West Seattle’s only New Year’s Eve parade is back this year, two weeks from tonight, on the streets of Highland Park. This isn’t a parade you watch (well, you CAN), but rather a parade to join in – the Not-So-Silent-Night Parade, walking through neighborhoods to say goodbye to 2024 and hello to 2025, early enough in the evening that you can bring the whole family, and be done in time to go to parties. Highland Park Improvement Club is presenting it and has sent the full plan, including a call for volunteers if you can help (whether or not you plan to join the parade):

Celebrate the arrival of the New Year with friends and neighbors with an all-ages, family-friendly march through Highland Park. An annual event since 2009 (with the exception of the COVID shutdown), the Not-So-Silent-Night Parade is a community celebration to ring in the new year. All ages welcome.

5:30- 6 pm: Assemble at the Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW)

The store will be open for mingling, snacks and libations.

6 pm: Parade begins

Bring your personal noise or music makers and festive lighting, and help ring in 2025 as we parade down to the Riverview Playfields for a ceremonial goodbye to the old and welcome to the new!

Interested in volunteering to help with this event?

We need:

Hospitality table hosts and cookie makers
Parade safety monitors
Luminaria set-up help
Love to dress it up? Help lead the walk!

Contact kay.kirkpatrick@hpic1919.org if interested!

Tips & Info

We parade via sidewalks primarily on quiet side streets

The route is approximately one mile, with some moderate hills. Folks are welcome to join in at any point.

This is an all-weather event! Light up your umbrella, wear your snow boots, come bundled up for whatever the season brings us.

Don’t feel up to walking? Onlookers are welcome to wave and cheer us on – or meet the marchers at the end of our route to join the ceremony and hospitality table by the Playfields.

Route ends at SW Webster and 11th Ave SW

Pets may want to stay home — it can get loud!

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On Tuesday we reported on city crews at 9th/Henderson for an encampment “remediation.” Unified Care Team spokesperson Callie Craighead said the city’s tally of results would be available today. Here’s what she told us:

The Unified Care Team conducted an RV remediation at 9th SW and SW Henderson yesterday morning. There were 3 RVs at the location, and 2 moved voluntarily from the area prior to start of remediation. Our teams towed the one remaining RV and removed almost 2,200 pounds of debris from the site. Offers of shelter were made but none were accepted at that time.

I wanted to note that the 2 RVs that moved voluntarily moved several blocks away, so constituents may feel like the situation was not taken care of. UCT parking enforcement works to keep vehicles in compliance with the City’s 72-hour parking regulations and they will be closely monitoring this area.

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11:05 AM: Thanks for the texted tip. City crews are working this morning at 9th/Henderson [map], where RVs have camped for months. We went over for these photos after the tip. As is usual, the operation includes multiple city departments, SPD included.

The texter told us, “… The 9th and Henderson RV camp was partially moved today. The city is out there now. However they just moved from the interaction north of Henderson to maybe 75 feet away to now being on the west side of the intersection of Henderson. This encampment has in some variation been here since February. When they cleared out Trenton a few moved here.”

The texter said a car had already been towed this morning; we saw one tow truck standing by in the area. We’ll be checking with the Unified Care Team later in the day for a summary.

ADDED TUESDAY EVENING: A UCT spokesperson says info from this “remediation” – a description that suggests it was more a cleanup operation than a sweep – will be provided tomorrow. Meantime, if you’re interested, the city released its third-quarter homelessness-related data today.

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Highland Park Improvement Club is edging ever-closer to rebuilding its headquarters, after 2021’s devastating fire.

Until then, HPIC leaders, members, and supporters are gathering in other venues – like the wreathmaking meetup at Highland Park Corner Store today (photo above), and online, which was the venue for this past Wednesday’s town hall. Here’s what we heard:

As HPIC moves into the future, it’s rebuilding in a different way too – it’s attracted new board members; more than half the board is new, it was noted near the start of the town hall. And it’s been a momentous year, as documented in this video shown after the board members’ introductions:

More milestones in the rebuild were part of it, of course, including demolition of what remained of the fire-gutted old HPIC building. Kay Kirkpatrick recapped everything else that happened this year, including hiring a general contractor.

