West Seattle, Washington
04 Thursday
Nine months after a real-estate/development group bought the 12-unit apartment building at 3060 Avalon Way for just under $1 million, they’ve put it up for sale for more than twice that. The 9,500-square-foot site is listed for $2,552,000, with the listing mentioning renovations since last year’s sale, and also: “With the ability to build up to 65 feet in height on the property. The land value today is approximately the same as the asking price for the apartment building, giving the buyer an opportunity to earn income while processing permits at the City of Seattle.” The building is sandwiched between two sites that have had development proposals in the past few years – apartments at 3062 Avalon (which the DPD site notes were canceled last year) and 104 units of microhousing at 3050, and a few lots east of a project that just won a key approval last week, 100+ apartments at 3078 Avalon.
P.S. If you like stats and numbers, they abound in this background brochure about the 3060 Avalon property, which takes a broader look at the West Seattle and citywide apartment market, too.
(Trailer for “The Goonies,” scheduled for August 16th)
You made suggestions … organizers discussed, searched, decided, confirmed … and now, as just announced by Lora Swift of Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), next to the courtyard transformed into an under-the-stars movie theater six Saturday nights each summer, we have the lineup for the 2014 edition of West Seattle Outdoor Movies – we’ve linked each movie’s name to a trailer clip (except for the much-requested “Goonies,” :
Saturday, July 19th: Gravity (2013) PG-13
Saturday, July 26th: Spice World (1997) PG
Saturday, August 2nd: Sleepless in Seattle (1993) – PG
Saturday, August 9th: The Blues Brothers 1980 – R
Saturday, August 16th: The Goonies (1985) – PG
Saturday, August 23rd: Frozen (2013) – PG
Again this year, pre-show entertainment will be featured, and Lora’s starting the search now; you’ll get the chance to buy tickets for raffles to benefit local nonprofits; and PB&J Textiles will sponsor concessions, with those proceeds also going to local nonprofits. This year, the WSOM committee is inviting nonprofits to request inclusion on the recipient roster; e-mail Lora for more information on how that works – lora@hotwirecoffee.com – and she asks that you “include contact information and short paragraph and/or weblink about the non-profit.” If you are or know of a potential pre-show act, same address, and that’s also where to inquire if you’re interested in applying to help with sound this year.
New to West Seattle/never been to WSOM before? Admission’s free, since the series is supported by sponsors (including WSB). Gates open early; you bring a chair and/or blanket and stake out a spot; movies start at dusk, which means the time gets earlier as the six-week series goes by. (Scroll through this WSB archive to see some of our past coverage.)
(Click image to see the full-size map on the city website)
An emerging city transportation project potentially involves both the West Seattle “low bridge” (officially the SW Spokane Street Swing Bridge) and lower Spokane Street from East Marginal Way eastward. The proposal to create a “heavy-haul corridor” turned up toward the end of this news release sent by Mayor Ed Murray‘s office late Tuesday afternoon about a “Maritime/Manufacturing Summit” held Monday. The news release included a link to the map you see above and noted, “In cooperation with the Port of Seattle, roads along this corridor will be rebuilt to new heavy haul standards” to “enable permitted vehicles carrying overweight loads to travel on designated routes.”
While described in the mayor’s news release as having been announced at the summit, the heavy-haul-network concept has been under discussion for a while; we’ve found earlier mentions including a letter of support this past March from the city Freight Advisory Board, pointing out that the “heavy haul” vehicles’ per-axle maximum weights would be below vehicles already using city roads, including trash trucks and Metro buses.
For followup questions, the mayor’s office pointed us to SDOT communications director Rick Sheridan. He says that “rebuil(ding)” the corridor means that “SDOT will assess whether some roads in the heavy-haul network would benefit from an additional layer of paving to account for more frequent use by heavy vehicles and the appropriate time to accomplish that work.” As for where the proposal goes next: “The mayor will submit legislation to the city council this summer to establish a heavy-haul permitting system, to include a fee structure and any necessary terms and conditions of the permit.”
