Planning the new Broadway post office

Taco Bell, the old QFC and Twice Sold Books aren't the only thing being torn down on Broadway -- you also are getting a new post office. The USPS is starting the public process to discuss the project and get input from citizens later this month. Bring your postal concerns to the Community Meeting Room of the Capitol Hill Library at 6pm, May 14. Or you can mail them to some guy in Texas.

Resurrected CHCC to hold Candidate Forum this Thursday!

While having some not-so-good pizza at Bill's on Sunday, I noticed this headline in the Seattle Gay Newspaper: "Capitol Hill rejects Sound Transit's warplane décor". I was intrigued because (a) the warplane decor is an issue I've just recently become aware of (which I'll address in another post) and (b) I didn't realize Capitol Hill had a functioning representative organization.

It turns out the organization the SGN was referencing was the 43rd District Democrats, who passed a resolution against the proposed warplane art. I like the intent of the resolution. However, I'm concerned with the fact that the article implies that the 43rd District Democrats (a district that covers Capitol Hill, Fremont, Madison Park and Wallingford) are representative of our community.

That said, there hasn't been an organization that is better suited for the representative role... dot dot dot... until a few months ago, when a blogger decided to resurrect the Capitol Hill Community Council.

Ta da!

The CHCC has actually existed for a number of years, but went defunct a few years ago after their efforts to limit the height of new buildings on Broadway were not successful.

As it turns out, a new group of leaders are emerging within the organization. They are holding elections for President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer roles in the next few months. There is a candidate forum on Thursday at the Capitol Hill Arts Center.

I think the CHCC is reconvening at a very important time for our community. And I'm looking forward to participating and supporting their efforts this year. I hope you will too!

CHCC Candidates Forum
Thursday, April 24th
6:30pm
Capitol Hill Arts Center (12th and Pike)
Details: http://chcc.wikidot.com

Public toilet no longer?

Our public vessel of crime, er toilet, may be going away. It sounds like a reasonable plan for the city given the $800K yearly maintenance costs and the fact that they aren’t exactly being used as intended.

Actually, given that ours is located in the lot of a vacant building, I’m not sure how Seattle City intended it to be used in the first place. There isn’t much of a reason to walk past it unless you’re on your way somewhere else… a somewhere else with a nicer bathroom to boot. (Note: Excluding bathrooms in bars on Pike/Pine.)

At first I was concerned that taking away this public bathroom would cause our alleys to become bathrooms instead. But then I remembered that our alleys are already bathrooms… specifically the one behind Half Price Books where I see people defecating at least once a month in broad daylight.

Maybe this will push the crime to the public toielts in Cal Anderson?

It's all coming down

Haven't seen with mine own eyes yet (took the 12 to work this a.m.), but received this St. Paddy's day note from neighbor Jerry:

It's all coming down. I watched them tear down the façade of Manray a few hours ago. And they’re still at it. I can’t wait for them to tear down that ugly building on the corner. I’ll be cheering for that.

XO,
Jerry

The end begins.

Tiffany's on the hill.

I haven't had a chance to take a photo of it yet, but the old Wingdome has a fresh coat of paint.

And if it hasn't already jumped out at you, think Tiffany's.

I don't know if that corner lot would be the best location for an upscale jewelry store. I hope they choose to add a second coat.

Remodel happening at old Wing Dome location

I've seen crews demolishing the inside of the old Wing Dome the last couple of mornings on my way to work. That corner seems like a good location for a restaurant. Lots of foot traffic despite having zero parking. The Wing Dome wasn't enough of a draw for me. Looking forward to what comes next... anything is better than an empty building.

Pedestrian news; New police beats

Some news from the SeattlePI over the last couple of days...


Tread carefully during dark days: Winter sees more traffic accidents
I take offense with this headline!! Shouldn't it read: "Drive carefully during dark days"? Why is the impetus on the pedestrian?

I'm glad to hear Seattle has a really tough law where drivers who hit pedestrians can be charged with assault. In the words of our City Attorney, "I would love to deter people from actions that injure other people, like careless and overly aggressive driving. They have to know it can have consequences. I would love this to be a deterrent to get people to slow down and obey the traffic laws. I hope it becomes the law statewide."

Our Pike/Broadway intersection is listed as one of the top 5 locations for traffic accidents.

Pine Street Zigzag could see changes
This would be nice... there are some unspecified changes that are going to be made to that stretch of Pine (just above Boren) where you have to walk on the South side of the street. I personally avoid this area for that reason, opting to shoot up Pike and through the dog park and instead on my walk home from work.

Seattle police working to a new set of beats
I noticed a police officer in the parking lot of Half Price Books last night and thought it was an odd place for him to be hanging out. I thought maybe it was just a general increase in patrols given the murder on 15th, but according to this article maybe it had something to do with the new beat zoning... Either way it was a welcome sight last night as that area can be really dark.

Elusive couch found down the street at City Home.

Great forward thinking from Pacific Interiors... they opened a satellite shop on Pike this Fall to serve the growing condo community on the hill. The store is called City Home. (Beware, their website is a little weird in Firefox.)

I made my way in there last weekend.

We've been looking for a couch for about 6 months now with no luck. Multiple trips to Southcenter (the mecca of home stores) came up short and I was somewhat resigned to (a) living with our back-up futon for a while and/or (b) settling for something so-so.