(October photo courtesy Kay Kirkpatrick)

Now that the building’s down to the foundation, it’s time for work on the side sewer before the demolition preview can be “closed out”; then comes “civil work … where people dig around and look for plumbing lines, things like that.” Then it’s time to work on other phases:

How they move through those phases, Kirkpatrick said, depends on how funding goes. In response to a question, she said, no, the shell won’t be usable, they’ll have to get the new building to a stage where they get a occupancy permit. But they do hope to use the site as much as possible (only half of it will be fenced off for the project).

Not yet, though – so they were at Highland Park Corner Store for today’s Wreath-Making Meetup, and they’ll be moving through the neighborhood for the Not-So-Silent-Night Parade on New Year’s Eve. (Volunteers appreciated!)

(WSB photo, New Year’s Eve 2022)

Now back to the topic of fundraising. They have two needs – operations, and the rebuilding project. So far they have $1.75 million for the latter; they hope to get business sponsors and “major donors” to help cover the rest of what they need. They’re wrapping up work on fundraising strategy and planning a capital campaign. They will need to “re-introduce” themselves to the community to build connections – fundraising@hpic1919.org if you can help and/or have ideas.

For HPIC operations, they are working on a business model, though the organization is nonprofit.

The priority will be “welcoming and meaningful and barrier-free arts, culture, and social events.” supported by member and rental fees. To get more of a handle on pursuing those, they are studying who else is serving Highland Park in that space, in hopes of forming new partnerships (and confirming that their rental rates are competitive). If you’d like to help with the resource inventory, email galen.vanhorn@hpic1919.org.

How to get involved? There’s a link on the HPIC website. You also can follow HPIC on social media. You can become a member (with multiple levels of membership available). And/or be part of the “people power” they need from the neighborhood for all the different tasks that need to be handled. “Boosting awareness and engagement” are the focuses for 2025.

One question submitted before the town hall had to do with aircraft noise in the area. Kirkpatrick suggested that the person come to the HPAC meeting in January (fourth Wednesday, 7 pm, so January 22). Another question, sent in via chat: What about the construction timeline? Site prep is expected to go into mid-2025, but beyond that, it’s hard to say, funding-dependent – the next phase might take six to nine months IF full funding is found (at least $3 million total). Same for the “systems” phase – and then they hope to get the occupancy permit even if the building’s not quite complete. But they also recognize that there are a lot of questions regarding how costs might be affected if the next federal-government administration indeed imposes tariffs. They’ll be in close communications with their contractor, Metis (which had a representative at the meeting).

You can read about HPIC’s century-plus history here.

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What’s happening with the Highland Park Improvement Club rebuilding project since the old fire-ravaged building was demolished? What else is the group working on? How can you be part of it? Those are just some of the questions to be answered when HPIC convenes its next Virtual Town Hall, set for 7 pm Wednesday, November 20th. You can send in your own questions now – two ways:

Fill out this question form
Email your question to contact@hpic1919.org

You’ll find the attendance link on the HPIC home page.

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Graphic courtesy of Metro: Newly revised proposed bus-stop changes for 16th Ave SW between Holden/Henderson

By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

In response to pushback from area residents, King County Metro is proposing a newly modified set of scaled-back changes to bus stops and service associated with the 125/128 routes on 16th Ave SW between SW Holden Street and SW Henderson Street (see image above).

These changes, shared with us at WSB and discussed at last Wednesday night’s monthly meeting of the HPAC community coalition (serving Highland Park, Riverview and South Delridge), represent a partial rollback of the more-abruptly announced changes that caused a stir when they were announced back in February.

Metro is now looking for community feedback on these changes, in the form of an online survey that is being broadly promoted and will be open until November 22nd.

Some bus-riders have likely already noticed the new “Proposed Stop Changes” signs (including a QR code that links to the same online survey) that Metro began posting last week at various stops on 16th Ave SW:

Based on the initial feedback from HPAC attendees in last Wednesday’s meeting, the reception to Metro’s proposal seems likely to land much better this time around. “In general, this is all good news!” said one attendee. Here’s what the process now looks like, with potential implementation happening in the new year:

A complete rundown of the bus changes and the rationale from Metro is down below, but first, some other HPAC items from the meeting, which was facilitated by co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick.

