West Seattle, Washington
27 Sunday
(The west side of the “massing” for the “preferred scheme” for the new development, from the packet)
We’ve been reporting on Harbor Properties‘ proposal for another development in The Triangle, just as they get ready to open Link. Here’s our latest report on the project, named Nova, proposed for what’s currently a parking lot immediately north of the Seattle West Suites motel. Nova’s “early design guidance” meeting – first meeting in many months for the Southwest Design Review Board – is tomorrow; the “packet” for the meeting is online today, with copious quantities of information about the proposal and the surrounding area. You can review it here. Caveat that this is NOT a plan for what the building would eventually look like; “early design guidance” is meant to bring forward at least three options for how a development might be “massed” and arranged on its site, dealing with its size and shape. The three options in the packet for tomorrow’s meeting include “Option A” with 63 units and one live-work unit, “Option B” with 65 units and four live-work units, and “Option C,” which is identified as the developer’s “preferred scheme,” with 62 units and one “community space.” Public comment is welcome at tomorrow night’s hearing, which is set for 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon). This is the first of what would be at least two Design Review meetings on the project – once it passes “early design guidance,” there would be at least one meeting to review a more fully fleshed-out plan for how it would look and what it would include.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
One week from tonight, the Southwest Design Review Board convenes for the first time in many months, to offer “early design guidance” on a new West Seattle project. As reported here previously, that project is by Harbor Properties, which is about to open Link in The Triangle, a followup to its mixed-use sibling in The Junction, Mural. (Both are WSB sponsors.)
The new project is in The Triangle, two blocks east of Link, on a relatively small parcel (4600 36th SW) that Harbor bought while also at one time holding an option on the adjacent motel, an option it didn’t convert (as reported here last year, the motel has new owners and a new plan). We just spoke with Emi McKittrick and Denny Onslow of Harbor, who say the new project has a name: Nova. They’re looking at around 60 apartments, mostly one- and two-bedroom, and no retail – “because of where it’s located on 36th, we don’t think retail can thrive there; the site is kind of ‘tucked in’,” McKittrick explained. They’re aiming for six stories, and an as-yet-undetermined amount of parking – most likely similar to Link, with about two-thirds as many spaces as units.
With Link already having secured tenants for more than a quarter of its 195 units, before the first move-in (which is about a week away), Harbor is still banking on strong apartment demand in West Seattle: “It went undiscovered for so long as a delightful place to be,” Onslow observed. They don’t have sketches for Nova just yet, but we’ll see them in pre-meeting material sometime before next week’s Design Review Board meeting, 6:30 pm Thursday 3/24 at the Senior Center of West Seattle (SE corner of California/Oregon).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Eleven months ago, we published Chaco Canyon Organic Café‘s request for your opinion: Would their vegetarian/vegan cuisine be welcomed in West Seattle? The response was an overwhelming “yes” – and today, they are two weeks away from their April 1st opening in The Triangle’s new development Link (WSB sponsor).
Though finishing touches remain, we stopped in on Tuesday for the first sneak peek inside, courtesy of the same team we had interviewed at Chaco Canyon’s U-District location 4 months ago – owner Chris Maykut and West Seattle general manager Sarah Coyle.
They are excited and ebullient about West Seattle-homegrown components to the new café – from the soon-to-be-hung light fixtures (above) created “in a studio under the West Seattle Bridge,” to a staff with a significant number of West Seattleites, including two who also plan to live upstairs at Link (whose first tenants move in on March 25th).
This week, there were still decisions to be made – like, how many tables? The tables and wood trim (above) around the new restaurant are made with recycled materials, which thrills Chris to no end – recycled palettes, to be specific, “glue-laminated.”
They are also excited about the community room on the north side of the 2,800-square-foot space. It’ll hold between 30 and 40 people, and will be rentable for meetings and classes, Chris explains – when it’s not in use, it’ll be more space for people to sit down and enjoy Chaco Canyon food and drink.
Any changes since last time we spoke? They’ve decided not to be open Sunday nights, for now – Sarah added, “We want to grow into it.” On Sundays, they will be open for brunch, 9 am-3 pm. Mondays-Fridays, Chaco Canyon will be open 7 am-9 pm, and on Saturdays, it’ll be 9 am-9 pm.
