First Hill group tries to scale back 24-story apartment building

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Weber Thompson’s design for 1321 Seneca

A group of neighbors has its turn in front of the Seattle Hearing Examiner in an attempt to scale back a 24-story apartment building planned for 1321 Seneca on First Hill.

The complaints and requested relief, below, call for additional conditions to be placed on the building, more study of the project’s potential impact on traffic and parking in the area, reducing the height of the building by shrinking rooftop amenities and changing the layout.

The neighbors also want construction work — currently permitted to go until 8p — to end at 6: Continue reading →

Hope for summer: First Cal Anderson movie in the park announced

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(Image: CHS)

(Image: CHS)

We’re probably a little too eager to post this. After the burst of warm weather in April, May has been a reminder of what a Pacific Northwest spring is really like. Let us think of summer nights in the park. Also, Cal Anderson could use some hopeful love these days.

Three Dolar Bill Cinema has announced the first film in its summer “I Need A Hero!” series and the schedule for 2013 in Cal Anderson Park:

Look, up in the sky! It’s a small army of super iconic characters, swinging into action and coming to save your summer with FREE outdoor movies!

Three Dollar Bill Outdoor Cinema returns to Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park with “I Need A Hero!” — four nights of action-packed fun!

Friday July 19 – HAIRSPRAY (1988)

Hair hoppin’, booty shakin’ Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) is breaking all the rules for the better and making heroic strides for civil rights in this bouncy & beloved John Waters classic starring Divine and celebrating its 25th anniversary! (92 mins.)

“I Need A Hero!” continues on Friday August 2, 9, 16.

All screenings are FREE and begin at sunset (around 8:30/9pm) at the southeast corner of Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park.

This is a smoke-free event. Bring low-backed chairs or blankets for seating, please.

Hot popcorn, cold drinks, candy and other concessions for sale on site. Limited lawnchair rentals available. Proceeds benefit Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s efforts throughout the year to provide voices and visibility for the LGBT community through film and video. More info at

www.threedollarbillcinema.org

12th Ave still hopping despite end of street festival

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Views of 12th Ave Fests past (Images: CHS)

It’s official—after three years of street-based revelry, the 12th Ave Festival will not be returning this year. Originally created as a way to brand and market the emerging 12th Ave business district, the festival brought together nascent upstarts in the area to celebrate the forming community.

Three years later, that goal has been accomplished.

8443559457_fb9ce74a3e_b“In meetings with the businesses after last year’s festival, people said they really liked it,” said Alex Brennan at Capitol Hill Housing, who helped organize the annual event. ”But we all agreed it felt like we achieved our goals that we set out in the beginning—great relationships between businesses had been formed, and a strong 12th Avenue identity had emerged.”

While the festival won’t be returning, Brennan says there are many more exciting 12th Ave happenings in store.

On June 11th, Capitol Hill Housing will be holding its annual Community Forum to discuss “neighborhood change, affordability, and the neighborhood character,” according to Brennan. “That’s the things that’s exciting about these new relationships on 12th—these new small business communities have informed much of that character we will be discussing at the forum, which is something we want to preserve as we continue to develop.”

On July 27-28, 206 Zulu will be hosting “Boogie Up the Block“ on 14th Ave between Spruce Street and E Yesler Way, and E Fir Street between 12th and 15th Ave. The urban arts festival will include soul, funk, hip hop and reggae music stretching across three stages, as well as a variety of food vendors and arts and crafts activities.

Also in the works for the fall is the grand opening celebration for the 12th Ave Square Park. The park, slated to open up next to Cherry Street Coffee and Ba Bar on E James Court, was funded by a Seattle Parks Levy. The intention is to turn James Ct. into a “woonerf” defined by the Parks Department as “a street where pedestrians and cyclists have legal priority over motorists.”Screen shot 2013-05-19 at 7.14.55 AM

Armed robbery reported at Belmont and Thomas

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Police are investigating an armed street robbery reported early Saturday morning near Belmont and Thomas.

There are few details available yet in the holdup reported in the 300 block of Belmont Ave E just after 2:30 AM Saturday.

According to the preliminary report information on the incident, the robbery occurred on the street and reportedly involved a handgun. No medical units were dispatched to the area at the time.

We’ll update when we get more information from SPD on the incident.

Here’s why 15 fire hydrants on Capitol Hill will soon sport red rings

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Screen shot 2013-05-19 at 6.54.54 AMThey still produce the water necessary for Seattle Fire crews to do battle but 15 fire hydrants around Capitol Hill will receive special markers this week designating them as “low flow” to help responders better plan their attack. Here is an announcement from the city about the project to mark 70 low-flow hydrants around the city with red discs — and the answer to one of those questions that are bound to come up on your next walk through the neighborhood with a 5-year-old.

Project/Description of Work: 
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) crews will install a red reflective ring on low-flow fire hydrants in your neighborhood. Low-flow hydrants are defined as those that deliver less than 500 gallons of water per minute.

The red ring provides a distinct and very visible way for Seattle Fire Department personnel to quickly and easily identify low-flow hydrants in cases of emergency.

Low-flow hydrants are fully operational, but output less water per minute than other hydrants. The clearly marked hydrants aid firefighters by helping ensure that the best fire-suppression tactics are chosen when operating a low-flow hydrant.

More than 18,000 fire hydrants are located throughout the City of Seattle of which about 70 are classified as low-flow hydrants and will be tagged with the red ring.

Dates/Times: Crews will begin installing the rings the week of May 20 and expect to have all low-flow hydrants throughout the city marked by the end of May 2013.

