West Seattle, Washington
08 Thursday
The big brick building at 200 SW Michigan [map] – once part of Boeing Plant 1 – is starting a new chapter in its history. Next week it opens as Seattle Mart, a new name and new home for dozens of wholesale showrooms that had been part of the Pacific Market Center in a Georgetown building now occupied by a pet-insurance company. Those independently owned showrooms (see the tenant list here) in turn serve independent retailers. Pacific Mart management tells WSB that the tenants are mostly wholesalers who don’t carry inventory, with the exception of a few cash-and-carry businesses. Seattle Mart will be open Monday and Tuesday as well as by appointment. Its grand opening will be part of Seattle Market Week, with most festivities on Saturday, August 20th, 2-8 pm.
While we work on a couple more news stories for tonight, how about a photo break? Mark Wangerin – who you know primarily for his amazing bird photos, often shared with us so we can show them to you – sent these images, explaining: “I was down at Luna Park trying to shoot Osprey diving, when this little pup attempted to haul out and get warm. After a few tries, it was successful. It rested and yawned, but its rest was soon disturbed by a ferry wave. It gave up on this spot and went to the sandier side of the pier. I had to remind a few not to disturb. That they need to haul out to warm themselves.”
We asked Mark if he had notified Seal Sitters (which handle, as we were reminded during Sunday’s Fauntleroy humpback stranding, ALL marine mammals in the area); he said he didn’t have a phone with him, and said the seal was soon out of sight. By the way, checking Seal Sitters’ Blubberblog, we see they’re having a volunteer-training session on August 27th – go here to RSVP if you’re interested.
6:01 PM: That’s the plan for the 35th Avenue SW Corridor Safety Project walking tour that SDOT is leading tonight, with the times and places where you can meet up with the tour if you just want to go along for part of it. We’ll be covering it for the duration; updates to come.
6:08 PM: Above is the photo we took on arrival at 35th/Avalon; we now have four residents, two SDOT staffers. Not walking yet so this might run a bit behind the posted schedule.
6:30 PM: Now at Dawson. 11 residents. (Added – video of part of the conversation:)
Someone parked along 35th just north of here displaying an anti-rechannelization sign.
Dawson might get a signal to facilitate crossing – to and from popular city park Camp Long – and that could mean it would need to keep 4 vehicle lanes, SDOT says.
One man who joined here says there are far more families with kids in the area now and they need to be able to cross safely.
6:54 PM: At 35th/Juneau. The person with the protest sign walked over to join the group, expressing a concern about speed limits being too low. 5 mph won’t make a difference, she said. Actually, SDOT’s Jim Curtin said, it would. (Added: Video from this stop, including that exchange:)
7:10 PM: At Graham, where two people have been hit and killed in the past decade. This corner will get a big mixed-use development soon, so it will be much busier. Curtin says vehicles will enter and exit from Graham, not 35th. 8 people on the tour now, by the way. He also says this intersection will soon get temporary painted curb bulbs on the SW and SE corners.
7:25 PM: Tour crossed Morgan and is wrapping up – this is where ‘Phase 1’ begins, with the road becoming one lane each way just south of here. What happens along the stretch we just traveled will be decided in the months ahead.
One woman who has been along for most of the way says she understands the safety rationake but she and her husband find the rechannelized stretch frustrating. Signal timing is a clear problem, and Curtin acknowledges that, reiterating what he told us after last Thursday’s meeting – that the timings will be fixed.
Another concern – getting stopped behind the Route 21 buses and their frequent stops. One person wonders if there can be fewer stops. Someone else points out that not everyone can walk further – elders, people with disabilities, people with small children, etc.
7:39 PM: Tour officially over. We will be adding video clips from a couple of the stops once we are back at HQ.
7:58 PM: Talked at the end with Curtin and the other SDOT staffer on the tour, James Le. Curtin stressed that whatever you think about the possible changes along the way – detailed in the boards prepared for last Thursday’s meeting – “it’s not a done deal” and they’re continuing to review the hundreds of comments they’re receiving and have received (at least 110 at last Thursday’s meeting alone). Another community meeting will be planned before year’s end, and they plan to incorporate both feedback and data as they work on design for Phase 2 (north of Holly, south of Alaska).
