First Hill Streetcar Map, originally uploaded by Oran Viriyincy.

As we've been reporting all along, the city and Sound Transit have been pushing toward a plan to have the streetcar running between Union Station and Capitol Hill in service shortly after the 2012 apocalypse.

The two agencies made Streetcar 2013 official with this announcement released Monday:

Seattle, Sound Transit execute agreement for expedited streetcar construction

November 16 , 2009

The City of Seattle and Sound Transit are moving forward with plans to build a new streetcar line linking the city's First Hill neighborhood with Capitol Hill and the International District.

The city and Sound Transit have executed an agreement that includes an expedited construction timeline - the line is anticipated to open in 2013 instead of the 2016 completion that was earlier planned. The City of Seattle will build and operate the new line, which voters approved as part of the 2008 Sound Transit 2 ballot measure.

"This line will be the first two of 36 new miles of rail coming to our region," said Sound Transit Board Chair and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who today added his signature to the agreement following recent approvals by the Sound Transit Board and Seattle City Council.

The First Hill Streetcar will serve major Seattle work centers, including Swedish Hospital, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle University and Seattle Central Community College. The line will provide easy access to the Link light rail system that opened this summer and the Capitol Hill light rail station when University Link opens in 2016.

"First Hill is home to more than 22,000 jobs and the streetcar will be a great new option for the people who live and work here," said First Hill Improvement Association Vice President Jim Erickson. "We look forward to working with the City and Sound Transit to meet the transportation needs of First Hill."

Sound Transit will cover the project's costs up to $132 million, and the city will take the lead on design, property acquisition and construction of the two-mile line connecting downtown Seattle, First Hill and the Capitol Hill light rail station. Sound Transit will cover operating costs when the line begins service.

The First Hill line will be the second modern streetcar line in Seattle following the Sound Lake Union Streetcar line which opened in December, 2008.

The City plans to begin construction in 2012. The final route will be determined as part of the environmental review process over the next two years.  The Sound Transit Board included the streetcar line in the ST 2 expansion package after determining that a previously-planned light rail station at Madison Street and Summit Avenue on First Hill would be too costly.

With the passage of the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure in November 2008, light rail is targeted to reach all the way to Lynnwood, Redmond's Overlake area and the Star Lake/Redondo area near Federal Way by 2023.

Next for the process will be the public and political discussion about what route the line will take as it passes between the International District and Capitol Hill by way of First Hill.

County councilmember Larry Phillips (Photo: Jeff Romeo special to CHS)

With an agreement in place between the city and Sound Transit to move forward with the project and a change about to take place in the mayor's office, the political maneuvering and public process to define the route for the new streetcar line that will run from Union Station through First Hill to Capitol Hill is taking shape.

Central District News reports that King County councilmember Larry Phillips, whose district includes Capitol Hill & First Hill, is one of the first politicos to take a stance on the route.

According to CDN, Phillips sent a letter to mayor Greg Nickels and city councilmembers back in October advocating for the 12th Ave option -- specifically for a loop route that would run on 12th Avenue in one direction and Broadway in the other -- to be included in the city's study of viable routes:

The proposed 12th Avenue and Broadway loop is a promising concept for serving a greater number of residents, creating a north-south public transit option on currently unserved 12th Avenue, and catalyzing economic development on vacant and underutilized properties in the area. Further, as you know, King County government owns and operates the Youth Services Center - King County's Juvenile Court and Detention facility - a significant regional facility located along the 12th Avenue corridor. Currently the site is highly automobile-oriented, featuring a large parking lot which the community is interested in seeing re-devleoped into a denser, more pedestrian and transit oriented facility.

The recommendation should have impact. Phillips is also a member of the Sound Transit board of directors and chair of the Central Link Oversight Committee. While the city will be in charge of planning and building the line, Sound Transit is paying the construction bill.

First Hill advocates have already voiced their opposition to a 12th Ave loop alignment saying it would decrease the utility of the line for First Hill residents and workers. Some in First Hill say a Boren alignment would best serve their community. Here's a look at some other possible alignments for the new line.

A final decision on the streetcar route will be made by the city council in early 2010 with a goal for the line to be operational by 2013.

