Sorry I’m a little late on this one, I was exploring the urban wonder that is Portland and I’ve got to say, they have done some pretty fabulous stuff (see Pearl District and MAX). Anyway, here in our little neck of the woods, Wallace Properties has a new building planned for 1222 E. Madison St, just East of Trace Lofts.

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The design is for a 6-story, 104-unit complex with about 6,000sq ft of retail and 51 parking spaces within the structure. The architects are Bellevue-based Baylis Architects. I can’t say it’s a standout project but it seems nice. Earlier I was worried that keeping the parking within the structure would inevitably make it ugly, but they massed the garage in the back of the building so it’s hidden from the street. Also, the limited parking will hopefully keep these units affordable (they claim in the proposal that this will be workforce housing). Due to earlier feedback they also shrunk the retail spaces, allowing for between four and six different spots. Check out the full proposal here [3.45mb].

Design Review: 1222 E Madison st.

Wednesday, June 3rd

6:30pm

Seattle Central Community College, Rm. 3211

Questions and comments to Holly Godard: Holly.Godard@seattle.gov

Old School Frozen Custard is having a big grand opening on Saturday complete with free cones. But it’s open for business starting now just in time for the heat oh so hot i need ice cream emergency we’re experiencing today. You can add your OSFC review here.

Cone cost me $3. I consumed my custard in about 33 seconds so the experience will cost you about 9 cents per second of joy.

Here’s the menu, btw. They’ve got chili and hot dogs, also. As neighbor Mike with curls notes, latest culinary developments on the Hill are the stuff of kindergarten dreams.

We got an invitation recently for a birthday party for a Capitol Hill three two-year-old named Whimsy.

Whimsy is colorful on the inside, too

The Hill retailer is celebrating with a sale and a party this SaturdayThursday with food, drink, entertainment, and free cupcakes for all. Naturally, we had a few questions for Whimsy.

So, Whimsy, your name… is that Irish? What’s it mean?
My name Whimsy is defined as “quaint, fanciful or odd” (I prefer unique here), it also suggests sudden inspiration. My closest relative is Capricious: “playful or arbitrary”(whatever she happens to like at the moment). My mother intended Whimsy to imply a fun twist on the ordinary: unexpected color on classic shapes or unique shapes applied to functional items.  

You’re about to celebrate your 2nd birthday. Tell us about the party.
My second Birthday is all about celebrating friendships I’ve made in my life so far. The party extends for a whole week! I will have the usual cake and ice cream (but in the form of everlasting cupcakes and melted ice cream spoons) free with any purchase. Prizes from my fellow “brick and mortar” friends will be given away daily and I am also offering 10% off any items if you catch me out of stock. An exclusive after hours event on Thursday for my “Rewards Club” friends is the highlight-it’s free and never too late to join.

Who shops at Whimsy? Describe your typical customer. Is he cute?
Is he cute? Hey, looks are nice but I’m not superficial or stuffy. I look deeper-into the soul of my human friends. Those who have a sense of style and a sense of humor are my best customers. They have colorful and unique personalities, aren’t afraid to be themselves and love to experiment with mixing styles and colors in their own way.

What’s your most whimsical Capitol Hill Whimsy story from your first two years in business?
Since whimsical encompasses my playful side, I think the best example is the food and drinks I serve up regularly and not a specific instance. While I don’t personally eat or drink, I always have what my human friends call faux on hand. I prefer everlasting or “calorie free”. Anyway, people always feel the need to poke their fingers into my refreshments to see if they are “real” For Halloween, I served candy and everyone was suspicious of it’s authenticity. During the winter Holidays, I filled a punch bowl with cranberries and floating candles and everyone who knows me plunged their hand in.  

There are suddenly lots of interesting neighbors nearby. How has your area of the Hill changed since 2007?
The more the merrier I always say! I love that my human friends who come in just to cheer themselves up with color and humor can also cheer themselves with delectable drinks (perked, brewed or fermented), savory bites and luscious licks along with the primping and pampering offered by my good neighbors.

