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(Image: Summit Community Center)
(Image: Summit Community Center)
Right in the middle of the lively chaos of Broadway, sits Summit Community Center, a place of belonging, connection, and independence for neurodivergent young adults and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The development above Capitol Hill Station with a mix of new food and drink spaces and new businesses might not seem like an obvious base for the effort, but Summit Community Center will celebrate its first year on Capitol Hill this month established as a “home away from home” for over 270 members.
CHS reported here on the early Capitol Hill plans for the start-up nonprofit dedicated to providing a needed service to young adults with disabilities ages 18-35, a population that is often isolated, particularly after completing their education and losing access to the wraparound services that were provided through schools. The center navigated a long capital campaign as it sought to raise three million dollars through donations to help create the classrooms and indoor recreational gym space as well as fund scholarships and support for membership.
Today, those plans are reality for Seattle families.
“What we’re doing is providing an essential space that offers those same supports and allows young adults to have a comfortable space where they can go and continue to learn and grow”, said Alicia Nathan, founding executive director of Summit Community Center.
Nathan says SCC offers a wide array of services for their members including continued education, shared interest clubs, independent living skills development, pre-employment transition, sports/fitness, and more in a city location with amazing transit service and proximity to Cal Anderson Park and the busy core of Capitol HIll.
“This is just where young adults want to be,” said Nathan.
(Image: Summit Community Center)
In a 6,500-square-foot space above the light rail station and directly across from Cal Anderson, SCC is in the thick of it—and they like it that way. “Our members love engaging with the community of Capitol Hill and all the vibrancy and variety it has to offer,” said Nathan.
“It’s really important for our members to feel comfortable being themselves, and Capitol Hill really allows a space to be your true self without feeling judged,” said Nathan.
SCC has built many ties in the neighborhood, partnering with restaurants, nearby colleges, and small businesses. There’s a reciprocal relationship where members are able to practice independent living skills, and local organizations and community members can learn how to improve accessibility and inclusivity.
SCC has partnered with Seattle University and Seattle Central College to implement career development volunteer opportunities for students hoping to work in social work, special education, nursing, and more.
“Going out and engaging in the community is so important. It’s wonderful to see that this neighborhood does support, welcome, and value the contributions of people with disabilities,” said Nathan.
Summit Community Center centers self assertion and exploration, and offers member-directed self advocacy courses.
For this population, members have often been told what they are capable of and what their limits are. SCC encourages members to reflect on who they are, what they want, and how to ask for it, said Nathan.
By focusing on the many things members are capable of, but maybe have never tried, SCC opens doors and provides space to build confidence, self assuredness, and connection.
The building itself is a good canvas for the vast array of services that SCC offers. The space features a beautiful patio overlooking Cal Anderson, a fully-equipped kitchen and gym, and public space ranging from an open-concept community room to a sensory room.
While they have a diverse and comprehensive array of organized programs, the SCC also offers a space for members to just hang out.
“Every day when I come to work, I hear laughter, excitement, people meeting each other and building friendships,” said Nathan. “When you walk in, you feel welcomed and valued.”
In addition to its services, the Summit Community Center offers something unique and possibly invaluable — the opportunity to volunteer and be part of helping enrich young lives. Nathan says there is a near-constant need for volunteers.
To get to involved or meet the families part of the effort, the Summit Community Center will be celebrating their anniversary with a community barbecue on July 24th. Or you can learn more at summitcommunitycenter.org.
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Sounds like a great organization and space. However, the entire Broadway side of their building is a blank wall along the sidewalk that makes the block feel dead and attracts litter and drug users. Unfortunate that they don’t engage with the rest of the community.
They don’t own the building lol. They just occupy some space in it, it sounds like not on street level even. If you’re mad about the building being empty blame the rent being so high. Small local businesses can’t afford to rent ground floor retail in these shiny new developments cause greedy owners / investors want to keep rents high regardless of the impact on the community.
Yes, I had heard that the issue was just this, they are asking for a ridiculously high rent and haven’t been willing to budge on it. I don’t think SCC has any connection to these spaces.
This organization uses the ground floor of the building, stretching from Broadway to Nagle. They choose to cover the windows and lock the doors on the Broadway side, creating a bleak environment.
Everyone involved in these endeavors, including those small local businesses you wax poetic about, want to make money. Why do you describe the owners/investors as greedy, but endorse small local businesses who want to make money just as much? These are commercial endeavors after all, not non-profit undertakings.