Their staff already is in training, having done an orientation at the original Chaco Canyon and then a followup last Friday at the new location. Before they get into “friends and family” shakedown cruises the last few days before the scheduled April 1st opening, they are inviting you to a March 26th open house.
Even on official opening day, some parts of the new café – which you’ll enter from the southwestern corner of Link (38th/Alaska, above) – will be a work in progress. The retail space along the eastern wall – where you will eventually find cookbooks, among other things – will not be fully fleshed out. Chris says they need to “nose around West Seattle” to see what there’s a need for, particularly relating to vegan, organic, raw, gluten-free nutrition. They might sell art, as well – art will have a prominent place inside Chaco Canyon, as it does throughout the rest of Link (the Twilight Artist Collective curation for the main part of the building doesn’t extend into its businesses, but Chris notes he is a longtime friend of one of Twilight’s trio of founders).
They’re also reaching out to other Triangle businesses; Sarah says she’s been talking with the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) and is “really inspired” by what they are doing and offering.
But back to details. As we wrap up our chat, Chris is wondering about the light bulbs for the new glass fixtures (he pointed out to us earlier that many of the lights in the restaurant will be LEDs, with a major energy savings).
And as we all look out the window at what was at the time a rainy morning, he and Sarah mention there will be outdoor seating when the weather gets nicer, along the west-facing facade, 16 to 20 people.
That’s still a few months away. In the meantime, the doors will officially swing open at 7 am Friday, April 1st, after that March 26th sneak peek, which will be 7-11 pm, with appetizers, beer, and wine – no RSVP needed, “if 500 people show up, we’ll feed 500 people,” Chris promises.
One day before the first tenants are expected to move into Harbor Properties‘ new Link (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle on March 25th, its plan for another Triangle site will be shown to the Southwest Design Review Board. The SWDRB meeting for Harbor’s proposal at 4600 36th SW (just north of the motel) is set for 6:30 pm March 24th at the Senior Center of West Seattle. We first reported two months ago that Harbor was planning to develop the site, currently used for parking. They’re promising more details later this week, but in the meantime, the city webpage for the proposal describes it as “a 5-story, multifamily residential structure containing 63 units of housing.” That’s about a third of the number of units in Link, two blocks west. Side note – since few major developments have been under consideration around here lately, this will be the SWDRB’s first meeting since its “early design guidance” session seven months ago for the 7100 Delridge proposal (which has yet to go to a second SWDRB meeting).
(Erin, Cheryl, and Mary from Twilight Artist Collective, powering along at Link)
So you’ve spent months working on curating, installing, and in some cases creating, ALL the art for an entire new block-long mixed-use development. Could be grounds for fatigue. Do the proprietors of Twilight Artist Collective look tired? On the contrary, they were positively perky when we revisited them the other day, checking on the progress of their work at Link (now about a month away from opening) in The Triangle. The Junction photo mural is one of the newest pieces; the stairwell mural is also finished (here are our previous photos while it was still a work-in-progress), featuring birds and bees, among other touches:
Other birds you’ll see in Link include seagulls on the 4th floor, courtesy of Mary:
Link’s lobby is showcasing art too, including this “bridge to nowhere”:
The Twilight team tells us their installation work should be done this week. Link continues pre-leasing, with move-ins to start next month; its three retail tenants are also preparing to open – Chaco Canyon Organic Café and Breathe Hot Yoga in April, Bright Horizons in May (we’re taking a closer look at them later this weekend, in advance of their next “parent information night” coming up this Thursday).
Seldom have we seen a West Seattle story in citywide/regional media generate this many notes suggesting we recommend it to everyone! But our mailbox has overflowed this afternoon/evening with notes about KUOW Radio‘s story on the Beloved Mexico food truck that has taken up residence on the West Seattle Produce lot along Fauntleroy Way south of SW Alaska. Listen for yourself here.