Texts indicate some in Arbor Heights noticed the Guardian One helicopter checking something out in the North Shorewood/White Center area in the past half-hour; we’ve published an update on partner site White Center Now but are mentioning it here too – King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. DB Gates says they were looking into an assault case that was a disagreement between people who knew each other, and they’ve moved on.
(8/14 note: To check whether a business is still a current WSB sponsor, please go here)
Today we’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor: HomeStreet Bank, now open in The Junction. New sponsors get the chance to tell you about themselves, so here’s what HomeStreet would like you to know:
HomeStreet Bank is local! We are based in downtown Seattle and are one of the largest community banks headquartered in Washington. HomeStreet began in the University District in 1921 as Continental Mortgage and Loan Company, later becoming Continental Savings Bank in 1986 when we became a full-service bank. We changed our name to HomeStreet Bank in 2000. (However, many people will still recall getting their mortgage at Continental Savings Bank!) We have expanded our services further over the years, adding business banking and lending, investment services, and more. HomeStreet offers a wide variety of financial products and services, including:
• Personal Banking
• Business Banking
• Mortgage Lending (including renovation loans and reverse mortgages)
• Commercial Lending (including a new small business loan program as well as SBA financing)
• Investment and Insurance Services for consumers and businesses
• Cash Management Services for businesses of all sizes
• Private Banking
• Residential Construction Financing
• Commercial Real Estate financing (apartments, retail space, office & industrial)
HomeStreet Bank has 82 deposit branches and lending centers in the Pacific Northwest, California, and Hawaii.
Community involvement has always been a high priority for HomeStreet. Many of our employees support the needs of local community organizations by creating active partnerships, hands-on service and providing leadership. As a relationship-focused bank, we always try to go the extra mile for our customers while providing personal service that is oftentimes not expected. We pride ourselves in our employees’ ability to make decisions on their own.
HomeStreet Bank is proud to be a member of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. We are also proud supporters of the West Seattle Helpline, West Seattle Food Bank, WestSide Baby, and Nature Consortium. Being new to the West Seattle community, we are very excited at the opportunity to get involved in the neighborhood. This year we sponsored the Taste of West Seattle and will be sponsoring Summer Fest and West Seattle Outdoor Movies. We are also thrilled to be hosting this year’s Stuff the Bus Diaper Drive for WestSide Baby!
HomeStreet Bank’s West Seattle branch is located at 4022 SW Alaska Street and we would love for you to stop in! Check us out online at: www.homestreet.com or “like” our Facebook page.
We thank HomeStreet Bank for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; see our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
No formal environmental review for the new Arbor Heights Elementary School project that’s replacing the crumbling original 65-year-old school. That’s what the district originally had decided, issuing a Determination of Non-Significance; more than two dozen neighbors appealed the decision, arguing their case at a May 8th hearing (WSB coverage here), and now the appeal ruling is in, starting with an introductory letter by Superintendent José Banda:
(If you can’t see the Scribd embed above, here’s the document as a PDF.) If you want to skip ahead, the conclusions of Margaret Klockars, the hearing examiner who handled the case, start on page 7, after a recap of what the district originally decided and the points that were argued. Bottom line: While Klockars agreed that the checklist leading to the original Determination of Non-Significance had a few errors and omissions, she believed the supplemental information provided later by the district showed no major impact in areas of concern from traffic to trees, so the DNS conclusion “was not erroneous.”
SIDE NOTE: As reported here last night, the district has set a community meeting June 2nd for questions/answers/updates on the project, which will start after the school year ends and everything is moved out of the to-be-demolished buildings. AHES will hold classes at the Boren Building for the next two years, with the new school expected to be ready for fall 2016.
(Can you pick out our peninsula in this pic? Sunset from the sky, by Bill Schrier, shared via Flickr)
Happy Wednesday! The sun’s supposed to be back later. Meantime, your calendar highlights for today/tonight:
PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Everybody loves a story, especially the littlest among us. Bring yours! 10:30 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library. (2306 42nd SW)
TACOS FOR BASKETBALL: 5-9 pm, it’s an all-you-can-eat taco-bar benefit for West Seattle High School‘s basketball program at Pecado Bueno in The Junction – details here.