I notice you have info boxes out front with info about the Whimsy Web site. Aren’t you jealous of its success?
Jealous? We’re the closest of sisters- actually fraternal twins. We’re used to dressing alike and sharing our treasures and friends. We both love “serious fun” having been raised to appreciate the good things in life but enjoy them most with an eclectic twist. Unlike .Com, though, I hate to travel (I miss my friends, plus all the time and climate changes wreck havoc on my hair and complexion!). She on the other hand, inherited our mother’s wanderlust and recently acquired a taste for international experiences. Instead of being jealous we cheer on each others’ successes and celebrate our differences.

Update: Whimsy cleared up a few items in this piece so you’ll see some strikeouts. The party on Thursday is for their customers but I’m told all are welcome to stop in.

Check out today’s post in the New York Times’s style blog “The Moment” on Vita’s collaboration with Theo Chocolates - which has produced Vita’s Theo Blend and Theo’s Vita line (coffee infused chocolates).  Here is the NYT’s review of both products:

The coffee dark chocolate bar is a tasty rush (eat slowly — it goes straight to the back of your skull), while the Coffee & Cream Bar is a milder, milkier affair. The new Coffee + Chocolate Theo Blend Coffee is the balanced result of months of cuppings by Vita’s lead roaster and Theo’s master chocolate roaster.

The Seattle Police Department has released crime data for Capitol Hill’s East Precinct for the first third of 2009 — the bottom line: Crime of most types is up significantly so far this year, driven by surges in theft and robbery.

Through April, the precinct has seen a 14% increase in robberies and a whopping 21% leap in larceny/theft incidents. The East Precinct spans Capitol Hill and the Central District areas.

The bar chart below provided by SPD illustrates how the totals are playing out for total crime in the area. The blue bars represent monthly total crime totals for 2008, orange, totals for 2009.

The 14% month over month jump in April 2009 from March is a big change from 2008′s trend and it apparently has the precinct concerned. Here is the analysis the SPD included in their East Precinct report (attached to this post): As the chart above indicates, the trend line in East has been variable with total Major Crimes declining in each of the first three months, compared with the previous month, before rising in April. This is a departure from 2008 when the trend was relatively flat.

The report also notes another unusual trend in the East Precinct stats — while other neighborhoods are seeing significant increases in burglaries, Capitol Hill and the Central District have seen a drop compared to last year. The reason? The SPD report cites the big push in 2008 to nail some large cases:

The reduction in burglaries in East Precinct is likely the result of investigations by East Precinct detectives into burglary cases in occupied premises in 2008 and early 2009. The suspect identified in several cases in 2008 had been featured on Western Washington’s Most Wanted and subsequent tips led to his arrest in March. In another case, serialized items from the burglary were located at a pawnshop, leading to the suspect’s identification and arrest. He was also wanted on burglary charges in Kitsap County.

So, 2009′s totals for burglary look better only because 2008′s totals were so high.

Another number CHS plans to investigate is the increase in rapes in the area compared to last year. This isn’t something we’ve seen covered by citywide media yet and even the specific incidents haven’t all made the CHS radar.

Anything else in the trends catch your attention or concern you? Leave a comment and we’ll dig deeper into the available datasets and find out what SPD can tell us about the stories behind the numbers.

(BTW, if you do review the PDF report attached, there is a typo in the data table SPD compiled for East Precinct cart theft totals in 2009. The table shows 334 vehicle thefts in February — other SPD reports say there were 33. 334 would be a new EP record!)

Interesting news over at our brother neighborhood news site, Central District News: The county prosecutors are launching a new program to target the area’s most prolific burglars:

In an interview today, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said that coordination across jurisdictions and detailed tracking of evidence will be used to bring big cases against the busiest burglars. For example, the county’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) will be used to link together fingerprint evidence throughout the county and then try to find matches out of its database of known criminals.

Citywide, burglaries were up 10% in 2008 vs. 2007 according to just-released numbers from SPD (that apparently Seattle PI gets first dibs at, those lucky fellows).

Today is going to be a crime heavy day on CHS. We’ll have information on the city’s 2008 crime numbers for East Precinct and a long-overdue round-up of late May police blotter reports.