After opening remarks, HPAC acknowledged last week’s passing of WSB co-founder Patrick Sand, calling it “sad news” and commending Sand for always improving morale of those around him, and “just getting stuff done.”

Next up, SPD Officer German Barreto from the Southwest Precinct provided a crime-stats update. He said that for Highland Park, aggravated assaults are trending down (but up for the past 28 days compared to 2023), and vehicle theft is down.  For Delridge, burglaries have gone up (33% for the past 28 days compared to 2023). In terms of specific events, he mentioned a shooting and attempted robbery in Highland Park on September 30th (shots fired, nobody hurt), and in South Delridge a shots fired incident (no victims or property damage) on September 5th.

SW Precinct Operations Lt. Nathan Shopay was also in attendance, and he addressed the fact that neighbors told him that although crime is down in the past year, they “hear a lot of shootings in the distance.”  Shopay said that there have indeed been some events “behind the greenspace” and down the hill, mostly just shots, but as one attendee pointed out there have been some significant events such as the shooting at Shree’s.

Barreto and Shopay both reiterated the importance of neighbors calling in whenever they hear gunshots (or if they experience any potentially criminal event).  They said that for data collection purposes, and staffing, SPD uses that data to help make decisions and often to link together suspects and crimes at a later date. “Make the call to 911, it’s never an inconvenience.”  One attendee said that they’ve typically received good response from 911 calls.  Another asked about a recent robbery they had heard about, and Shopay said that SPD has “caught about half of the guys responsible for 60-70 robberies in the area,” (SPD info here) which was a big win.  Another attendee thanked officers for their assistance with some specific issues in their neighborhood (such as a troublesome property near 20th and Henderson), and asked about why there would have been several people on her block that were suddenly ticketed for expired plates all at once — Shopay said that it was likely because the vehicles were flagged as part of parking regulations related to recent RV parking enforcement.

Next up was an update from Sean Blackwell from the city’s CARE Department (Community Assisted Response and Engagement), who confirmed that his team plans to expand the number of Community Crisis Responders (CCRs) from 11 currently to 28 eventually. This will include, in the first quarter of 2025, an expansion into the South Precinct and into West Seattle’s own Southwest Precinct.  He said the role of CCRs is to support and complement police and fire responders, and to focus on connecting people to necessary services while dealing with crisis situations. He mentioned a YouTube video that talked about some of the team’s successes. Blackwell echoed what SPD staff said about 911 calls — always call, if you see/hear something — and said that he finds the community meetings very valuable and plans to attend more in the future.

One attendee said that they once attended a workshop about “how to make a good 911 call” by providing the right information, and asked if SPD/CARE staff could perhaps do something like that for HPAC in the future.  Blackwell said that’s definitely an option, although he said that 911 dispatchers are well-trained to ask the right questions, and to get the right information. He said that one of the main complaints he hears from residents is “OK, I call 911 and ask for someone to come, but how come it took so long?” He said that SPD has staffing challenges, and steps are being taken to fix that but it will take some time. Incoming calls are prioritized: if it involves threat to life or bodily harm or is an emergency, then it’s a “priority 1” call and it gets triaged and dispatched first.  If multiple calls come in with high priority, then it can lead to delays, but regardless it’s important for residents to call 911 and engage with the right people.

At that point in the meeting, the Metro bus stop discussion took center stage for the rest of the meeting. Kirkpatrick thanked Metro staff for following up and coming back to talk to the group.  There were three Metro staff members in attendance: Robbie Frankel, Drew Robinson and Jessica Vu.  Frankel drove the discussion and presentation, and said “we want to apologize for causing confusion in the past; we are here with a revised proposal” and look forward to hearing the public’s feedback via the online survey between now and November 22nd.

Here is the full list of changes and rationale from Metro, sent to us and also shared with HPAC last Wednesday night:

Bus stop changes proposed to create better King County Metro bus service

To improve bus service for riders in Highland Park, King County Metro is asking for public feedback on a handful of bus stop changes along 16th Avenue Southwest between Southwest Holden and Henderson streets in West Seattle.