STEPS AT STEVENS, SECOND COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOP: Tonight, see three potential design concepts for the proposal to create a new, safer pedestrian path into West Seattle High School from California SW. The community-proposed project now has its own website; if you missed the first community design workshop, here’s the presentation from that meeting, including potential inspiration for the steps and art elements. 5-7 pm at WSHS. (3000 California SW)
AFTER THAT … WSHS PTSA MEETS: Right after the Steps at Stevens workshop, it’s the final West Seattle High School PTSA meeting of this school year, 7 pm. (3000 California SW)
SEATTLE PARK DISTRICT? BRING YOUR QUESTIONS: Tonight, the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council focuses on something you’ll vote on in August – whether to create a Seattle Park District as a permanent way to raise more money for city parks, instead of another fixed-term levy. From DNDC chair Mat McBride:
Continuing our civic engagement series, we are hosting Councilmember Jean Godden, chair of the Parks Committee. She will discuss parks, and how the MPD factors at the City Council level. We also have presenters for the Yes and No campaigns relating to the MPD. Time is allotted for each speaker to answer questions from the community. This is an important conversation, and possibly the best chance for folks to hear from all sides of this big decision in one forum. All are invited and welcome.
Full agenda here. DNDC meets at 7 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
LOOK! UP THERE! Tonight – assuming the sky really does clear – you’ll see the last quarter moon, according to Alice Enevoldsen‘s most-recent edition of Skies Over West Seattle.
WHAT NEXT? You don’t have to wait until tomorrow to see what’s happening tomorrow.
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
“Uneventful” commute so far, as WSDOT’s Twitter account put it.
ROAD WORK: SDOT confirms that crews are expected back at Charlestown hill (west of California) today, between 46th and 47th.
7:31 AM: Crash reported (via the SFD 911 log) at Olson/Myers – no word how/whether it’s affecting traffic on the hill to/from 509.
8:08 AM: That call is closed on the 911 log and we haven’t heard anything further.
8:53 AM: SPD is/was back on bus-lane enforcement today, according to this Twitter exchange.
Tuesday night at Southwest Branch Library, a handful of community members met with SDOT reps and consultants to brainstorm the city’s in-the-works School Road Safety Plan for next year and beyond. Whatever emerges in the future plan will get funding from the city’s increasing arsenal of school-zone speed cameras, noted SDOT’s Jim Curtin, who recapped the pre-existing plan to add two more in West Seattle this fall, both on Roxbury, near Roxhill Elementary and Holy Family School. The plan remains to have them in place by September, with a monthlong grace period and ticketing starting in October. Those are two of five to be added at schools around the city this year, joining 4 in place, 1 of those in West Seattle, on Fauntleroy by Gatewood Elementary (existing cameras are in black on the SDOT map below, with the next round of additions in blue):
More than a dozen additional ones are expected around the city next year, Curtin said, with 60 schools being studied right now. The camera revenue has to go to school-safety improvements by order of the City Council.
The consultants at the meeting were from Toole Design Group, which is working with SDOT on the plan. They explained that this is in the opinion-gathering stage, and collected reaction to some possible plan components including traffic calming and different types of crosswalk signals. They promised more meetings in West Seattle; tonight’s attendees suggested one of those meetings be held on a weekend so that people with school-age children might be more likely to attend.
Thanks to Guy Smith on Alki Point for sharing the photo of the 175-foot buoy tender USCGC Henry Blake, seen between our peninsula and Bainbridge Island today. We noticed it while out for a midday walk on Duwamish Head, but didn’t have binoculars or zoom lens or even MarineTraffic.com handy at the time; Guy’s e-mail tonight with the photo enabled us to identify it via its number, WLM-563. It’s based in Everett and was commissioned there in 2000, according to the Henry Blake’s official USCG fact sheet, which notes, “Henry Blake’s primary mission is servicing navigational aids, but it also provides marine environmental protection and search and rescue.” Closer view:
P.S. Bonus info – here’s a closer look at the Coast Guard’s “black-hulled fleet,” including this ship, and how the USCG’s ships are color-coded.