(Production photo)
We just found out about this unique, free performance coming to Roxhill Park next Saturday and Sunday nights, “a bilingual multidisciplinary telling of the Spanish play ‘Blood Wedding/Bodas de Sangre‘ by Federico García Lorca, with live music and dance.” Here’s the full announcement:
Rural Spain. A story of love, longing, and bitter revenge. Families in a small village are divided, rankled with old grudges, but their children, despite it all, seek love instead of acrimony. A classic since its inception, Federico Garcia Lorca’s play Blood Wedding demands that we ask: Is it up to us or fate in deciding who we love?
This inaugural production by 1-Off Productions, Blood Wedding, is translated by Caridad Svich and directed by University of Washington graduate Tina Polzin. Through collaborative work done by Polzin and a cast of bilingual actors, Blood Wedding will be presented bilingually, using Lorca’s original text alongside Svich’s translation.
1-Off Productions is a joint venture between Seattle theatre artists Tina Polzin, Ana Maria Campoy, and Matt Sherrill. Its intent is to bring professional theatre to communities with limited access, to represent diverse stories onstage employing a multidisciplinary approach, to create theatre reflective of the community artists serve, and to build and strengthen community through shared theatrical experiences.
As a core tenant of 1-Off’s mission of creating community through a shared theatrical experiences, all performances will be free of charge.
Each performance will preclude with a professionally-taught latin dance lesson, the learning of a song from the show, and an an invitation for the audience to participate in the wedding scene. The live music will continue post show, allowing the audience members to meet and greet with the actors and each other.
Blood Wedding features a diverse ensemble of Christen Gee (Brooklyn Bridge), Jordan Taylor (American Idiot, Bad Apples), Michael Blum (Blood/Water/Paint), Angela Maestas (The Passion As Told by Antígona Pérez), Marissa Castillo (The Brothers K), Meg Savlov (Electricidad), Carolynne Wilcox, Maddy Noonan, Alex Huffman, and Miranda Sieg. Creative team includes Jonathan Shue (music director), Amy Johnson (choreography), Danielle Pekus (stage management), Brandon Estrella (scenic design) and Melinda Hare (costume design).
It’s described as suitable for all ages, and it’ll be performed at Roxhill Park (2850 SW Roxbury) at 6 pm Saturday and Sunday (August 13-14). You can also see it at South Park’s Duwamish Waterway Park (7900 10th Ave. S.) at 6 pm August 27th.
(King County Assessor photo)
City files show an early-stage redevelopment proposal for 8854 Delridge Way SW, the South Delridge auto shop that’s been closed since an electrical fire in May of last year. A 4-story mixed-use building is proposed, with 30 apartments. The 8,200-foot corner lot is zoned C1-40. Notations on the city Department of Construction and Inspections website suggest this project will have to go through the Design Review process.
This area too is becoming a redevelopment hotspot; it’s less than three blocks northwest of the 32-unit building at 9021 17th SW that passed Design Review last month, and about the same distance northeast of the ~80-unit 2222 SW Barton project that has its first review on September 15th.
11:36 AM: Demolition has finally begun at the former Life Care Center at 47th/Admiral/Waite, vacant for more than 3 1/2 years. The teardown has begun on the back of the building, which will be replaced by a new Aegis Living memory care and assisted living center.
Demolition under way at future @aegisliving site on Admiral https://t.co/1Z9a8W0Zfk pic.twitter.com/x14UXJWoEX
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) August 9, 2016
12:30 PM: By the way, thanks for all the tips that the teardown work had started. When last we published an update, after tips about the arrival of the construction-office trailer last month, Aegis told us they expected to start this week. The Eastside-based company got Design Review approval last February for a three-story center with 80 units – here’s a rendering by architects GGLO:
Aegis bought the property in late 2013 for $3,650,000. This is their 17th project in the Puget Sound area; the Aegis website says this will open in spring 2018.
(Anna’s Hummingbird, photographed by Danny McMillin)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
35TH SW WALKING TOUR: Following up on last week’s 35th Avenue SW Phase 2 meeting (WSB coverage here), SDOT invites you to a walking tour tonight, starting at 6 pm at 35th/Avalon, ending at 35th/Holly. You’re invited to walk the distance or just meet up at one of six spots along the way with questions/comments. Here’s the map with locations and times.
