of affordable housing options that displace families and people in this city,” said Murray. “Next week, Seattle’s minimum wage workers are getting a raise as a part of our broader affordability agenda. We need to make sure that those who work in Seattle can afford to live here.”

The increase in income-restricted affordable units is nearly a tripling of the current rate of units being built for those at 80 percent of AMI or less. Currently, income-restricted affordable housing is being built at a rate of around 700 units per year.

“As the HALA enters the last stretch of analysis and discussion of strategies, this target will sharpen our focus,” said Faith Le-Pettis, co-chair of the advisory committee. “No matter your perspective, the target we’ve been given by the Mayor is an enormous number. We’ll need determination, long-sightedness and civic commitment to meet the challenge.”

The Housing Affordability and Livability Advisory Committee was formed by Mayor Murray and city councilmembers in the fall of 2014 to develop policy recommendations for the city. The committee is made up of 28 housing experts, activists and community leaders. They will issue their recommendations to the Mayor in May.

Right now, the Multi-Family Tax Exemption is one incentive the city has been offering developers for some years – if they agree to keep a certain number of units in their projects in certain areas (including West Seattle’s urban villages/centers) at a certain percentage of the area’s median income, they get a 12-year tax break, no property taxes on the residential portion of their buildings.

When we talked to Mayor Murray at his neighborhood-press availability last week, he mentioned he would be announcing an affordable-housing goal and that it would take “a series of tools – not just one tool” to make it reality. He said in that interview that it would be vital to build units for people who will “never qualify for subsidized housing” but are being priced out of the “market” nonetheless.

Share This

Think summer! Application time for 10th annual Morgan Junction Community Festival

March 26, 2015 12:51 pm

| Comments Off on Think summer! Application time for 10th annual Morgan Junction Community Festival

| West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from 2013 festival)
Not trying to rush you, but it’s already planning season for summer festivals – including the 10th annual Morgan Junction Community Festival. From Susan Madrid:

Applications are now available for local businesses and organizations to participate in the Morgan Community Association (MoCA) 10th annual festival. This year it will be held on Saturday, June 20th, from 10:30 am to 6:00 pm. As in previous years, participant booths will be located in open areas and parking lots near Morgan Junction Park. The festival will feature live music and entertainment throughout the day, as well as the popular Bite of Morgan and Bark of Morgan events.

The booth charge will be the same as last year; community groups and non-profits will be asked to make a $10 contribution and businesses to make a $20 contribution.

Contact Cindi Barker at cindibarker@gmail.com for an application form and further information. The deadline for applications is June 5. Announcements and applications are also available on the MoCA website www.morganjunction.org

Share This

Award-winning basketball coach Sonya Elliott is leaving West Seattle High School

March 26, 2015 10:19 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS & Sports

(WSB photo from February 2015: Coach Elliott helps cut down net after Metro League title win)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

It’s the epitome of “going out on top.”

After a history-making season in which her team made it to the state tournament and won the Metro League championship, West Seattle High School girls’ basketball head coach Sonya Elliott is leaving.

Elliott, a longtime West Seattle resident, was honored as Metro League Coach of the Year twice, in 2013 as well as this year, a showstopping season that concluded March 7th (WSB coverage here) – a season that, as she remarked at the WSHS pep rally before the team’s first state game, had the whole school (and community!) cheering for girls’ basketball.

She shared the news with WSB via e-mail late last night and said her players already know: “I won’t be coaching at West Seattle next year. It was a really tough decision, because as you know there are some amazing girls on the team and we have all worked hard over the last 5 years to build the program, but it was time.”

2014-2015 was Coach Elliott’s fifth season leading the team. We first checked in with her during the first season – noting that she took over after a season in which the WSHS girls had won a total of three games, and that she brought in new initiatives including a holistic focus on academics as well as basketball fundamentals.

That first 2010 story featured an inspirational guest Elliott brought in to talk with her team; she continued that initiative up through this year, too. Elliott herself proved an inspirational figure beyond her basketball-coaching skills, with a story she turned into a book titled “Back on the Court,” telling how she came back from a life-threatening and heartbreaking tragedy.

