Inspection finds brick façade ‘stable’ at shuttered 15th Ave E restaurant building

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(Image: CHS)

City officials say the brick facade of the building at the center of the sudden closure of three 15th Ave E businesses has been determined to be safe.

“Our building inspection team evaluated the brick façade on E. Harrison Ave (sic). and found the condition appears stable and does not indicate an ongoing safety hazard to the public,” a spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections tells CHS. “A Hazard Correction Order will not be issued.”

CHS reported on the review and concerns about crumbling brick on the building’s south side as Rione XIII, Rubinstein Bagels, and Bar Vacilando announced their sudden closures last week citing lease and unspecified building issues.

In August, crumbling bricks were reported along the 96-year-old structure’s E Harrison-side masonry facade. Continue reading →

Buoyed by community support, The Seattle Grind expands to Capitol Hill

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(Image: The Seattle Grind)

It has been a busy season of new additions and change in the cafe scene around Capitol Hill. The latest will come this weekend along 11th Ave where a coffee shop familiar to Space Needle visitors is expanding to Capitol Hill’s Chophouse Row.

Owner Mehmet and Ezgi Gültekin say they are excited to expand The Seattle Grind from across from the Seattle Center to a center of Capitol Hill commerce and community.

“We’ve had the idea of opening a second location in mind for a long time, but we specifically wanted a space with real character and soul — like Chophouse Row,” Mehmet Gültekin said. “As soon as the opportunity came up, we jumped on it immediately because we knew it was the perfect home for The Seattle Grind.” Continue reading →

We don’t know what is in Pinehurst — but its new light rail station seems like a good sign

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(Image: Sound Transit)

In an era when the Sound Transit Board is focused on cutbacks, deferrals, and slowdowns, the opening of the new Pinehurst Station this week is an outlier.

The station serving this area of North Seattle is slated to come online Tuesday — five years before originally planned.

Located near NE 130th, the facility is opening five years ahead of its original 2031 target date. Approved by voters under the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure in 2016, the project was fast-tracked when the agency moved to compress the construction timeline. Continue reading →

To create Seattle U’s new 12th Ave SUMA art museum, some of its promised collection is being sold off — UPDATE

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Gaetano Gandolfi, The Birth of Venus –
 Estimate: $2-3 million (Image: Sotheby’s)

SUMA

As the plan moves forward to build a new art museum on its 12th Ave campus, Seattle University has announced a change in plans for some of the $300 million in art pledged to be showcased there in a donation by Seattle property developer Dick Hedreen.

“Longtime Seattle University supporter and donor Richard Hedreen recently informed the university of his decision to sell approximately 50 works from the broader collection,” the school’s September 14th announcement read. “As Sotheby’s Auction House announces the sale this morning, we wanted the university community to hear this news directly from us. Mr. Hedreen reaffirmed his commitment to gifting the remaining approximately 350 works of art to the university in honor of his late wife, Betty Hedreen, a proud Seattle University alumna.”

The announcement follows Hedreen’s 2024 donation pledging the $300 million collection of paintings, pottery, photography, etchings, and sculptures to the Jesuit university. The donation included a promise of $25 million in “seed funding” to build a new Seattle University Museum of Art to house the collection. Continue reading →

Mapping the buffer: Inside the safety and design planning for Broadway’s Crisis Center

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A .25 mile radius around the facility


 
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Central Crisis Care Center

As renovations begin on the former Polyclinic building that spans between Broadway and Harvard along Union, local safety planning for King County’s upcoming Central Crisis Care Center is moving forward on two tracks: an immediate evaluation of neighborhood security gaps and an eventual handoff to an operator-run advisory council once patients arrive.

Last week, CHS reported on the political process across two mayoral administrations that formed a new six-member advisory group responsible for a crucial $3 million safety and community plan to help the surrounding neighborhoods make a better home for the new crisis center when it opens in 2027.

Here is a look at what the group has been working on, the challenges and shortcomings it is facing — and a critical handoff that must be executed with a new group once the center opens. Continue reading →

No injuries after Saturday night apartment fire in 125-year-old building at 15th and Marion — UPDATE

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Seattle firefighters quickly extinguished a Saturday night blaze in a small 1901-era residential building at 15th and Marion just south of Madison.

Seattle Fire reports its crews were dispatched shortly before 9:00 PM following reports of a fire inside a multi-family residence. Seattle Fire Department described the structure as a two-story apartment building with a basement with the fire located on the top floor.

Firefighters got water on the flames, brought the fire under control, and initiated ventilation operations. Continue reading →

Why Zahilay’s $746M King County budget invests while Seattle cuts

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Zahilay’s proposal includes “$100 million in conservation funding to protect 1,500 acres of land, increasing access to urban greenspace, restoring habitat, and protecting forestland and farmland for future generations” (Image: King County)

Why does Executive Girmay Zahilay’s 2026-2027 budget proposal for King County lack the urgency of the spending plan from Mayor Katie Wilson? Timing and accounting. While Seattle faces an immediate shortfall, King County is planning ahead for a deficit two years away.

Zahilay has transmitted a $746 million mid-cycle supplemental budget to adjust the county’s existing 2026–2027 package. Because King County’s projected $120 million shortfall falls in the 2028–2029 biennium, the executive has time his Seattle counterpart does not. Continue reading →

The flock thickens: Starbird Chicken is coming to Capitol Hill

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(Image: Starbird Chicken)

The mystery of new commercial life hatching in the failed 10,000-square-foot Amazon grocery on E Pike has been revealed. The arrival of Starbird Chicken on Capitol Hill will mark new energy for a block that has been darkened for two and a half years.

It will also be an example of what happens when highly optimized, fully leveraged, and fluidly designed corporate strategies cross lines, overlap, and push all their eggs into the same basket in a neighborhood with finger lickin good demographics and spending habits. Continue reading →

Here are your chances to speak up on the mayor’s proposal to overcome Seattle’s $175M deficit

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The Seattle City Council has launched its review of Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposed $9.1 billion 2027–2028 budget, scheduling multiple hearings and public comment opportunities over the next two months before adopting a final plan.

Councilmember Dan Strauss, chair of the Select Budget Committee, emphasized community participation as the council evaluates funding priorities. Residents can weigh in during six regular comment sessions and two dedicated public hearings featuring both remote and in-person testimony. Continue reading →

9-2-5 — It’s Dolly Day in Seattle

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Happy Dolly Parton Day, Seattle.

The city officially proclaimed September 25th as “Dolly Parton Day” to celebrate the legendary artist and philanthropist’s contributions to music, culture, and childhood literacy following her passing in August.

City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck presented the proclamation during a tribute story hour at the Queen Anne Library branch.

In August, the AIDS Memorial Pathway Plaza above Capitol Hill Station was the gathering place for a vigil following Parton’s death at age 80.

The September 25th date serves as a nod to Parton’s iconic hit “9 to 5.” Citywide celebrations also feature a silent disco and a screening of 9 to 5 at Denny Park, honoring Parton’s program that has provided nearly 4.5 million free books to Washington children.

 
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