What once was something of an eyesore is getting beautified, bit by bit, reports Barry White with Friends of Morgan Junction Parks, who also shared the photos:
A delegation from Peace Lutheran Church again joined Friends of Morgan Junction Parks in our ongoing restoration project of the Junction triangle property. The two groups first teamed up last September to clear brush and weeds from the overgrown site. The groups continued that work (on Sunday) and began the process of arborizing some of the many shrubs that sprang up from the fruit of the strawberry tree (arbutus unedo), with the long range plan of training the shrubs to match the structure of the parents and create an extensive shaded canopy on the site. A sunny afternoon aided the labor of the small but dedicated group and we accomplished nearly every task on our list. Thanks to everyone who turned out.
See more photos on the FoMJP Facebook page.
(Rendering of new Arbor Heights Elementary)
If you’re interested in the new Arbor Heights Elementary School, your next chance to get project updates, and to get questions answered in person, is less than two weeks away. Seattle Public Schools has announced a community meeting for Monday, June 2nd, 6:30-8 pm at the current AHES.
The meeting will be presented by representatives of Seattle Public Schools BEX IV capital projects team and Bassetti Architects, and will include information about the project’s building and site design. You will be able to learn more about the project’s scope of work and construction schedule. You will be able to share comments and ask questions.
Meantime, we’re still awaiting word of a ruling on the appeal of the project’s no-formal-environmental-review-needed decision (here’s our coverage of the May 8th hearing).
4:27 PM: Just in case you were planning afternoon-commute detours – we checked the hills on Genesee (east of Avalon) and Charlestown (west of California) in the past hour and both are now open again, after traction-improvement work. Along with Olson, where crews worked last weekend, that makes three West Seattle roads where the work was done in the past week.
6:32 PM: And now we’re getting conflicting information from neighbors regarding the status of both sites, so we’re trying to reach city spokespeople/consultants for an accurate status beyond both hills being open *right now*.
ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: Ironically, the work crews have had trouble on the steep hills – and so the work’s on hold. SDOT promises updates.
(Video by Mark Jaroslaw)
Thanks to Clay Eals from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society for sharing video excerpts from Lou Whittaker‘s West Seattle High School appearance sharing memories from “A Life in the Mountains” (and screening the biographical documentary of the same name). As you’ll hear him observe at one point (or maybe you were there to hear him in person), “It has been a heck of a ride.” And it’s not over yet – he is going strong at 85. More than 100 people came to see and hear him. Read more about it on the SWSHS website.
NEXT UP FOR SWSHS – BRIDGE ANNIVERSARY AND MORE: So much is going on in June, it might take us until then to mention it all here. So instead – check out the right side of the organization’s home page for the latest on the totem-pole unveiling, the next “Words, Writers, West Seattle” author, and … a multi-modal celebration of the 30th anniversary of the high-rise West Seattle Bridge (dedicated July 14, 1984).
(Seattle Municipal Archives photo of The Bridge while it was being built)
According to the SWSHS website, it all starts a month in advance with a special exhibit at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor). Read all about the bridge-i-versary plans here.
One week after the announcement that construction was beginning on the mixed-use project at 4435 35th SW, the lone building on the site is coming down. We recorded the short video clip of the backhoe at the former Bridge/Redline/Legends/Pizza Pete/etc. around noon; the south wall was still up when we went by again a short time ago. The six-story building was designed with 159 apartments, 151 parking spaces, ground-floor retail and a public “hillclimb” stairway on the south side, to connect it to the rest of The Triangle and, beyond, The Junction. The developer is Trinsic; the architect, GGLO; the contractor, Compass Construction.