We have a followup question out about what’s next for her, and we’re also asking WSHS what’s next for the team; we’ll add updates as we get them.

Share This

West Seattle Thursday: Whales, transportation, theater, more…

March 26, 2015 9:13 am

| Comments Off on West Seattle Thursday: Whales, transportation, theater, more…

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Thanks to Don Brubeck for the “solar halo” sunrise photo from this morning! Now, looking ahead to today/tonight, highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

TAI CHI, QIGONG FOR 50+: 2 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle with Sifu Viola Brumbaugh – details here. (Oregon/California)

ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES … at the Community Orchard of West Seattle, for this week’s 4-6 pm Health & Harvest work party. North side of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus. (6000 16th SW)

SDOT AT WSTC: 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House‘s High Point Center, hear from – and bring questions for – SDOT director Scott Kubly. (6400 Sylvan Way)

THE WHALE TRAIL: TWT‘s first Orca Talk of 2015 is your chance to hear from Brad Hanson, a federal researcher who recently spent three weeks out on an extensive whale-watching/-researching cruise, including the first sighting of the Southern Resident Killer Whales’ newest (known) calf, L121. 7 pm at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) – details here including ticket info. (5612 California SW)

SEE ‘CHINGLISH’ BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE: 7:30 pm curtain at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) for the laugh-out-loud comedy that’s in its final days. (4711 California SW)

PUNDAMONIUM! 8 pm at Skylark Café and Club, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Sorry we can’t be more creative than that, but we bet YOU can and will.

Share This

Free baseball game at Safeco Field – WSHS Wildcats on Saturday!

March 26, 2015 9:00 am

| Comments Off on Free baseball game at Safeco Field – WSHS Wildcats on Saturday!

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

(2014 photo by Greg Slader)
See a baseball game free at Safeco Field this Saturday – while cheering for local players! West Seattle High School assistant baseball coach Bryan Tupper shares the reminder:

Come out and support West Seattle High School Baseball at Safeco Field. WSHS continues the annual tradition of playing in the High School Baseball Classic for the 9th year in a row! This year, they take on Sedro Woolley from the Northwest Conference. Admission is free and concession stands will be open.

The game is at 12:30 pm Saturday (March 28th).

Share This

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday on the move

March 26, 2015 7:19 am

| 22 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
No trouble spots in/from West Seattle so far. Alerts/advisories:

FAUNTLEROY FERRY DOCK: The pump-station project next door is almost done, but some work this morning will result in a closure of the northern lane/tollbooth for up to two hours starting at 9:30 am.

VIADUCT/99 CLOSURES THIS WEEKEND: Yet another reminder – a stretch of 99 from the Battery Street Tunnel *north* will be closed from late Friday to early Monday; between the West Seattle Bridge and the south end of the BSTunnel, inspection closures are scheduled 6 am-6 pm Saturday and the same hours Sunday.

Tonight:

SDOT DIRECTOR @ WSTC: Questions about the big road/trail projects under way and coming up here? Or, about the 9-hour Highway 99 closure earlier this week (here’s our followup from Wednesday)? Or? 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way), West Seattle Transportation Coalition hosts SDOT director Scott Kubly tonight, and all are welcome.

Added at 8 am since it’s still quiet:

THIS WEEK’S ‘TRAFFIC THROWBACK THURSDAY‘: For the second week in a row, we’re presenting a historic West Seattle road photo from the Seattle Municipal Archives:

(Click the picture for a larger image.) That’s in the files from 1951 as supporting evidence for “rezoning 6051-6053 35th” as proposed by a lumber company. We haven’t figured out whether this is looking north or south; the address checks to a 35-year-old condo building on the west side of 35th at Graham.

8:32 AM: Thanks to AD in comments and Jeremy via Twitter for word that a RapidRide bus is broken down at the onramp to the bridge and passengers are awaiting rescue.

12:21 PM: The Viaduct’s had some off and on trouble this morning.

Tow trucks are on scene at both incidents on the NB SR 99 Viaduct. Backup to the W SEA Bridge. Continue to use alts pic.twitter.com/uCKgKPBOKL

— seattledot (@seattledot) March 26, 2015