(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
You still have a few hours to be part of opening night at The Bridge, the new hangout/bar/eatery at 4439 35th SW (map), not far from the Fauntleroy entrance to its namesake. WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen visited shortly after The Bridge officially opened its doors and started to pour – 4 pm today. Of course proprietors Rita Dixson and Trevor Garand were greeting their first customers:
This day/night will be memorable for them for more than the obvious reason – for one, as mentioned in our preview last week, today is also Rita’s birthday. And then – there was the snow shower that moved through the area right around opening time – Trevor was a good sport about posing on The Bridge’s 1,800-square-foot patio:
Inside, the big brick fireplace was waiting to warm everyone up:
The Bridge is online here, and on Facebook here. P.S. They tell us they’re planning on Wednesday karaoke. Per their FB page, they’re opening at 4 pm weekdays, 1 pm weekends.
(WSB photo of “The Hole,” taken last month)
We’re back at the King County Courthouse, where the foreclosure sale originally planned tomorrow for “The Hole” – the long-stalled West Seattle development site at 39th/Alaska (map) – is now off, or “stayed” in legal terms. That’s the result of multiple hearings over the past week, concluding with the decision this morning.
But the party that sought the stay, the site’s current note-holder 3922 SW Alaska, did not get the other big thing they wanted in seeking the stay. They were denied their request to be allowed to proceed with their own foreclosure sale so they could take possession and, they said, start working on the site, even while their appeal of Judge Susan Craighead‘s original ruling proceeded through the Court of Appeals. (Her original ruling, last November, was simply to determine whose lien against the stalled project came before whose – she ruled that the two construction companies and another contractor had precedence before 3922 SW Alaska.)
Today, Judge Craighead said no to the proposal for 3922 SW Alaska’s own foreclosure sale, even while making it clear she doesn’t want to keep the site idle. In fact, during this morning’s hearing, as she has done before, the judge repeatedly voiced concern about the West Seattle community’s desire to see something done with the property, which that was going to be a Whole Foods store, a Hancock Fabrics store, and apartments, over a big parking garage, till the project fell apart two and a half years ago and turned into a multi-party legal fight.
The judge instead declared that the way to bring about a resolution sooner was to push the Court of Appeals to speed up its consideration of the appeal (even as the fight over the collapsed project moves toward another trial this summer). In the meantime, 3922 SW Alaska – which is associated with Madison Development‘s owner – has put up $7,714,799, to protect the interests of the three lienholders in line ahead of it. (The money was in the form of a cashier’s check brought to court this morning.)
Bottom line: The Hole remains The Hole at least until the Court of Appeals decides on the challenge filed by 3922 SW Alaska LLC. We’ll be watching to see if it does indeed get sped up (the judge noted one case of hers once made it through the appeals court in a month).
It can get a little confusing if you start talking about “the mural at Link,” since the new Triangle building in the Harbor Properties family is sibling to Mural in The Junction (both are WSB sponsors) … but here, the pictures tell the story.
Work has begun on the mural decorating the stairwell at Link, part of the 40-plus-work buildingwide art collection being curated by Twilight Artist Collective in The Junction. They’re putting up the other work too. And one of Twilight’s trio of proprietors is among the mural’s artists:
Twilight’s Erin Staffeld is working on the mural with Curtis Ashby and John Osgood (more of his work can be seen here).
According to Harbor’s Emi McKittrick, the first move-ins at Link are still expected to happen sometime next month.
They’re celebrating a big anniversary at Tom’s Automotive Service (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle today – 40 years in business! Though the office is decked with balloons and streamers, and trays of cupcakes are on the counter and in the waiting room – all in the red/white/blue theme that are also their company colors – they’re not stopping down for a party; we could barely get everyone together for our photo; the phone just kept ringing. Tom’s was founded at 6047 1/2 California SW on this date in 1971 (that’s namesake Tom Smith in our photo, fourth from the right). The business moved to The Triangle in 1973. There’s a bit more about Tom’s Automotive in our official WSB welcome from last year, including their community involvement (signs of which are all over the office – with certificates, photos, and the basket for food-bank donations you’re invited to bring in for a discount on your bill).