Contacts: If you have questions about this work, please contact SPU Hydrant Crew Chief Charles Jackson at (206) 396-1826 or charles.jackson@seattle.gov.

For questions about fire safety in your neighborhood, contact Seattle Fire Department Public Information Officer Kyle Moore at (206) 386-1679 or kyle.moore@seattle.gov.

1 Year Ago This Week on Capitol Hill

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Here are the top CHS posts from this week in 2012:

Micro-Housing…Capitol Hill and Beyond…EastPAC Thursday, 5/23 Community Meeting

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getimageHow does the development of Micro-housing impact you and your neighborhood?

There has been a lot of concern about this increasingly upward trend of Micro-Housing, also known as “APODments”, small, single occupancy units sometimes with shared kitchens. The Capitol Hill Community Council has been addressing this issue for some time, and the City Council has hosted forums to explore citizen concerns.

The micro-housing movement has been expanding beyond Capitol Hill into the Central District, First Hill and other East Precinct neighborhoods. With a rising demand for affordable housing, these units provide a way for young singles, professionals and retired folks to actually be able to live in Seattle, close to work, restaurants and entertainment venues, and also bring rich diversity to neighborhoods. These small units are not only affordable, but provide updated amenities such as free internet.

It seems like a simple solution. Or is it? What are the concerns of some citizens who reside in the neighborhoods near these developments?  Zoning loopholes, shortage of parking, transitional, short term residents?  What are the benefits to folks living in the units?

We hope to answer some of these and other questions at our Thursday, May 23rd East Precinct Advisory Board (EastPAC) Community Meeting. This is our effort to address a quality of life issues and proactively develop mutually beneficial solutions.

Guests include The Stranger’s Dominic Holden, who recently wrote an informative article on this issue; Miriam Roskin, Manager for Planning and Policy, City of Seattle’s Office of Housing; and a representative from the City’s Department of Planning and Development.

The takeaway is, in our effort to be proactive, we will advocate for East Precinct citizens, likely in collaboration with the other city wide Precinct Advisory Councils, who’s constituencies are likely experiencing similar issues.

I am encouraging you to attend.

East Precinct Advisory Council Community Meeting, Thursday, May 23; 6:30 to 8:30 PM

Seattle University’s Chardin Hall, 1020 East Jefferson

Enter the campus at 11th and East Jefferson, park FREE in the lot

Enter the building and turn right down the hall

Community Council arts forum calls for a Capitol Hill ‘arts ecology’

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Jeffrey Cook frantically adding to the giant list of Cap Hill Arts Organizations

Jeffrey Cook frantically adds names to the giant list of Capitol Hill arts organizations

“The culture and the arts are really core to the identity of this neighborhood—there needs to be policy that will allow for its preservation, so that there can be an arts ecology here,” said Randy Engstrom, recently appointed director of the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture.

And boy, is Capitol Hill’s arts ecology dense.

Discussion leader Jeffrey Cook struggled to keep up as the makeshift think tank that formed at Thursday’s Capitol Hill Community Council-hosted arts forum shouted out a litany arts organizations to add to the an arts mailing list, which quadrupled in the span of five minutes.

Continue reading →

CHS Pics | Cutting the ribbon at the new and improved Volunteer Park playground

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Kids from Stevens Elementary School cut the ribbon with a comically large pair of scissors, and several small pairs of scissors.

The overhauled and more accesible Volunteer Park playground was celebrated Friday night with music — and lots of play.

Playground Crowd

(Images: Jim Simandl for CHS)

Opened to the public last month after a $600,000 construction project to create new paths, bridges and play structures while maintaining popular existing features like the Block (“bone”) play sculpture created by artist Chas Smith in 1962.

City and Seattle Parks officials including City Council member Sally Bagshaw were on hand as Choir5 from nearby Stevens Elementary performed. And, while it wasn’t exactly a sunny late afternoon, it didn’t rain on the new simulated fossils, musical play sculptures, sand box and more added to the more than 100-year-old Olmsted Brothers park. The popular wade pool returns to service — now with new paths, benches and a picnic area — again in June.

More pictures below.

Continue reading →

Finding no good fortune on 14th, Lucky 8s China House to close

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(Image: Lucky 8s)

(Image: Lucky 8s)

One of the smaller entities in the transformation of 14th and Union into an island of food and drink activity is closing its doors after one last night of service — and delivery.

Lucky 8s China House will shut down tonight after just under a year and a half of operation on 14th Ave.

Owner Bracey Rogers confirmed the closure with CHS.

29351_301722226604741_960727091_n“Unfortunately, we just were not getting enough business to support all the overhead,” Rogers said. “We definitely had [our] diehard fans, but just not enough.”

The restaurant opened in time for New Year’s Day 2012.

“We’ll have a lot of dishes that people will be familiar with,” the project’s chef Justin Strnad said at the time. “We’re not fusion or anything. It’s our version of Chinese/American food. Housemade everything.”

Lucky 8s was built out of the space created by the overhaul of the old La Panzanella bakery for Oola. Belltown transplant Zoe filled its neighboring space while bear bar Diesel snuggled it to the north. The venture worked hard for notoriety amidst a wave of new food+drink players on the Hill. A mini-wave of Chinese-themed eateries also opened up around the same time including Chungee’s, Regent Bakery and the ill-fated Bako where Bait Shop floats today.

After closing down Friday night, Rogers says there will be a party for staff and regulars on Saturday. The restauranteur says Lucky 8s has been an education.

“The whole process has been a great learning experience for me,” he writes. “Hopefully I will be carrying this knowledge on to a potential new project.”