In early 2024, Metro gathered feedback on an initial proposal to change stops along 16th Avenue Southwest for routes 125 and 128. A summary of feedback from riders highlighted that:

• For safety and comfort reasons, many riders prefer to cross the street at intersections with flashing pedestrian lights (Southwest Kenyon Street, Southwest Thistle Street, and Southwest Trenton Street) and avoid crossing at busy streets (Southwest Holden Street and Southwest Henderson Street.)
• Stops at Southwest Thistle Street are important for community access.
• Many students use the northbound stop at Southwest Trenton Street.

As a result, Metro is proposing closing only four existing closely-spaced bus stops, relocating one bus stop and installing one new bus stop. As part of these changes, Metro proposes sidewalk, shelter and ADA improvements to be built in partnership and funded by the City of Seattle Transportation Measure. This area also has seen recent service improvements with the launch of Metro Flex and added service on routes 60 and 125.

In the section of 16th Avenue Southwest between Southwest Holden Street and Southwest Henderson Street, consecutive stops are roughly 600 feet apart, compared to Metro’s target of having stops no closer than 1,300 feet. This area is a good candidate for bus stop improvements, and consolidating some stops ensures that city investments are made in stops Metro is committed to keeping. Reducing the number of stops also means each stop will be able to be made ADA-accessible.

Metro’s online survey of riders runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 22. Analysis of public feedback will take place later this year. Stops will be improved by the City of Seattle on a rolling basis beginning in 2025 and Metro will keep stops locations open until construction improvements at the remaining stops are completed.

Rider alerts with online survey links in English, Spanish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese are scheduled to be installed along the corridor beginning Oct. 24.

Proposed stop closures

• 16th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Elmgrove Street, northbound (stop #21390) and southbound (stop #22210)
• 16th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Cloverdale Street, northbound (stop #21370) and southbound (stop #22230)

Proposed relocated stop

• Southbound stop (stop #22244) at 16th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Henderson Street relocated to serve as a westbound stop at Southwest Henderson Street and 17th Avenue Southwest

Proposed new stops

• New southbound stop added at 16^th Ave SW and SW Trenton St

Planned stop improvements

• Sidewalk improvements including adding bus bulbs, repairing damaged sidewalks, and rebuilding/adding bus landing pads at multiple stops
• Installing a new shelter with seating for the northbound bus stop at S Thistle St (stop #21380)
• Installing a new bench for the northbound bus stop at SW Trenton St (stop #21360)
• Improving ADA accessibility

No changes

• 16th Ave SW and SW Holden St, Southbound stop (stop #22190)
• 16th Ave SW and SW Kenyon St, Southbound stop (stop #22200)
• 16th Ave SW and SW Thistle St, Southbound stop (stop #22220)
• 16th Ave SW and SW Henderson St, Northbound stop (stop #21350)

Several meeting attendees thanked Metro for the changes, and asked for some follow-up clarifications (described in the map at the top of this article). One attendee thanked the team for keeping the Thistle stop, and for Sunday service (making it easier to do weekend grocery runs).

Others asked whether work needed to be done for certain bus stops, to make them more usable and safer — one near Kenyon, for example, has a sidewalk that’s very uneven due to tree root damage. The Metro team said that, yes, that’s something that they look at, but in many cases like that the tree is actually on private property, which makes it more difficult to manage.

Another attendee said that “I really appreciate the 125 route; it’s the fastest ride downtown on most days” and is glad that it’s been prioritized. Another attendee agreed, and added that the 125 is going to be essential to connect to the new light rail line. Frankel confirmed that, yes, the 125 route “rose to the top of all of our metrics” as the Metro team was looking at how to prioritize and optimize route changes. “We’re thrilled to offer improvements to it.”

An attendee also called out the Metro Flex service for routes 60 and 125 as a great example of a new offering that really makes a difference for residents.

HPAC meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month (with some “months off”) from 7pm-8:30pm, currently via Zoom.  The group can be contacted via email at: hpacchair@gmail.com

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Better than candy, it’s … trees! Highland Park celebrated Trick or Trees this afternoon at and around Highland Park Corner Store, centered on free trees for residents to take home and plant, but also featuring Halloween fun like a pet-costume contest:

Those were some of the contenders. Thanks to Kay Kirkpatrick of the Highland Park Action Committee (our report on their latest meeting is coming up later this weekend) and Highland Park Improvement Club for the photos!