I agree. This is a great organization on the inside, but they have turned their back on the public realm. The combination of this, the two generic dentist offices, and the two generic gyms, has created a dreadful street scape of covered windows over a stretch of Broadway right above the light rail station that should be activated. Each of these businesses should work on improvements that create a more vibrant Broadway. How about some well maintained planters? How about removing some of the opaque window treatments? How about some art? How about keeping the space in front of your business clean? How about a small cafe walk-up counter that could be used for job training?
They don’t own the building, but I get the sense that if they did it would be a lot cooler. This is why we should really give the I-137 social housing funding initiative to give some solid competition to this current broken model.
Ownership certainly has a role in creating an active streetscape, and tenant selection is very important in that regard. But business owners/tenants can also do many things to engage the world outside their doors. Some things, like those suggested by Cal anderson neighbor above, could be done by either the owner, the tenants, or cooperatively. Unfortunately, the area in which these businesses are located has been notoriously difficult to positively engage recently. It is too easy to imagine vandalized planters, for example, if anyone made the effort to create them. Ultimately the city has the lead role in facilitating a positive situation for businesses, property owners, and patrons. I give the city a very poor grade in that department, and hope for improvement soon. As for the social housing alternative, they would face the same issues as private owners. And I was not aware that some, such as Matt, envision the organization controlling commercial as well as residential spaces. Maybe that is part of the plan, but I thought the social housing organization would be acquiring social housing, not commercial spaces. Matt, maybe you know more about that?
What are you talking about? They rent the space and they essentially boarded it up along Broadway. While the building owner could do some improvements, so could the businesses that occupy the retail spaces. Everyone needs to do better
They rent a portion of the space at ground level. Their website shows the floorplan, there wasn’t exactly much room for engagement with Broadway with their space, and I love how everyone here is expecting a nonprofit doing some awesome work with and underserved population to also be the ones that activate the streets and take care of all our other social problems… Take some responsibility over your own community people, you’re not living in an amusement park or resort town, this is a real city.
You are saying that the “social housing funding initiative” will also be providing community centers?
Well that right there is another reason it should repealed, it lacks scope.
No, but it gives the people living in these buildings more control and say in the development and management of buildings so that they can prioritize things like liveability and streetscape and not developer profits.
One thing to keep in mind is that the vast majority of ground floor commercial spaces in mixed-use developments is designed as “core and shell”, meaning they are are completely empty and will be built out by the future tenant/s. What all of these spaces have in common though is a more or less continuous clear-glazed storefront system to meet transparency requirements per Land Use Code. While that may work just fine for restaurants, retail, etc. that amount of glazing can be problematic for other uses that require more privacy. They then apply opaque or translucent films to the bottom 7′-8′ of glazing and only leave the transom zone above clear. While this practice does address the tenants needs to some degree, it creates an abysmal pedestrian experience and attracts bad behavior.
Please provide a similar critique of the SPD precinct nearby 🙏
These are people who are neuro divergent and on the Autism Spectrum and have other mental disabilities and or physical limitations who for some of the Young Adults probably would get anxious if they seen some bad elements of Broadway / Capitol Hill peering in at them . Because if anyone cares to go to their website and read it one would see that they do after high school continuing education and fun activities But some get more nervous and anxious than others .
I look back nostalgically at what that stretch of Broadway was not that long ago, before the massive buildings were constructed. It was a mix of low-lying structures (1-2 stories) housing local small businesses. Those who favor “housing density at any cost” will have to admit that such an approach has negative consequences for our neighborhood. That area is now sterile and very uninviting.
Yes, remember the grand old times of hanging out at the funeral home? Wasn’t it great how the hearse driveways engaged with the street? Or the funeral home parking lot that always had lively small businesses in it?
What in the world are you talking about?
Ha, yes – my thoughts exactly ;-)
Zach will write any nonsense that they think sounds remotely like it supports their point…
Yeah, that funeral home was a disaster in that location, and many of these spots were going to be cleared as part of light rail construction either way, so putting housing up afterwards makes sense. Honestly, it was probably the folks that capped developments to such low heights that helped to make that ground level retail even more expensive than it already would have been.
I expected a negative reaction to my comment. But you “housing at any cost” advocates have to agree that the area is now, as I said, “sterile and uninviting.” I was just trying to make the point that re-development can have negative consequences.
Eh, I’m really missing your point. The new buildings are much much much less sterile than the funeral home was. And I see zero negative consequences to it being redeveloped into buildings with literally hundreds of people living in them.
No they don’t. Those people are fine. Check in with Erica C. Barnett or any of the dumbass writers at The Stranger .