Back in September, we told you about a new retailer coming to Pike/Pine and joining the scene inside the Odd Fellows building. We noticed that the store was taking shape this week and a quick check of their Web site reveals Nube Green opens on Monday. UPDATE: It's open! From Josh in the comments:

Although their website says they aren't open until Monday they were actually open today and I think they will be tomorrow (the owner said the website is just hard to change).

Its a great little shop. Some really interesting stuff including some very cool cardboard lanterns made by a group just down the street.

The new retailer is targeting "ecologically minded consumers" and plans to "provide a strorefront for local artists." Nube Green is the creation of Ruth True. She and her husband Bill opened the nonprofit art gallery Western Bridge.

Here is a snippet from a press release explaining the new store's concept.

Also on the ground floor -- sandwiched between the popular OddFellows Café and Molly Moon's, and right next to flora and henri -- Nube Green plans to open the doors on its 2,300 square foot mercantile store in November. This retailer will carry a broad array of simple, fun and elegant gifts for the ecologically minded consumer.

The store will only sell products that have not crossed any oceans, including locally made items from recycled and sustainable materials. Nube Green will also carry its own line of products.

Top shelf children's clothier Flora and Henri also moved into Odd Fellows recently.

Meanwhile, down the street, CHS also noted 'sign' of an existing business doing some upgrades for the holidays. Looks like Seattle Running Company got a new sign for Christmas.

Pike/Pine isn't the only area on the Hill with some good biz news. CHS reported yesterday on some cool changes for the People's Republic of Koffee over on 12th Ave. Meanwhile, beloved Broadway bookseller Bailey Coy is officially no more.

It appears as though a man was hit by a car on 15th and Madison, but details are fuzzy. At least 17 patrol cars, 2 fire engines, and 2 ambulances showed up. Another man in a wheel chair seemed involved as well. Update to follow.

Wednesday night's early design guidance meeting for the 230 Broadway project revealed a Brix-like apartment and retail complex that left the Capitol Hill Design board wanting more specific details.

The 7-story mixed use development will house 235 residential spaces (47 units of affordable housing), room for 24,000 sq. ft. of retail, have space for neighborhood offices and will stretch from Thomas St. all the way to Castle and the tanning salon; replacing the space for the farmers market as well as a multitude other businesses. (If you need to brush up your memory on the guts of the project, a link to the architects proposal can be found here.) As with any project of this size landing on the uniformly two-story area on and around Broadway, concerns surrounding its mass, looks, and function as a community space topped the issue list for the review board.

While it received the most praise in our previous coverage of the development, the proposed courtyard and community room became clouded in confusion after the board began looking into the function, placement, and use of the space. As a whole, the board felt the design left too many questions about whether the courtyard, located in the center of the building, was open to the public or restricted only to the tenants. According to lead architect Brian Runberg, street access would be restricted at night in parallel with a community room hours by way of a "welcoming" gate, but the board felt the current design, which has no visual or physical access to Broadway, lacked character as an effective public space. "For a space that is supposed be a community space, it's pretty impoverished," said Bryan Cavanaugh, the business owner representative on the design review board. This brought up questions of possible relocation of the community room or rearrangement of entrances, but ultimately resulted in the board wanting more clarity.

As a brand new yet lasting face of Broadway, community members and board members wanted to ensure the facade would reflect the culture and historical precedence created by the current retail stretch on the street. Runberg's goal with the Broadway facade was to create a "strong urban edge" -- reinforcing the vibrant night life, creating wider sidewalks, and allowing retail businesses to create unique storefronts. The board praised these efforts, but without a solid decision on the look and setback of the front, they demanded a strong, clear, and simple front that would be made interesting by the individual store owners.

The final board recommendations also called for more definition on the how the building turns the corner at 10th & Thomas, and a clear design on what turned out to be a controversial service alley on the south end of the building.

Despite the criticisms, the review board did commend the architects and developer for their analysis of the history of Capitol Hill developments as well as the new building's aesthetic fit into environment of Broadway. One went so far as to call the design "elegant."

Taking the advice of the board and community with them, the next step for the developers, according to project planner Lisa Rutzick, will be applying for a master use permit. After more zoning and environmental assessments, the group will come back to the design review board for more community input.