With six weeks having gone by since our last progress report on the West Seattle Trader Joe’s, we weren’t surprised to see questions come up in the comment thread on this past Monday’s Triangle open house. Then, just as we got ready to start on an update, two people e-mailed to say the Burien Trader Joe’s staff — long a source of West Seattle rumors, it seems – had told West Seattle shoppers that the project was allegedly having permit problems. Keep in mind, the formal permit application was made just two months ago, and these things seldom move swiftly through the city pipeline. But to get a better idea of where it’s at, we did two things: 1. Went downtown to the Department of Planning and Development to look into the application file. 2. Talked to John Wunder, who represents properties (including this one at 4545 Fauntleroy Way) owned by Steve Huling and family (the site was the longtime Huling Brothers Buick showroom). Here’s what we found out:
THE FILE: The documents we reviewed at DPD HQ at noontime yesterday appear relatively routine. The newest one-sheet, from the land-use review, was dated February 1st. Most of the back-and-forth has to do with parking for the store, some of which will be on the building’s rooftop parking area, some of which will be on the ground-level lot. According to the documents, some of the parking was in conflict with a strip that’s on the record as an alley, so the city asked that parking proposed for that “alley” area be removed. The city asked for a traffic study and more information on where the “loading berth” will be. A few data points of interest are also in the application – it’s expected the project will generate 1,365 daily vehicle trips. The exterior modifications (architect rendering at right) will bring the height to 39’9″ in at least one spot, a few feet higher than it is now. It appears that only one comment was received during the recent open-comment period for the project’s environmental review; a North Seattle woman wrote that she felt the project would have an environmental impact, and hoped that trees would be included. (The proposal does call for adding “landscaping islands” that are projected to reduce the amount of “impervious” surface on the site.)
THE PROPERTY REP: John Wunder says he’s checked with key players on the project, and there’s really nothing to say other than, it’s proceeding. They hope to finish the permit process this spring.
The documents on file with the city project a 175-day construction schedule – that’s just under six months – so you could certainly conclude the store is not likely to be open before late summer/early fall. (The original TJ’s announcement last June promised only “2011.”) According to the documents, Trader Joe’s would seek to “commence construction immediately” once the permits are granted. The file also notes that “50 to 75 employees” are expected to work at the store.
We reported “live” last night from the West Seattle Triangle open house, which drew more than 60 people, including local neighborhood and business leaders as well as city planners. (Here’s our story, including video of what City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen had to say.) If you couldn’t be there – you can still take a look at what was presented, now that it’s all published to the city’s website. The introductory overview is here; the “boards” are here, including the final few pages focusing on the potential of 85-foot-high buildings in part of The Triangle, 20 feet above current zoning; and a closer look at the “street-use concept” proposal is here. Next steps: These concepts get official city reviews, with more opportunities for you to officially comment.
(The city’s “Triangle Study Area,” which stretches a little beyond the boundaries of the 35th/Fauntleroy/Alaska Triangle itself)
6:12 PM: It’s already home to businesses and residential complexes like the West Seattle Family YMCA and Tom’s Automotive (both WSB sponsors), Alki Lumber and Diva Espresso, the VFW and American Legion halls, medical clinics for people and pets, Fire Station 32, the soon-to-be-made-over Seattle West Inn and Suites, the new Link residential/retail building and Merrill Gardens-West Seattle (WSB sponsors), the future lounge/restaurant The Bridge, Mountain to Sound Outfitters, the future Trader Joe’s and future Les Schwab Tire Center, and more … and from the south end of the West Seattle Bridge, it’s a gateway. So how will The Triangle evolve? Right now, it’s your chance for a closer look at proposed street-use and land-use concepts, potentially phased in over the years ahead, following months of work by city planners and a citizens’ advisory group – and your chance to share what you think about the concepts. The West Seattle Triangle Open House is under way till 8 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon in The Junction, enter from Oregon), with what’s promised to be a “short presentation” at 6:30. More to come.
