Mayor Durkan joined K. Wyking Garrett of the Africatown Community Land Trust at a Saturday ribbon-cutting (Image: City of Seattle)

Mayor Jenny Durkan joined with Africatown for the official ribbon cutting on the Imagine Africatown Pop Up Plaza and Art Installation to kick off Saturday’s 2018 Umoja Fest parade march in the Central District:

The Imagine Africatown Pop Up Plaza and art installation is located at Midtown Center on 23rd and Union, a longtime hub for African American small businesses that is slated to be demolished for redevelopment in 2019.

“Before the existing Midtown Center meets its fate with the wrecking ball, we are partnering to transform the site into a vibrant community activation space to host a wide range of events and activities aligned with the rich African American and African diaspora heritage of the neighborhood,” landscape designer and project lead designer Sara Zewde said. “The goal is to capture the community ideas about the potential for the future development at 23rd and Union, including space for gathering, Black and African diaspora identity, culture and Black-owned businesses.”

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CHS reported here on the community effort to create the installation meant to show “what’s possible” at the corner of 23rd and Union as the block is prepared for a full redevelopment.

In July, CHS reported on the strong community call to reshape the development’s design to better reflect the Central District by moving the project under the purview of the newly convened Central Area Design Review Board.

Durkan’s presence will surely help boost the call championed by K. Wyking Garrett of the Africatown Community Land Trust.

The Midtown art project is led by Africtown and Studio Zewde in collaboration with Urban Artworks and made possible by Africatown Community Land Trust, Lake Union Partners and Capitol Hill Housing with support from Historic Central Area Arts & Cultural District, the Seattle Office of Planning & Community Development, Weinstein AU, WG Clark Construction, and Walsh Construction.

The proposed development set to reshape the block includes a three-piece, seven-story apartment building with 429 apartment units and underground parking for 258 vehicles. Local pharmacy chain Bartell Drugs is in talks to occupy a large retail space on the corner of 23rd and Union. The development will include around 125 affordable housing units allocated for households earning between $40,000 and $65,000 per year or 60% to 85% of area-median income (AMI) built as part of both the city’s Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program and the Multi-Family Tax Exemption Program (MFTE).

The Lake Union Partners project will take place on 80% of the Midtown block, while the other 20% of the property was sold by Lake Union Partners to Africatown Community Land Trust and Capitol Hill Housing. The two projects, which have separate design review processes, will share a familial plaza that will be gated from the public.