For sale: New Capitol Hill developer sought for mixed-use City Market redevelopment

Speaking of neighborhood groceries, it has been 111 days since the “MUP-ready development site” also known as Capitol Hill’s much-loved City Market hit the Seattle real estate market.

November’s unpriced listing — if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it — was the surest sign that much-hyped San Francisco-based property developer Juno is now out of the picture after shepherding the property through several rounds of Seattle process on the way to plans for a mass timber mixed-use building topped with 98-residential units, including 58 studios, 21 “deep” one-bedrooms, 13 one-bedrooms and 5 two-bedrooms, above a future home for the popular Bellevue Ave grocery and new underground parking.

To make way, the existing City Market building and the laundromat next door as well as a small surface parking lot were planned to be demolished. Continue reading

A visit to Harry’s Guest House and mixing uses on Capitol Hill’s Bellevue Ave

(Image: Harry’s Guest House)

(Image: Harry’s Fine Foods)

By Juan Jocom

The Harry’s Good Times family of businesses is growing. There’s a place to come and stay on Capitol Hill when everyone visits.

Harry’s Guest House was once home to a beloved neighbor. Now, it is part of Harry’s Fine Foods and of the few new places to stay on Capitol Hill where recent attempts to develop new hotel projects have been slow to take shape.

Jake Santelli and Julian Hagood opened their first accommodation-based business on Capitol Hill at the corner of E Mercer and Bellevue Ave in November. It is a two-unit bed and breakfast. As their Harry’s Fine Foods restaurant took shape in 2016 out of an old neighborhood cornerstore, Santelli and Hagood were pleased to make friends with the eccentric neighborhood longtimer next door. Winnie, they say, “dined with us, laughed with us, and ultimately became a symbol of community that made the corner of E Mercer and Bellevue Ave just a little bit sweeter.”

When they learned Winnie was moving out and leaving her beloved home behind, the Harry’s guys moved to make the house part of their presence at the corner. Continue reading

Man injured in Thanksgiving morning shooting on Capitol Hill

One person was taken to the hospital and another was in custody as police searched for the reported gunman in an early Thanksgiving morning shooting on Capitol Hill.

Seattle Police and Seattle Fire were called to the gunfire near Bellevue and E Olive St. just before 6 AM where a man had been reportedly shot in the leg, according to emergency radio updates.

Arriving officers began pursuit of two men spotted fleeing the area near Crawford Place and took one into custody after a brief foot chase while the other was able to escape on foot. Continue reading

Calling the heartbroken but happy, the hungry, and the thirsty, The Jilted Siren now open on Capitol Hill

 

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Amy Graham — accompanied by her daughter Kayla — at The Jilted Siren

A new mural by Justice Fox-Hille

A popular neighborhood space has taken new shape as a shadowy and adumbral hangout for creatures of the night and the people who love them on Capitol Hill.

The Jilted Siren calls Bellevue Ave “the heart of the locals’ favorite part” of the neighborhood. It is a dark heart — with a big smile.

The new bar inspired by love and loss from industry veteran and first-time owner Amy Graham has opened in the former home of Kedai Makan. CHS reported in February on Graham’s plans for a “dark and broody” makeover of the restaurant into a neighborhood lounge with “Spice Trade Route” flavors. As for The Jilted Siren name, the veteran bartender knows her way through the human heart — and the classics.

“The Iliad… the Odyssey… this time Odysseus does not get away,” Graham told CHS earlier this year. “We’ve all been heartbroken at some point. Understanding this is the human condition.” Continue reading

Metro holding ‘Madison Street Project’ open house on proposed RapidRide G area service changes

King County Metro will hold the first of two planned open house sessions Thursday night on the proposed changes to Routes 10, 11, 12, and 47 in conjunction with the 2024 start of service on the E Madison RapidRide G bus line.

Open houses
Thursday, April 6 – 6:00PM to 7:30PM
Miller Community Center
330 19th Ave E

Friday, April 28 – 6:00PM to 7:30PM
Yesler Community Center
917 E Yesler Way

CHS reported on the proposals last month. Metro says the new “Madison Street Area” network would alter Routes 10, 11, 12, and 47 in the Capitol Hill, Central District, First Hill, and Madison Valley neighborhoods to “improve public transportation connections and transfers,” reduce duplication with the new RapidRide G line, and “address service that was suspended since COVID began in 2020.”

Under the RapidRide G planning, Metro is making the case to permanently axe Route 47 while proposed changes to Route 10 and Route 12 are being intertwined with a proposal for the lines be “reoriented” to operate along E Pine instead of E John and Madison, until they turn north on 15th Ave and 19th Ave. Metro is also proposing to move Route 11 off Pine. Continue reading

With RapidRide G starting on Madison in 2024, Metro planning changes to Routes 10, 11, 12, and final elimination of the 47

Metro’s plan is to keep the electrified trolleys of Route 12 and 10 rolling once RapidRide G comes along (Image: CHS)

With construction of the new line now at “50%,” officials are collecting feedback on proposals to alter existing bus routes that will connect with the Madison RapidRide G line when it begins service in 2024.

The new “Madison Street Area” network would alter Routes 10, 11, 12, and 47 in the Capitol Hill, Central District, First Hill, and Madison Valley neighborhoods to “improve public transportation connections and transfers,” reduce duplication with the new RapidRide G line, and “address service that was suspended since COVID began in 2020,” Metro says.