MORE FREE TAI CHI: Lao-shi Caylen Storm, who brings you free Tai Chi on Alki on Saturday mornings, says it’s grown so much they’ve added a class – 6 pm Tuesdays, starting tonight, weekly through October 18th. Questions? caylenstorm@gmail.com. (60th/Alki, by the Bathhouse)
WEST SEATTLE MOTORCYCLE CLUB: 6 pm monthly ride-in at Pizzeria 22. (4213 SW College)
WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: The monthly meeting was rescheduled to 6:30 pm tonight at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor), with topics including planning for a bike rodeo at next month’s Seattle Summer Parkways event on Alki. (41st SW/SW Alaska)
FAMILY STORY TIME: For ages 1-5, 7 pm at Delridge Library – stories, songs, and rhymes! (5423 Delridge Way SW)
NIGHTLIFE AND MORE … when you check out the additional listings on our complete calendar!
The Global Diving crew pulls away from @wsferries Fauntleroy dock with humpback in tow. https://t.co/7ANKFeXQnH pic.twitter.com/jxAM2R6JMV
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) August 9, 2016
8:40 AM: We’re at the Fauntleroy ferry dock, where a crew from Global Diving and Salvage is getting ready to tow away the carcass of the 39-foot juvenile humpback whale that died on the beach here Sunday (WSB all-day coverage here; photo/video followup here). First, it had to be evaluated:
The whale has been out of view, submerged, since a Washington State Ferries “shore gang” tied it to floats Sunday night and towed it to a spot along the dock where it’s been secured since then.
As we reported last night, Global – which is based in West Seattle – got the call on Monday that its assistance would be needed to dispose of the whale, which is to be sunk in Puget Sound rather than taken to a beach to decompose. Its 62-foot landing-craft-type vessel Prudhoe Bay – also known for bringing the Seafair Pirates to Alki Beach each summer – pulled up just after 8 am:
Global Diving and Salvage executives tell WSB they’ve assisted with whales before – including the fin whale that turned up at Seahurst Park in Burien in 2013.
9:13 AM: The crew has secured floats – and therefore, the whale – to the Prudhoe Bay, and is sailing away from the dock, headed for a “pre-approved” sinking site. (We’ve added video atop this story, and will be adding more photos later.)
4:27 PM UPDATE: Just talked with David DeVilbiss from Global, who confirms the whale has been “respectfully” sent to its final resting place “in about 400 feet of water.” Location not specified, but we’ve noted that MarineTraffic.com showed the Prudhoe Bay off Blake Island most of the day. DeVilbiss adds that a marine biologist was on board and able to get more information about the whale that couldn’t be gathered on the beach – underside markings, for example.
In West Seattle Crime Watch, three reports:
WEST SEATTLE LITTLE LEAGUE’S RIDING MOWER STOLEN: From Deborah:
The West Seattle Little League’s new 2016 Kubota riding lawn mower was stolen from the equipment shed at Bar S. The thieves broke into the shed during the middle of the day Saturday sometime between 1:00-4:00 p.m. According to neighbors, one of the thieves was a white man in his 30’s wearing an orange safety vest. They left Bar S by cutting the chain and exiting the Southern side of the ballpark. If you have any information regarding this theft, please contact wsllgeneral@hotmail.com or 206-790-6358.
Or, call police. (The stolen mower looks like this.)
STOLEN BICYCLE: Matt tweeted this photo of his bicycle, stolen from his apartment building south of The Junction:
He says, “Brand is Specialized and the model is “Ground Control” (or at least that’s what it says on the frame). It’s gray, unknown number of years old. I got it for free from a coworker. Handlebars are flat.” It’s been reported to police.
STOLEN CAR UPDATE: We published JW‘s auto-theft report here on Saturday. Her followup:
My Honda has been found at the bottom of Fairmount Ave by parking enforcement, fortunately drivable. Yea! By any chance someone has any surveillance from 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning that could have captured it heading east on Hanford and turning left and heading down the Fairmount ravine, that would be killer.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:52 AM: Good morning – relatively quiet on the roads so far; no incidents in or from West Seattle. One reminder for tonight:
35TH SW WALKING TOUR: As a followup to last week’s 35th Avenue SW Phase 2 meeting (WSB coverage here), SDOT plans a walking tour tonight, starting at 6 pm at 35th/Avalon, ending at 35th/Holly. You’re invited to walk the distance or just meet up at one of six spots along the way with questions/comments. Here’s the map with locations and times.
SODO NOTE: Mariners’ game tonight (vs. Detroit), 7:10 pm
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