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Every year, the weekend before Halloween is so full of seasonal activities, we’ve nicknamed it Hallo-weekend. This year that’ll be Saturday and Sunday, October 26-27. And we just got word of yet another event – the King County Wastewater Treatment Division sent word of this year’s Trick or Trees tree giveaway in Highland Park:

We are teaming up with the Dirt Corps, Duwamish Valley Youth Corps, and Highland Park Improvement Club to host our third annual tree giveaway to support community goals around neighborhood greening. Join us at one of our upcoming events in Highland Park and South Park to pick up a free native tree and learn about King County’s efforts to reduce pollution into the Duwamish River. Trees are available for community members and organizations based in South Park and Highland Park, on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. No registration is required.

Trick or Trees
When: Saturday, October 26, from noon to 4 p.m.
Where: Highland Park Corner Store, 7789 Highland Park Way SW

The event will include free trees, treats, and a Halloween costume contest for pets.

Find out more about Trick or Trees on the HPCS website.

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Two days after demolition began at the 12th/Holden site of the historic Highland Park Improvement Club building, what remained of it after the 2021 fire is gone. Thanks to HPIC trustee Kay Kirkpatrick for these photos.

The foundation that you see in the photos will be reused for the new building. Fundraising for that continues. And the site will be used for community events before construction starts – timeline for that depends on how the fundraising goes.

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Highland Park Improvement Club trustee Kay Kirkpatrick sent that photo from early this morning, as demolition of HPIC’s fire-gutted building began at 12th/Holden. As previewed here last night, this is a long-awaited step toward rebuilding, 3+ years after the fire. It’s still bittersweet for onlookers to see a century of history come down in a matter of hours; several were watching – including Kirkpatrick – when we stopped by less than an hour ago.

(This photo and next two by WSB’s Patrick Sand)

(added) Thanks to Scott Bessho for this video from right before we arrived, when the entry-side facade came down:

The Fed Excavation demolition crew is making fast work of the building; that’ll be followed by debris-clearing. Kirkpatrik says one challenge this morning was dealing with a ton-and-a-half steel beam. Its fate hasn’t been determined yet; some of the old timber from the building will be reclaimed. As will the site, in the interim time before its replacement is built (fundraising continues) – Kirkpatrick says a work party will be planned to clean it up and beautify it a bit once the building debris is gone.

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“Things are now ready for this big step in our rebuilding process.” So said Highland Park Improvement Club trustee Kay Kirkpatrick, announcing that the long-awaited demolition of what’s left of HPIC’s century-old building will finally start tomorrow (Monday, September 30). It’s now been three and a quarter years since the fire that ravaged the community-owned building, an epicenter of events for decades, even a community food hub during the pandemic. Back in July, HPIC held a farewell event, planned before they had discovered they’d face unexpected delays, “some additional asbestos found that had to be removed by Eco Environmental Services,” Kirkpatrick summarizes. But now they’re ready to get going with the teardown at 7 am Monday: “Metis Construction is our general contractor, and Fed Excavation is handling the demo.” HPIC is still raising money to pay for the replacement building, so the construction timeline isn’t finalized yet. (A city grant is helping with demolition costs and “site preservation” so the 12th/Holden site [map] can be used for events before construction.)

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

As city councilmembers dig into Mayor Harrell‘s budget proposal, they have a West Seattle-specific cut to consider:

14 years after the Seattle Police Department last tried to disband its Mounted Patrol Unit, the last one in the region, based next to Westcrest Park in southeast West Seattle, the unit is on the chopping block again, as a way to save just under a quarter-million dollars from an SPD budget that is proposed to jump from $395 million this year to $457 million next year.

A reader called our attention to this by forwarding a letter that Mounted Patrol members have drawn up, pleading for help to save what’s left of “the last Mounted Patrol Unit in the Pacific Northwest.” More on that in a moment. First, here’s what we found in the budget itself: The proposed cut is on page 362 of the mayor’s full citywide budget plan, sent to the City Council last Tuesday:

Remove Support For SPD’s Mounted Patrol Unit
Expenditures $(230,030)

This item eliminates General Fund support of the department’s Mounted Patrol Unit (MPU), including 1.0 FTE Equipment & Facilities Coordinator, three unbudgeted part-time temporary maintenance laborers, and associated operating costs. Sworn positions currently assigned to the MPU will continue to be funded by the General Fund but will be reassigned elsewhere in the department.