7:05 PM: More than 60 people are here – both familiar faces from the business and neighborhood-association communities, and others who want to know what might be in store for this pivotal neighborhood. As shown in our photo above, Councilmember Tom Rasmussen – who has been involved in Triangle planning and brainstorming for almost three years – is here too. He spoke briefly (video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown):
Also speaking were city planner Susan McLain and architect David Hewitt. (They presented very brief toplines on the ways in which The Triangle could evolve, including pedestrian streetscapes in its interior, and the latest version of the Fauntleroy Way “boulevard” concept from SW Alaska to The Bridge – which could have two travel lanes in each direction plus a landscaped median – that’s not officially written into any city plans or budgets yet, though, according to our most recent checks.)
Also here, if you have questions – Paul Roybal and Christine Alar from the county and city respectively, answering questions about Metro’s coming-next-year RapidRide (see our latest story here). One of the Luna Park business leaders who is concerned about RapidRide-related parking loss, John Bennett, is here and voiced his concerns as the presentation ended. Harbor Properties’ Denny Onslow followed him, talking about Link, the mixed-use apartments/retail building that’s almost complete in The Triangle, which he expects will bring 300 new residents to The Triangle, as well as dozens of jobs in the restaurant, yoga studio, and child-care center that are moving in. The formal presentation just ended – still an hour left for Q/A, with planning reps, architects, and RapidRide, as noted.
7:51 PM: The public’s gone and the official participants have rolled up the renderings and folded up the aisles – it’s over. McLain says the presentation will be on the city website tomorrow (we’ll post a separate update when it turns up). Next steps, as she noted in her remarks – even more public meetings and comment periods, as city departments formally review these concepts for potential inclusion in official city planning records, where they would be consulted as redevelopment happens in the area in the years and decades ahead.
From tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting – the monthly gathering (usually at South Seattle Community College) of reps from major community groups and organizations around what the city calls the Southwest District (basically western West Seattle) – first three presentations summarized at 8:23 pm, the rest added at 9:13 pm:Read More
The final retail space in Link (WSB sponsor) is now officially leased: Harbor Properties‘ Emi McKittrick had told us a few weeks ago that they were negotiating with a “hot yoga” studio, and just announced the deal is done. The studio is Breathe Hot Yoga, which already operates a studio at 2330 8th Avenue downtown (map). We have a message out to Breathe Hot Yoga’s proprietor and will add any new information we get; according to their Facebook page, opening is set for April 1st, same as Chaco Canyon Organic Café‘s restaurant at Link, while the Bright Horizons child-care center is working toward opening in May.
ADDED 11:11 PM: Heard back from Breathe proprietor Amber:
– We plan to open April 1, 2011
– We will start off with 4 classes a day Monday-Friday and 2 classes a day Saturday/Sunday
– All class packages and memberships will be good at both locations (our current location is in South Lake Union off of 8th & Bell, one block west of Whole Foods)
– How we differentiate ourselves:
– At Breathe, we focus first on the yoga practice. Along with that we focus on serving our customers’ needs. We offer high quality instruction and in an accepting, friendly environment. We welcome all types of practitioners. Although we practice yoga in a heated room, we emphasize the yoga practice, not heat exhaustion. We try to make every class for every customer an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. Unlike other hot yoga studios, we provide different temperature zones within the yoga studio. Having different zones, allows to students acclimate to the heat in a graduated manner.
– At Breathe we recognize that practicing yoga in a super heated room is a luxury from an energy consumption standpoint. We do our best to reduce energy consumption by using radiant heat, natural lighting and well insulated spaces. We understand the yoga experience starts when a customer walks thru our door and ends when they leave. We strive for excellent service, a clean environment and great yoga.
For Breathe Hot Yoga, this is really a homecoming. Amber was instrumental in building the West Seattle hot yoga community. She developed a loyal following as the director and lead teacher at Bikram Yoga West Seattle from 2001-2008.
While some of her students made the trek to SLU, many more have expressed excitement at the prospect of a Breathe Hot Yoga closer to home.
Thanks!