The new configurations could also fit better with the streetscape overhaul currently underway that will make Pike and Pine one-way between downtown and Bellevue Ave.

Metro’s plan is to roll the proposals out now and collect survey feedback through May before possibly revised revisions go out later in the year and are finalized in time for RapidRide G’s start of service in 2024.

Metro is promising “a final proposed bus route network that reflects community input from this survey, conversations with community members, and equity analyses” by fall 2023. Continue reading

Seattle breaks ground on street, bike, and sidewalk project to make Pike and Pine one-way between Pike Place Market and Bellevue Ave — But no time table for changes on Capitol Hill, yet

Visualizations from Waterfront Seattle show before and after scenes at locations along the Pike and Pine streetscapes. The city doesn’t have designs for the Capitol Hill portions it is ready to release to the public.

(Image: Waterfront Seattle)

Construction has begun on the $17.5 million street, bike, and sidewalk project that will make Pike and Pine one-way between the waterfront and Bellevue Ave — but don’t expect the change to one-way streets on Capitol Hill any time soon.

A spokesperson for the project that was celebrated last week with officials breaking ground and turning over shovels of dirt trucked into Westlake Center to begin construction on the effort tells CHS there is no schedule yet for the work to reach Capitol Hill though the hope is for the whole thing to be wrapped up by fall of 2024.

“We do not currently have an overall phasing schedule for this project or know yet when work will begin in the Capitol Hill area,” the Waterfront project representative said. “We are working with neighbors, residents and businesses in the area to keep them informed on construction work to reduce impacts, and are also sharing information and updates on our weekly construction email.”

(Image: Waterfront Seattle)

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The City of Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects is designing this project in coordination with the Downtown Seattle Association and the Seattle Department of Transportation “to improve east-west connections between the waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods.”

Gary Merlino Construction will take on the $17.45M job on the project that will overhaul the streets, improve crosswalks, upgrade bike lanes, and widen sidewalks on Pike and Pine from 1st Ave to Bellevue Ave.

“Pike and Pine streets are at the heart of downtown Seattle’s urban core. This improvement project will help people easily reach many of Seattle’s great destinations – Pike Place Market, the Convention Center, Paramount Theater, downtown retail, Capitol Hill’s restaurants and coffee shops, and so much more,” Greg Spotts, director at the Seattle Department of Transportation, said about the groundbreaking. “Whether walking, biking, or taking transit such as the light rail and the Streetcar, residents and tourists alike will have a safer, more comfortable trip.”

Officials say the work will improve the Pike and Pine streetscape by adding greenery, new seating, and consistent design from end to end. The improvements will include one-way traffic on Pike and Pine streets from 1st Ave to Bellevue Ave, with Pike being one-way eastbound and Pine being one-way westbound. Continue reading

The Jilted Siren, created out of love, loss, and the flavors of the Spice Route, next for former Kedai Makan space

The restart of a Capitol Hill favorite at 15th and Pine has made a home for a new start in Capitol Hill food and drink on Bellevue Ave.

The Jilted Siren, a small plate exploration of Spice Trade Route flavors from an industry veteran making her first foray from behind the bar into ownership, will open in coming weeks in the former Capitol Hill home of Kedai Makan.

Amy Graham says she is currently undertaking a “dark and broody” overhaul of the former Kedai space with new colors, a new mural, but with many of the favorite’s old fixtures intact. She’ll be the leader for drinks and behind the bar while chef Jonas Van Dyke will be in charge of a menu planned for quarterly changes with the seasons.

“We’ll see what the neighborhood has to say,” Graham said. Continue reading

Construction on street, bike, and sidewalk project to make Pike and Pine one-way between waterfront and Capitol Hill will start early next year

The city has awarded the construction contract and says work will start early next year on the project to overhaul the streetscape of Pike and Pine between Seattle’s upgraded waterfront and Capitol Hill.

Gary Merlino Construction will take on the $17.45M job on the $39 million project that will overhaul the streets, improve crosswalks, upgrade bike lanes, and widen sidewalks on Pike and Pine from 1st Ave to Bellevue Ave.

The work will take about 18 months, the city says: Continue reading

Long standoff in search for suspect appears to turn up empty after Bellevue Ave stabbing — UPDATE: One arrest

Image of the scene provided by a neighbor to the CHS Facebook group

Police were searching for two suspects overnight after a stabbing late Thursday in the 1700 block of Bellevue Ave.

Police were called to the area of the City Market around 10:45 PM to a report of a fight and a man stabbed in the assault.

According to East Precinct radio and Seattle Fire updates, a 47-year-old man was treated for his injuries and transported to Harborview in stable condition.

One suspect was identified and police were searching a nearby building for the man.

SWAT personnel were called to the area and locked down the building for hours as they attempted to locate and contact the suspect. Flash bangs were exploded multiple times to try to clear units but the suspect was not located.

Seattle Police confirmed the investigation but had not yet confirmed that the suspect remained outstanding.

UPDATE: SPD says it was searching for a man and a woman in the assault. The man was taken into custody during the search but the woman was not immediately located:

Police cleared the scene around 3 AM. There were no reported arrests.

 

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