Looking ahead to the upcoming holiday, we checked with Forest Lawn (6701 30th SW; WSB sponsor) to verify that they’ll again host the traditional Memorial Day ceremony/service with American Legion Post 160 and VFW Post 2718. They confirm that it’s set for 2 pm Monday (May 26th) as usual, everyone welcome. Never been? Here’s our coverage from last year.
A ceremony last night at Alki Masonic Hall in The Junction honored the local students chosen for this year’s School Awards from Lodge #152, the 36th year the lodge has presented awards “in support of our public-school system.” Eight juniors from each of two schools were honored, four girls and four boys:
Above, the West Seattle High School honorees. Accompanied in our photo by principal Ruth Medsker, they are, in alphabetical order:
Megan Duong
Charli Elliott
Maxwell Eronimous
Holly Hinnant
Nathaniel Livingston
Isaac Peck
Edward Sander
Annalisa Ursino
And from Chief Sealth International High School, photographed with counselor Jol Raymond, the honorees are:
Olivia Boyd
Sophia Boyd
Mabel Hernandez Collazo
Kelsey Lawson
Aidan McMurray
Yael Pina
Simon Tweolde
Lincoln Vuong
The lodge also honored four selected students from the previous year’s honoree roster. From those four, Matthew Wo from CSIHS received a $1,000 scholarship:
The “2013 Top Boys and Girls” also included Sealth’s Eileen Lee and WSHS’s Megan Antalan and Michael Lee. Last night’s ceremony was emceed by Martin Monk of Lodge 152; he also is a member of the Education Council that coordinates the awards program, along with Gary Langenbach, John Bozeat, and Elmer Lindseth.
Thanks to Lise for sharing husband Brian‘s photo of an eagle and heron on Alki over the weekend. Lise says the eagle “promptly made a U-turn and attacked the heron. No animals were harmed, they flew off their separate ways. What a sight!” Now, some of the sights and sounds on the schedule for today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
‘SALUTE TO VETERANS’ LUNCHEON: 11:45 am at the Senior Center of West Seattle, you’re invited to lunch, and to hear from Col. Kevin McMahan of the Washington National Guard. Lunch is free for veterans, suggested $3 donation for others, call ASAP to RSVP – info’s in our calendar listing. (California/Oregon)
‘PRINCESS ANGELINE’: 1 pm at the Duwamish Longhouse, free screening of the film about Chief Seattle‘s daughter; details in our calendar listing. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
PATHFINDER PLAYGROUND PROJECT – YOUR PRESENCE COUNTS! The more the merrier at tonight’s 5:30-7 pm meeting about the ongoing Pathfinder K-8 playground project; be there not only to share your thoughts about design, but because participation is counted as volunteer hours matching part of the grant that’s involved. Easy and fun. Details in our calendar listing. (1901 SW Genesee)
HIGH-SCHOOL FAIR: Tonight’s the night that Westside School (WSB sponsor) hosts its first High School Fair, 6-8 pm, and all West Seattle families are welcome. Almost 20 schools are expected to participate; details in our calendar listing. (7740 34th SW)
HELP SHAPE SAFER WAYS TO GET TO SCHOOL: The SDOT School Road Safety Plan is in the works; your help shaping it is vital. 6-7:30 pm, join a workshop at Southwest Branch Library; details in our calendar listing. (35th/Henderson)
WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: No featured guest tonight, so this meeting of the WSCPC is all about your chance to hear about crime trends and ask local police leadership about neighborhood concerns. 7 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room. (Webster/Delridge)
SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE: 7-10 pm at The Cask in The Admiral District, including “surprise guests.” (2350 California SW)
…AND MORE NIGHTLIFE: Jazz, blues, karaoke, guitar, trivia – you’ll also find listings for tonight for all of the above (and more) on our calendar!
Have a terrific Tuesday.