Amber Borgomainerio, Ross Yearsley & the Breathe Hot Yoga Staff
(Rear/side view of the building Les Schwab is seeking to turn into a sales/service center)
Another one of the former Huling (etc.) properties in The Triangle may be occupied soon. Les Schwab Tire Centers has confirmed to WSB what we had discovered by reviewing plans on file with the city online and at the Municipal Tower downtown: The tire company has applied to make “tenant improvements” to a West Seattle site. Plans on file with the city say the onetime Huling building on the southwest corner of 38th/Alaska (map) will be a Les Schwab “sales and service center.” The company won’t comment further – through a spokesperson, Schwab’s Jodi Hueske said, “We do not comment on applications that are under review” — but the plans on file with the city Department of Planning and Development are detailed:
The Les Schwab plans on file only cover the east section of that site, with the 65-year-old building that also previously housed Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The old Enterprise sign was finally taken down this month; observant WSB’ers also noticed the “For Lease/Sale” sign at Fauntleroy/Alaska had come down as well, and we’ve been working on the story ever since. The plan does NOT call for any new structures, just an estimated $1 million of improvements to the current structure; the site will have five regular parking spaces and one for the disabled, according to the plans on file.
This application is filed at 3801 SW Alaska instead of the corner address, 4700 Fauntleroy Way SW; the Fauntleroy Way address had a Les Schwab proposal in the online file last year, but when we looked into it last fall, the company denied that anything was in the works. The new application was filed on December 28th.
Again, we don’t know the timetable for the expected opening, since the company says it won’t comment further at this phase beyond confirming they have “applied … for a tenant-improvement permit,” nor do we know what if anything is immediately in store for the western half of the site. (By the way, though this site held part of the former Huling automotive businesses, the land itself is not owned by the Huling family.)
Since the now-pre-leasing Link in The Triangle is among our newest sponsors, we’ve received/reported plenty about its attributes. But this glowing attention-getter is something we just happened onto without warning – spotted it peripherally while driving Fauntleroy Way the other night, then before we could even investigate, we got a tip from Kevin, and photos from Christopher Boffoli (who found the lighting reminiscent of the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History).
Link is along 38th between Fauntleroy and Alaska, in the final construction phase and expecting move-ins to start in March.
Before the first week of pre-leasing was even over at Link (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle, nine units already were spoken for. Harbor Properties‘ Emi McKittrick says that’s quite the pace. She took us on a tour of the almost-complete building along 38th SW between Fauntleroy and Alaska (map) this past week, our first tour since this one in October. Ahead, come on up to the expansive view-deck roof and into the model units, as well as a lobby that’s even going to sport iPads:
As their new mixed-use development Link nears completion a few blocks away, Harbor Properties has revealed it’s in the early stages of planning to develop another site they own in The Triangle – the southeast corner of 36th and Snoqualmie (map). As shown in our photo taken around dusk tonight, the site’s currently a parking lot; Harbor’s Emi McKittrick says it’s been used by Link workers by day, overflow from the kitty-corner West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) by night. She says Harbor does not have a specific plan yet, but has applied to “get a place in line” for Early Design Guidance, expecting it’ll be a few months before a meeting is scheduled, and they’ll rough something out by then. She says Harbor thinks the site could hold about 60 residential units, but isn’t sure whether the development should be entirely residential, or include retail – community comments are welcome, and they plan to start talking to Triangle-area neighbors about their thoughts.
If you’re familiar with the area, you know this is immediately north of the soon-to-be-remodeled Seattle West Inn and Suites property, which Harbor was once planning to buy. Though that deal was never completed, and the motel instead was bought by other area property owners, Harbor retained ownership of 36th/Snoqualmie (and also owns a small parcel near Link where its construction trailer has been headquartered; McKittrick says that will become a playground for the Bright Horizons child-care center that will be opening at Link in May).
Triangle side note: Reminder that 3 local groups are scheduled to meet jointly tomorrow night for updates and Q/A on the upcoming RapidRide bus service, including its Triangle route, which has drawn concern over potential parking loss and other issues: 6:30 pm Tuesday, Senior Center of West Seattle.
For months, city staffers and community advisory-group members have worked on a look ahead to the future of The Triangle, as part of the area starts to redevelop – with Link almost complete, Seattle West Inn and Suites slated for major remodeling, and new businesses opening in the area. The date has just been set for your chance to come see and comment on what the city describes as “the proposed street design concept plan and land use concepts” – a community open house is planned for 6-8 pm Monday, February 7, at the Senior Center of West Seattle. Get a sneak peek on the Triangle planning-process webpage.