(WSB photo, 2023)

The unit has only two sworn positions assigned to it; as explained to us during an “open barn” at MPU HQ last year, if they need more help, officers are temporarily reassigned from elsewhere in the department. At the time of our visit, the unit had six horses plus mini-horse Li’l Sebastian.

In the new budget proposal, this is the only SPD service/unit specifically called out for cutting, The increased spending in the SPD budget (page 359) includes $10 million more for overtime to fund “emphasis patrols” (no geographical specifics but in the past these have included extra officers for summer nights on Alki), $2 million for the “Real-Time Crime Center,” $2 million for “scheduling and timekeeping software,” and $1.2 million to add more school-zone speed-enforcement cameras (of course eventually expected to pay for themselves).

(WSB photo, Morgan Junction Community Festival this past June)

The Mounted Patrol’s mission has changed over the years; when the unit was proposed for disbanding in 2010, its crowd-control attributes were discussed; more recently, its major function has been community relations. That’s pointed out in the support-seeking letter that was sent to us. See the full letter here; the text is as follows:

Loyal Supporter,
We need your help!

Horses have been a cherished part of the Seattle Police Department for almost 150 years; with the modern inception of the Mounted Unit being established in 1973 with eight horses, seven officers, and one sergeant. Today it is diminished to 1 dedicated sergeant and 1 full time Officer with civilian support barn staff, and it is the last remaining Mounted Patrol Unit in the Pacific Northwest.

In its early years, the Unit’s primary mission was to patrol the 5,000 acres of City parks. Its secondary mission was crowd control and management during largescale events. In the 1980s the unit further evolved, with patrol duties expanded to include the downtown waterfront business districts and residential areas, in addition to the 5,000 acres of City parks.

Today the Unit’s heart and soul is its commitment to the communities of Seattle and beyond, helping build a bridge between community members and law enforcement by not only patrolling neighborhoods, parks and the downtown Seattle corridor, but also through its participation in countless community events and celebrations. As a secondary, but no less important mission, the Seattle Police Mounted Unit is an integral part of honoring fallen law enforcement officers for a myriad of surrounding agencies, providing a longtime, honored tradition of the Riderless Horse for all line of duty death memorials across the Pacific Northwest.

To the point of our letter, we are having a moment of de ja vu. The Seattle Police Department has announced its intention to close the doors of this treasured piece of heritage. It is with a heart-wrenching plea that we write to you today, begging you to help rally the troops, warm up your voices and help us save our unit, the last Mounted Patrol Unit in the Pacific Northwest. Once it is gone, there is no bringing it back, ask the Portland Police Department. You’ve done it before when budget shortfalls at the City put the MPU in jeopardy in 2010, and we need you to do it again!

Help us by spreading the word to other community members and Mounted Unit supporters. Write letters to the Chief’s office, including all the Assistant Chiefs and Deputy Chief, beseech City Councilmembers, share your stories that include the Mounted Unit and our beloved Police Horses, make them see that we are more than a line item on a budget sheet, that our impact goes beyond today, that we are an integral part of One Seattle.

Warmly,
Seattle Police Mounted Patrol Team

Various contact addresses are listed on the letter‘s second page.

Back in 2010-2011, when then-Mayor Mike McGinn‘s budget called for cutting the Mounted Patrol Unit, the nonprofit Seattle Police Foundation came forward with funding to save it. That support lasted for a few years; in 2014, as we reported at the time, then-Mayor Ed Murray‘s budget restored general-fund support, calling the unit a “valuable public service.” (The police budget for 2015 was $298 million.) We’ll be contacting the SPF about the new unit-cutting proposal; it has continued to provide some support for the MPU, as we noted in this story last year.

(WSB photo, 2023)

Other questions so far include what would happen to the unit’s headquarters in Highland Park if the Mounted Patrol is indeed disbanded. Its upkeep has included a significant amount of community volunteer work, including beautification of the grounds. We’ll be following up.

WHAT’S NEXT: The proposed budget is now in the City Council’s hands to review and shape before a final vote in November. Right now the council is hearing department-by-department overviews; SPD is scheduled to make its presentation during the council session starting at 9:30 am Tuesday (October 1). The agenda includes a public-comment period, as do most other council meetings; the first budget-specific public hearing is set for October 16.