Who knew we'd end up finding the couch just down the street at City Home. I'm glad we held out. It has a great design with lots of movable parts... so it can lay out fully to become a bed. Or we can tip the back down to become a serving area or just more open seating. The seats can also slide out to make more of a chaise lounge.

I'd say a lot of their merchandise offers the same thing... creative, multi-purpose pieces with simple/classic lines and nice fabrics. Perfect for condo dwellers who have limited space. They also have some fun accessories.

Their website is not an online store, so it features just a limited number pieces. It gives you a general idea of their style though, like the ottoman seen above. This NW Source Review also has some photos. And there is another review you can read at One Rainy Day.

I'm not sure how I feel about Peet's.

I'm not sure how I feel about Peet's coming to Capitol Hill.

When I saw the first signs of construction at their new location (directly across the street from Vivace, who is losing their location to the light rail next year) I found it somewhat opportunistic.

I'm torn though, because the building they are moving into could use a good tenant... If I'm remembering correctly, way back it was Kinkos, empty for a long while, then an African goods store and now Peet's.

It would be nice to have someone stick around for a while. And it seems like only a larger company like Peet's would be willing hold out during the demolition/construction that is going to happen across the street.

p.s. At least it's not a Starbucks.

"In just the 98102 ZIP code there is one Starbucks for every 0.27 square miles and for every 3,885 people," according to Foodio54.com.

Route 8 upgrades in works...

This is great news for anyone who takes the route 8 bus from Capitol Hill to Queen Anne.

Route 8 bus service will increase to every 15 minutes, instead of its current every 30 minutes schedule. Local businesses are footing some of the bill.

Orphan Road suggests that this might not solve all of the routes problems, as the main issue is with heavy traffic and reliability not frequency.

I often grab the 8 when heading down to the Seattle Center from Capitol Hill. But I generally take a cab home to avoid waiting on the somewhat desolate, dark and traffic ridden Denny for a bus that may or may not come in the next hour. At least with the increased frequency the wait time, even with delays, would improve. I think I could handle a 30 minute wait tops.

Old Broadway QFC is coming down

The good people at the West Seattle Blog are tireless in keeping their neighborhood entertained and informed. They even have enough newsgathering energy to cover Capitol Hill. Here's a note we just received from WSB:

we were down covering the demolition of one of West Seattle's premier eyesores (a Schuck's store at a prominent intersection that has been closed since a fire several years ago and has since become a tagging magnet etc.) and the crew told us they have to be done within a couple days because next week they will be in your hood tearing down the old QFC etc.

Sounds like Broadway's premier eyesore is finally coming down. Unless there's something going on up on 15th Ave. E. we're not aware of.

I got Vertigo and threw up.

The Vertigo condo conversion seemed innocuous at first... actually, the apartment building that was being remodeled really needed a touch up. I was pleased to see the first signs of construction...

Until the first external paint job came around. Urbnlivn.com gave it the title "Ugliest Condo Building in Seattle".

They have since redone the color scheme, but have definitely earned the disdain of their neighbors. Someone in particular has taken it up with the woman featured in their marketing.

(These are the new colors. Check out urbnlivn.com for photos of the old colors.)

Living in a walkers' paradise.

You already knew this, but Capitol Hill is officially a "Walkers' Paradise" according to our Walk Score.

Walk Score is a tool that evaluates the walk-ability of neighborhoods based on nearby restaurants, grocery stores, bars, parks, schools, etc. Most addresses around Broadway get around 97 out of 100 points possible.

Capitol Hill has a lot going for it in terms of walkability, including:

1. Easy access to Broadway and the Pike/Pine corridor.
2. Close proximity to downtown work locations.
3. Roads are laid out in a grid pattern with many traffic circles and other "speed control" devices.
4. Cal Anderson and other parks just off Broadway.
5. Seattle Central. I know there are also some K-12 schools in the area as well.
6. Limited parking lots, so pedestrians can easily get in/out of shops.
   

The tool was created by the Front Seat Management project, which promotes environmental living. It's headed up by a former 'softie and fellow Seattlite, Mike Mathieu.

By the way, apparently a neighbor just to the south on Madison Ave reached a perfect walkable score of 100. So we have something to work toward... I wonder if the north Broadway condo development will help.

Tree removal vs. Taco Bell removal

As a sidebar to today's Slog about development of Broadway's north-end blight, neighbor John writes:

A little off turf, but did you notice the trees along Broadway, north of Republican, are tagged for imminent removal. (We're talking many big trees. They can't all be unhealthy.)

You'll note the presence of similar trees in the project sketches included in the Slog post. Maybe somebody at the city just has their wires crossed. Seems like a waste to cut them down. Still, we're not planning a protest -- any progress that can kill off the cockroach-like Broadway Taco Bell is progress, indeed.

Capitol Hill farmers' market displaced by condos?

Add a move for Broadway's market to the list of crimes against humanity caused by Seattle condo development.

A proposal to close off Nagle Place alongside Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill is one of the possible solutions to finding a home for the Broadway Sunday market, which has relied on a Bank of America parking lot. Nagle Place is one block east of Broadway. Because the market is on Sunday, it is not expected to conflict with Sound Transit light rail construction in that area, council members were told.