In The Triangle, the West Seattle Family YMCA (longtime WSB sponsor) has just put up new signage, with a new look for the first time in more than 40 years. The Y’s Josh Sutton tells WSB it’s about more than just a logo – and other upgrades are in the works:
Over the past few years, Ys across the country, led by YMCA of the USA, found that people love the Y, but couldn’t really name what we do beyond swim, gym & camp. So it’s time to refresh and make sure we communicate better how the Y strengthens the foundations of community.
Our look has changed a couple of times since we came to both the West Seattle Junction and the Fauntleroy communities in the early 1920s. The last time we revamped the Y look was the late 1960s. The new logo comes in five colors and focuses on what most people already call us – the Y.
More important to us than the new look and colors, we want to better communicate the impact of our Y – For Youth Development, For Healthy Living, For Social Responsibility.
When our full-time Y directors at Sealth & West Seattle High Schools help 9th graders to make a successful transition to high school, our Y is For Youth Development.
When cancer survivors get together to exercise and support each other at the Fauntleroy Y, we are For Healthy Living.
When more than 975 Y volunteers give more than 21,000 hours and 2,400 donors chip in to help West Seattle kids in need, we are For Social Responsibility.
We appreciate the enormous support and involvement our Y has in the West Seattle community, and hope that you like the new look! By the end of the month, we’ll have launched a new website that is more easily navigable and brings the new look and message online. Our staff and volunteers are thrilled to share these changes with you, and we look forward to seeing those new Y shirts around the neighborhood!
(View of Link’s south side along SW Alaska, photographed today)
New information today about the child-care center coming to Link, the almost-complete mixed-use building in The Triangle: Bright Horizons has set the date for a parent-information session. Though it won’t be open till spring 2011 – as noted on its official webpage – it’s welcoming interested parents to stop by Cupcake Royale in The Junction (California/Alaska) on January 20th, open-house style from 4-7 pm, to meet regional manager Mahira Aleem and ask questions. Aleem tells WSB the center in Link (4530 38th SW) will “serve 150 children ages 6 weeks to 6 years old (and) offer full-time infant, toddler and preschool care year round.” Link has been under construction for 13 months; in addition to about 200 apartments, it also will be home to a 2nd location for Chaco Canyon Organic Café, as reported here last month, which expects to open in April.
(WSB photo from 2008)
Seattle West Inn, the former TraveLodge in The Triangle, is about to get a makeover under its new ownership, according to a news release just out of the WSB inbox. Working on more details, but for starters, from the news release (which you can read in its entirety here):
Saddle Rock Hospitality has assumed management of the Seattle West Inn, West Seattle’s only motel. The motel was recently acquired by a local investment group committed to reinvestment in the property with a goal of repositioning the motel in the marketplace.
Seattle-based Seattle Rock Hospitality took over management of the property in early October. Hotel veteran Joey Disque will oversee the motel operations and renovation. The motel concept, once complete, will offer price/value-appropriate lodging with a unique guest service paradigm for today’s traveler. The facility, services, and environment will facilitate contemporary guest activity by offering ‘most-valued’ amenities and self-enabled services.
“With our 50 guest rooms and more than 1,000 square feet of meeting space, this property has immense potential to be a draw for business and leisure travelers as well as a convenient location to host meetings and local events,” said Joey. …
Renovation plans include updated guest rooms, the addition of food and beverage services, full-service meeting and banquet facilities and new landscaping including the addition of an outdoor patio. The facility offers a variety of length-of-stay accommodations including the standard overnight as well as a mix of extended stay rooms and suites. Renovation is expected to begin in early 2011, during which time the property will remain open for business.
At one point, Harbor Properties – which has almost finished building the mixed-use Link nearby – was considering buying this site, but the deal was never completed. County records show the site was sold in September for $3 million; its previous owners bought it almost 11 years ago for $2.4 million. Its new owner is SSLL, LLC, whose partners include one of the owners of two properties across 36th from the motel site; another owner of those properties’ is also owner of the commercial building immediately north of the motel.
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