From SPD Blotter: A 35-year-old suspect pulled over in Highland Park last night for alleged speeding/reckless driving turned out to be in possession of a pound of methamphetamine, say police, worth about $45,000 on the street. The SPD Blotter report also notes that the suspect had 23 prior felony convictions, and a current arrest warrant. The arrest happened in the 7800 block of 16th SW (map). Here’s the report on SPD’s website; we’re checking for more on the suspect’s background.
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:39 AM: No problems reported so far on the routes through/from West Seattle. Road-work reminder: Crews are expected to be working on both Charlestown (west of California) and Genesee (east of Avalon Way) today.
8:01 AM: From comments – bridge trouble, explained by D as: “Stalled truck on the bridge just before midspan.” (Not seeing it on the cameras, though.)
(Before being pulled up & out, the pickup was out of view, downslope & behind the trees)
1:19 AM: Bizarre hit-and-run crash in Gatewood; pickup truck down an embankment off the east (northbound) side of California by Fontanelle (map). A tree kept it from hitting a downslope house; its driver got out and ran. The pickup was not stolen, though, police told us at the scene. Pulling it up off the slope will be a bit of a challenge.
2:39 AM: Setting up to get the truck back up to California SW – and out, between a bus-stop sign and a power pole – took painstaking work, but the tow crew did it (with SFD Ladder 11 on site for a while, and then a Seattle City Light employee keeping watch to be sure the power pole made it through unscathed).
California was closed while this operation unfolded. What caused the pickup to veer off the road, we don’t know; the area had some signage left over from daytime utility work in the road, related to two newly built homes on the west side. A witness had told us the pickup hit a parked car before veering off the road, and we noticed it about a half-block uphill.
If you’ve only driven, never walked or bicycled, down that stretch, you likely don’t know just how steep the dropoff is, though height-wise, it’s only about two stories.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight and a reminder.
BANK-ROBBERY FOLLOWUP: First, we followed up on Friday evening’s Washington Federal bank robbery north of The Junction, inquiring with both Seattle Police and the FBI, hoping they would have surveillance images to circulate. So far, none have been made available. Police had only a bare-bones report available; it describes the robber as a white man estimated to be between 40 to 60 years old. The report says the “handgun” shown by the robber might have been plastic, and that he might have fled to a sedan in the alley. We also heard from a reader who says she was in the bank when the robbery happened and offered additional descriptive details: That the robber wore “a plastic, full faced Halloween mask, not a ski mask. He had gloves on … no taller than 5’6”. thin build. walked in stealthily … gruff voice.” If you have any information, call 911.
PHONE ROBBERY: Later Friday night, a 13-year-old girl was robbed of her cell phone while walking near Southwest Athletic Complex, on her way back to the late-night teen program at Southwest Teen Life Center. One of her parents e-mailed us to share details; the victim was holding her cell phone, says the parent, when a group of girls asked her for it – she refused, but one girl pulled her hair and the other one grabbed the phone and they ran off. She wasn’t otherwise hurt, and they did file a report with police, but not until the next day, because at first the victim was embarrassed to tell her parent what had happened, since she had checked out of the program without getting permission. The parent says there’s one more sad part: The phone was her last gift from her other parent before that parent became critically ill, “and now it’s gone.” The message for other teens: “Rules are put there to protect them and they need to follow them … people do horrible things … walk in groups, don’t take out (your) cell phone.”
REMINDER: Tomorrow (Tuesday) night is the monthly West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, and this time instead of a guest presentation, it’s all about recent trends and your concerns. If you have a question or concern for local police, be there – 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).
This year’s salmon-release season at Fauntleroy Creek is at the midpoint, reports watershed/creek steward Judy Pickens: “We’ve hosted some 350 children so far, who have introduced an estimated
900 coho fry into the creek.” She shared that short video clip, recorded by volunteer Peggy Cummings during the KapKa Cooperative School‘s salmon-release visit. That’s volunteer Dennis Hinton helping the students in/by the water, and mostly off-camera, that’s the voice of KapKa staffer Jamie Shilling, leading the singing and drumming. This week and next, nine school visits remain before this year’s round of releases is done (here’s our coverage of the season’s first one).
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