(Images: Wikimedia Commons)

(Images: Wikimedia Commons)

Greater than the combined cost of Safeco and CenturyLink Fields and nearly twice the recent sale price of the Columbia Center (Seattle’s tallest building and the 2nd tallest on the West Coast), the $1.4 billion expansion of the Washington State Convention Center is quite possibly the most expensive development in Seattle’s 160-year history. And it is directly adjacent to Capitol Hill. Now is your chance to see how well the project is living up to its awesome potential and decide for yourself. Monday night, the design team will present their vision for the project. They will have all manner of drawings, as well as an impressive and very large model to view. After their 20-minute presentation, there will be 40 minutes to ask questions and express your opinion to the team.

Framed by Pine Street and Olive Way, the main portion of the project fills in the current area of the Convention Place Metro Station. Its associated development is immediately to the north and is bound by Olive and Howell. The project holds great potential: it covers the hole of the Metro Station, it promotes economic development, and will contribute both construction of convention center jobs. What is missing, and what members of PPUNC have been advocating for over a year, is that this project must make amends for its past, ill-conceived expansion, leverage its size and expense to make a graceful transition and gateway to Capitol Hill, and be proactive in healing the wound created by Interstate 5. All of this is possible, not only because of the project’s size and cost but also because it is being developed by a public entity (WSCC Public Facilities District was officially formed by King County Ordinance), with public dollars, on publicly owned land (King County, Sound Transit, and WSDOT).

(Images: Wikimedia Commons)

The current expansion is the second for the Convention Center; the first brought two blocks of unfriendly and often vacant storefront as well as a controversial bridge over Pike Street that forever denied views from the Hill to the Pike Place Market. The current expansion, however, has a chance to make amends and improve Capitol Hill’s remaining gateway streets of Pine and Olive and initiate positive change along Boren Avenue. The vision for the expansion must be beyond its property line and deliver an urban and building design commensurate with its expense and give Satellites something truly spectacular with its building and urban design.

This project will impact Capitol Hill and Seattle beyond any of our lifetimes; please ensure you opinion is heard and you become engaged in the process.

WSCC Expansion Design Meeting
Pike/Pine Urban Neighborhood Council
Monday, November 16th, 6:00 pm until 7:45 PM
Capitol Hill Branch of the Seattle Public Library
425 Harvard Ave. E
There is limited parking in the garage.