Tag Archives: 21st ave

Police: Resident shoots 21st Ave burglary suspect in leg

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A man shot a suspected burglar in the leg inside a 21st Ave apartment building early Friday morning, the Seattle Police Department says.

According to SPD and emergency radio updates, police and Seattle Fire were called to the building at 21st and Yesler just before 1:30 AM Friday.

Arriving officers found the 28-year-old suspect down with a gunshot wound to the leg. Seattle Fire treated the man at the scene and transported him to Harborview with non-life threatening injuries.

Police say the building resident who opened fire and his wife were home with their young child and that the suspect “had broken through an exterior door, attempted to enter multiple units, and eventually came to their apartment, where he began yelling and kicking at the door.”

“According to the victims, the man in the apartment issued several warnings before the suspect forced the door open. The man then fired one shot through the door, hitting the suspect in the leg,” SPD reports.

 

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City backs off landmarks nomination for former Phillis Wheatley YWCA site, ‘a central hub’ in Seattle’s Black history

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The building as it looks today

If 21st Ave’s old Phillis Wheatley YWCA is going to become a protected landmark in recognition of its place in the history of Black Seattle, someone else is going to need to speak up for the property set for demolition to make way for a new housing development.

The City of Seattle quietly withdrew its request to nominate the 108-year-old house for landmarks protections earlier this month ending a rare City Hall-backed foray to win protections for a property.

Edward Lee, director of communications for the Department of Neighborhoods, told CHS only that the application had been “formally withdrawn” and did not provide reasons for the reversal. The property most recently used as transitional housing but lined up to be demolished and redeveloped as a new 49-unit apartment building was scheduled for a hearing on the possible protections earlier this month.

The city had said the 21st Ave property just off E Madison was worthy of landmarks status as “a pivotal location in Seattle’s African American heritage.” It is unusual for the city to pursue landmarks nominations, a process it typically leaves to community groups, developers, or property owners. Continue reading →

The Phillis Wheatley YWCA — How city’s effort to protect ‘a central hub’ in Seattle’s Black history could block affordable housing project

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The building as it looks today

By Ayla Nye/UW News Lab

With an affordable housing project set to demolish the building, a December landmarks board hearing could determine the future of a 21st Ave property the city calls “a pivotal location in Seattle’s African American heritage.”

The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections has taken the unusual step of delaying the development of a 49-unit apartment building just off E Madison to determine if the 108-year-old building should be protected on the grounds that the property holds historical and cultural significance, according to the SDCI.

The Madison Inn Work Release, formerly known as the Phillis Wheatley YWCA building, is up for a landmark nomination, a designation that could protect the building from demolition and many types of construction.

Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, president of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State, voiced her concern about the planned building demolition.

Johnson-Toliver is a fourth generation Seattleite. Her family moved to Seattle in 1913 and she has owned her house in the Central District for nearly 30 years. In 1945, her mother was a member of the Phillis Wheatley YWCA Girls Reserve.

“The Phillis Wheatley was created to meet the needs of Black women and children,” Johnson-Toliver said. “They helped shape young women’s opinions and attitudes and we’re socially uplifting them with education and recreation,” she said.

“Established from the ‘Culture Club’ in 1919, this site has been a central hub for black intellectual life, community gathering, black social justice and legal defense groups,” the nomination prepared for the city reads. “It initially functioned as a meeting point and community center, significantly contributing to the social fabric of Seattle’s African American community.”

Ben Maritz is the current owner of the Madison Inn property and the founder of Great Expectations, an affordable housing developer. Maritz has been developing the property since he bought it in July of 2020.

“We went through a whole process, including design review, and received the master use permit, I think, over a year ago,” Maritz said. Continue reading →

With formation of conservancy and Black ownership initiative, Wa Na Wari secures its Central District home

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(Image: Wa Na Wari)

Central District arts and community space Wa Na Wari says it now has a long-term lease for its 21st 24th Ave home after forging an agreement with the conservancy dedicated to Black ownership that now holds the property.

Wa Na Nari announced the new lease as it said the Frank and Goldyne Green Land Conservancy was able to purchase the 1909-built house for $1.2 million late last year.

“With the help of individual donors, the City of Seattle, Gates Foundation, and Satterberg Foundation, Wa Na Wari has secured its home,” the organization said in its announcement. “The Wa Na Wari house was purchased by the newly formed Frank and Goldyne Green Land Conservancy to ensure that the land will always remain in Black ownership.” Continue reading →

City delays landmarks hearing for Capitol Hill work release facility that was once Seattle’s ‘Culture Club’

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(Image: King County)

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods has quietly pushed back a landmarks board hearing on a 21st Ave property the city calls “a pivotal location in Seattle’s African American heritage” that has most recently served as work release housing for the incarcerated.

CHS reported here in August on the 108-year-old Phillis Wheatley YWCA building slated for demolition at 21st Ave and Denny and the city’s plans for a hearing on possible landmarks protections for the structure planned for this week. Continue reading →

‘A pivotal location in Seattle’s African American heritage’ — Landmarks Board to consider old 21st Ave YWCA site

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The Seattle landmarks board will consider a 108-year-old structure slated for demolition at 21st Ave and Denny for protections due to the building’s role in Black history in the neighborhood.

The old Phillis Wheatley YWCA will be considered by the board September 4th. In the nomination (PDF) prepared for the city’s Department of Construction and Inspections, the city argues that the building could be worthy of architectural protections as “a pivotal location in Seattle’s African American heritage” — Continue reading →

Man who died in 21st and Denny fire identified

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(Image: SFD)

The man who died in a fire inside a boarded-up building near 21st and Denny last week has been identified.

The King County Medical Examiner’s office says Benjamin Bess, 23, died of smoke inhalation in what investigators determined was an accidental fire that started inside the squat house.

CHS reported here on the deadly Wednesday night, December 2nd fire in the fenced-off structure near new development in the area of 21st Ave E. Continue reading →

One person critically injured in 21st and Denny fire — UPDATE

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At least one person was reported injured in a fire in a building at 21st and E Denny Wednesday night.

Seattle Fire was called to the scene at 2112 E Denny Way just after 7 PM to reports of smoke coming from the structure. The address is the location of the Avant Apartments, a six-story building that opened to residents in 2019. UPDATE: SFD reports the fire was in a boarded up structure next to the apartments:

As crews from Engine 25 and 34 worked on getting water on the fire, Ladder 10 company located an unresponsive adult male in a room adjacent to the fire room. Unable to safely access the occupant from within the home, Ladder 10 sawed a hole into the room to quickly rescue him. The patient is an approx. 40 year old male who was found in critical condition. Paramedics performed lifesaving efforts and transported him to Harborview Medical Center. Crews performed additional searches to confirm no other occupants were found inside the home.

Seattle Fire said its firefighters were responding to the blaze. According to SFD radio updates, one injured person was removed from the fire scene. Seattle Fire says its crews rescued an adult male in critical condition and paramedics were attempting lifesaving efforts.No additional occupants were found inside.

Streets in the area were closed to traffic during the response.

UPDATE 12/3/2020: The Medical Examiner confirms the victim rescued from the fire has died. No cause of death or identification of the victim has yet been released. Seattle Police say the death was not suspicious.

 

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