ADDED 2:24 PM: SPD has published a statement this afternoon about its plan to disband the unit. The statement says in part that “as SPD continues to recover from loss of hundreds of officers over the past four years, we have to carefully prioritize how to use existing scarce resources. The highest priority is maintaining the ability to respond quickly to emergency calls, and effectively investigate dangerous criminal behavior so the community is protected. This requires that we reduce resources for work that does not directly support these two priorities.”

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– 2 wheelbarrows of FREE compost per person
– Bring a shovel and container
– First come, first served
– Pedestrian friendly
-Limited vehicle access

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11:59 AM: Above, that’s what the southwest corner of 16th/Holden looks like today, a 9,425-square-foot former Seattle City Light substation originally declared as “surplus” more than a decade ago … and below is a “massing” rendering of its potential future with newly chosen prospective “affordable homeownership” developer Homestead Community Land Trust.

The city Office of Housing has just announced that it’s chosen Homestead CLT – which is also working on the Admiral Church project – to develop “permanently affordable” homes on the site. We’ve been following this process; most recently, the city told us in June that two developers were in the running, and one would be chosen by summer’s end. From the city announcement:

The City of Seattle’s Office of Housing (OH) is proud to announce a significant investment of up to $3 million in the future of affordable homeownership in West Seattle. This funding will be awarded to Homestead Community Land Trust (Homestead CLT) for the redevelopment of the former Dumar Substation site at 1605 SW Holden Street and will support the creation of 21 permanently affordable homes, marking a critical step forward in the City’s ongoing efforts to provide affordable housing options for low-income families.

Homestead CLT, partnering with the Cultural Space Agency, submitted a winning proposal through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process that not only increases the supply of affordable homeownership units but also integrates ground-floor commercial space to enhance community vibrancy.

Homestead CLT’s proposal garnered strong community backing, with local organizations like the Highland Park Action Committee and the Highland Park Improvement Club voicing their support. Once complete, the development will feature a four-story building with a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom homes, all of which will be available to buyers earning at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). In addition to providing affordable homeownership opportunities, the development will also include ground-floor commercial space.

The commercial space is something that community groups long had advocated for, as well as supporting zoning at the site – at an intersection with businesses on two corners and a fire station at the third – so it could support a project like this. We’re following up with Homestead regarding timeline and what happens next.

ADDED 1:03 PM: Here’s the response we received from Homestead CLT’s CEO Kathleen Hosfeld:

First, I want to give big props to [former City Councilmember] Lisa Herbold, because making sure this property was set aside for affordable housing was one of her top priorities before she left office. This was something I’d been hearing about for years directly from community leaders, and she got it done. Let’s make sure we give credit where it’s due.

In terms of opportunities for community engagement….The City has already engaged in a lot of outreach to determine what people want for this site. We don’t want to contribute to “process fatigue” by asking community to keep repeating the same feedback they’ve given before. But we typically host one or more community open house opportunities for engagement on projects before we submit our permit application. We intend to submit the permit application in May of 2025. We have not yet scheduled those events.

We hope to have full funding for the project by the end of 2025 and start construction in early 2026. However, if we are not fully funded, the timeline may get pushed to start construction in 2027.

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In late July, Highland Park Improvement Club trustees hosted a farewell gathering to say goodbye to their century-old building, on what was supposed to be the eve of its demolition, next phase of their rebuilding project after a fire three years ago. They explained to those gathered that a few late-breaking bumps in the permit process meant the teardown wasn’t imminent after all.

Six weeks later, the old building is still standing. So we asked HPIC trustees about the status. Here’s the explanation we received from Kay Kirkpatrick:

As you know, we were initially shooting for demo early in August, but we ran into a couple of delays with permitting, scheduling and the like. We also found out that we had asbestos elements in the old building, so we needed to get an abatement plan in place for that. So our target is now mid-Sept to get the hazardous materials removed, then our demo contractor can do the big job – pulling down the burned hall. The current plan is to get all this completed before the end of the month of September.

Bottom line, you should see work at the 12th/Holden site soon. They’re also still fundraising for the new building.

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