SUMA design rendering by Olson Kundig

(Image: Lee Center for the Arts)

By Matt Dowell

An April 22nd meeting has been set between Seattle University and the community following concerns about the school’s plans to demolish its Lee Center for the Arts to make way for a new art museum on 12th Ave. An often behind-the-scenes public body flexed its muscles to get the meeting on the books after “unprecedented” public interest in the project’s early stages.

A year ago, Seattle U announced that a major donation from property developer Dick Hedreen, including his family’s 200-piece, $300 million collection of paintings, pottery, photography, etchings, and sculptures, would culminate in a new Seattle University Museum of Art (SUMA). When the university announced that the plans meant the Lee Center would have to go, students and faculty pushed back, saying that the building was a “critical space for students and community members” and that planned replacements were inadequate.

Now, the Seattle University’s Implementation Advisory Committee has stepped up. IACs are groups of city-appointed volunteers who monitor the development of Seattle’s major institutions – universities, colleges, and hospitals. The institutions are granted special zoning rules but must adhere to agreements made with their surrounding communities.

Kaiser Permanente’s IAC has recently advocated on behalf of the neighborhood for better use of empty storefronts and under-utilized parking space.

But chair John Feit says that, to date, Seattle U’s IAC hasn’t had much reason to question the university’s plans.

“We’ve reviewed two projects in my time,” he said. “In both cases, [the new] buildings were uncontroversial.” The committee focused more on “granular design” – how the new buildings would engage the street, how open they’d be to the public, what materials they’d use. The committee has never been involved in the “building siting” stage of the University’s designs.

The SUMA project has called for more action on the committee’s part.

“It’s surprising when you hear from several people in the neighborhood that they’re concerned.”

He feels that the IAC has a responsibility to the public to have those concerns heard and addressed. Last month, he and the committee asked the city to facilitate a meeting between the IAC and the University:

There has been an unprecedented interest in this project early on, and that interest centers around the proposed demolition of the Lee Center. The Lee Center is a treasured community and University asset and part of the 12th Avenue Arts District. It provides premium performance space that is not replicable by the soon-to-be acquired assets from Cornish. Even if those spaces are upgraded, it may be many years before that happens. There is also the chance that one of those spaces, at Seattle Center, will not be available for SU’s use as it is a union shop and SU is not.

The building is an architectural gem, and as an architect, I would say it is second in quality only to the Chapel and the new science building on the University’s campus.

Demolishing a perfectly functional and very high-quality building is contrary to the stewardship and environmental ethos of the University and to those of the community and City, and is contrary to the language and goals of the Master Plan. The renovated building is less than 20 years old and in good condition.

The theater’s scene shop and other spaces could prove to be excellent shared facilities with the new museum’s presentation and preparatory spaces, creating an opportunity for a constructive adaptive use of the facility that could help mitigate costs of the new museum by not needing to replicate those spaces, benefitting both facilities and creating a ‘Seattle University Center for the Arts.’

The Lee Center is an important member of the city-established Capitol Hill Arts District, a coalition of arts groups who are leading the effort to galvanize the arts in the community. Along with neighboring arts institutions like the Photo Center NW, NW Film Forum, 12th Ave Arts and SAAS, these groups form the spine of the district along 12th.

Feit hopes that the community, faculty, staff, students, and people who live in the neighborhood will attend this meeting and voice their perspectives.

“They’re the ones most impacted by this. Any actions we do take as a committee would be bolstered by a vigorous community engagement [at this meeting].”

Feit says that the committee will need to educate itself about city processes as they figure out what actions are available to them. They have not yet planned how they’ll engage with the University. But he has two goals: advocate for thoughtful reuse of the Lee Center and get more transparency from Seattle U.

He is not opposed to the museum itself. “Everyone’s very excited and wishes for great success for the project”.

“The museum will be a great addition to the city.”

But, as a retired architect, he wonders if there may be a way to incorporate the Lee Center into the new building.

“Demolishing it seems short sighted,” he said. “[The building has] valuable assets that are rewarding to the performing arts community, but could also be valuable to the museum itself.”

He hopes for some “symbiosis” between the museum and the performing arts center that could lower the museum’s cost, allowing the university to avoid rebuilding facilities the Lee Center may already have, while preserving the Lee Center spaces that students and faculty love.

Besides the loss of that space, Seattle U students and faculty are frustrated about how they found out about the decision to get rid of it. They claim that higher administration and the board made the call with “absolutely no input from us, the experts of performance spaces, and professionals in our Seattle arts community.”

Feit hears those complaints and has his own questions about how Seattle U has talked about the development process.

“They’ve made shockingly quick progress since November,” he said.

That’s when, during their annual meeting with the University, the IAC formally heard about the SUMA project for the first time.

“They gave the committee the impression that they weren’t very far along in the process.” Feit thought it’d be 6-9 months before there was anything material to discuss.

But then came Seattle U’s announcement that unveiled an already-designed building that would replace the Lee Center.

CHS reported here on the plans last month. The new museum will be designed by Tom Kundig of Seattle’s Olson Kundig and Sellen Construction will serve as the contractor. Two years of construction are planned with a grand opening slated for fall of 2028.

“It left myself as well as several other committee members just scratching our heads,” Feit said.

“It would have been nice if the University would have shared other options earlier,” he said. It’d have been more “in the spirit of building a partnership with the community” for Seattle U to have talked with the public before going too far down this road.

It’s that spirit of partnership that the IAC is meant to advocate for. They don’t have official say on whether Seattle U’s plans can move forward. Feit is fine with that: “It would be strange and not appropriate [for the IAC interfere with the museum’s progress]. It’s not up to the public to say they can or cannot build these buildings.”

But a push for open communication and due consideration of the Lee Center’s value is on the menu. Community members who would like to learn more about the plans or share their feedback are welcome at the April 22nd meeting. It will run from 6 PM to 8 PM in Seattle University’s Admissions & Alumni Building Advancement & Alumni Building at 824 12th Ave. You can learn more about the IAC here.

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