With work on a new coat of bricks for the building underway, the global coffee giant’s three-month makeover of its East Olive Way location is nearing completion. Customers are being told to expect the overhauled shop to be open to serve its first cups of caffeinated beverage Monday morning, October 18. Meanwhile, across the street, contractors are still hard at work to complete Capitol Hill’s latest new park and p-patch project at Summit and John where a pay-parking lot used to be.
The $500,000+ Starbucks project has made headlines around the country and the world as experts and consumers watch for what comes next from the Seattle-based global chain. Starbucks has positioned the redesign as the next evolution for its shops in an attempt to push its brand to be more environmentally green and locally inspired and transform the coffee buying experience into more of an entertainment with better views of the drink making process. While the company has said the project is not another of its indie-styled experiments like Roy St. or 15th Avenue Coffee and Teas, it seems likely that many of the corporation’s learnings from those projects will be brought to play in the new East Olive Way shop.
The new Summit/John park and p-patches (Photo: @ryan_seattle)
The East Olive Way location has been an extremely busy store. CHS does not have by-location revenue or customer totals — only anecdotes — but the popularly-nicknamed Gaybucks is usually filled with studying students, people hustling to get to work and, depending on the time of day, nervous first dates. For most of the construction project, Starbucks has been serving coffee at the location from a mobile set-up featuring a large Starbucks van. By mid-October, the crowd will have its overhauled shop back.
Once you have your coffee, you might be able to take a stroll through the zig-zagging walkway of the new Summit and John greenspace. The $2 million, .21 acre project broke ground in April and will feature p-patches, lawns, seating and a skateboarding area called a skatedot described as a small “skateable” element on the downslope, western side of the park. The $440,000. Another $2 million project, the Seven Hills Park and p-patches opened last month at 16th and Howell. As of today, the Summit at John park doesn’t have an official name after the city backed off a decision made last year to name the park after Perugia, a Seattle sister city and, also, home to the controversial Amanda Knox trial.
or are we supposed to slip our veggies in between the overpriced ferns?
It reminds me of an entrance to an office building.
I don’t know, I’m hoping these photos are too low to show everything. I’m hoping that there’s more lawn for people to sit and enjoy the sun, when we have it.
Wasn’t there a movement to close John between Starbucks and this park? That would have given us a larger park, and it really wouldn’t have disrupted traffic flows significantly.
I can’t possibly see how they can open in a month. The exterior isn’t even weather proofed yet. I could see them complete by Thanksgiving.
Park, P-patch AND a “skatedot” on that small lot???? I can’t wait to see the P-patchers and skaters battling over their turf!
$500k on a store that has the good fortune to have a park going in next door and signs the city’s willing to vacate the street between… and they point the new door towards the parking lot. They could have practically subjugated the park, aesthetically.
At least I’ve seen no sign of a drive-through, yet!
Kudos to Starbucks and their architect for using real brick! Most modern architects don’t like brick because it is “inauthentic” whatever that means. I call it “timeless appeal.” What I agree is inauthentic is the faux-brick that a lot of buildings use, where they just carve it to look like brick. This new Starbucks, however, is indeed using real brick–I saw them laying it down yesterday! Good for them.
Can cap hill residents do anything besides complain? If you want to sun bathe, go to Thomas Street park. If you want to plant your peas, wait for the park to be finished before complaining about a lack of space. The same people who are complaining about the way the new starbucks looks, (which will be different than most) are probably the same people who complain about how every starbucks is homogenized. And before people complain further about skaters and gardners trying to share space, let’s be thankful that everybody gets a little something instead of nothing.
I still think disco balls, cage dancers and hot tubs would draw a bigger crowd in Capitol Hill
disco here – flower patch
disco there – P-patch
hee hee
Umm, Yes please! I would be first in line at the dance cages ;) Forget lame pea patches and “skatedots”!
Most people who live on the hill seem to find one reason or another to bitch about something. Too bad people can’t appreciate what they are given and try to find good things in life to comment about.