Tag Archives: central district

23rd Ave road diet continues with year-long south project ready to dig in, bus-only lane cut from Montlake plans

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23rd Ave south of Jackson

The process to overhaul 23rd Ave from one end to the other between 520 and I-90 is preparing for the next stages as construction is prepared to begin next month in the southern stretch of the corridor while a big change is being made to the plans in the north.

Wednesday night, the Seattle Department of Transportation will hold a “pre-construction open house” for the southern Phase 2 of the 23rd Ave Vision Zero project:

Phase 2 construction will happen along 23rd Ave S between S Jackson St to Rainier Ave S. While we don’t yet know an exact start date, we anticipate Phase 2 construction beginning as soon as May 2018 and lasting approximately one year. We will share more details about the construction schedule and phasing once the contractor is on board.

Wednesday’s meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, 2401 S Irving.

This summer, SDOT will also dig in for a few weeks on slimming down the 24th Ave E end of the corridor through Montlake. But a big component of the plan has been dropped:

In another unfortunate setback for Vision Zero and the Move Seattle Levy, SDOT has elected to remove the dedicated bus lane planned for 24th Avenue to give more space to cars. 23rd/24th Avenue, home to the 43 and 48 routes and used by over 6,000 bus riders daily, is one of Seattle’s supposed “transit priority corridors” (a phrase that grows ever more meaningless), slated for RapidRide buses in 2024.

“The 2015 Transit Master Plan called for bus lanes from Thomas St. to Roanoke St., almost all the way to the Montlake bridge,” the Seattle Transit Blog reports. “As the plan has evolved, neighborhood opposition has increased and the bus lanes have been walked back, until this month, when they were scrapped entirely.” Continue reading →

Seattle set to give Central District its own design review board

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In an effort to preserve and grow the historically Black culture of the Central District, Seattle is creating a new Design Review Board for the area. The proposal passed out of committee April 4, and will  go before the Seattle City Council for a vote scheduled for Monday afternoon, April 9th. UPDATE 3:20 PM: In a unanimous vote, the council approved Rob Johnson’s legislation creating the new guidelines and board. Johnson thanks Central Area activists for their  “several decades of work” to make the new process possible. “I’m really proud to be playing a small part here in the end to help get this across the finish line,” Johnson said.

“The creation of a Central Area Design Review District and Board will support equitable and inclusive community engagement and process specific for those most impacted by displacement, maximize the effectiveness of the Central Area Design Guidelines, and help guide future development to respond to the unique Central Area historical character and identity,” according to a report prepared explaining (PDF) the legislation.

The proposal sponsored by Council member and planning and land use committee chair Rob Johnson (District 4) would make a new, eighth design review district by carving it from Capitol Hill’s East District Review Board and the Southeast district. Continue reading →

A ‘Brutal’ landmark? East Pine Substation the Central District’s unlikeliest candidate for preservation

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Tuesday is the deadline for you to weigh in on what might seem to be one of the more unlikely candidates to become a neighborhood landmark — Seattle City Light’s Brutalist, brick-walled East Pine Substation.

The E Pine at 23rd Ave facility will go in front of the  Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board Wednesday “to determine the historic status of the property prior to a SCL proposal to increase the substation’s capacity, security and reliability for the surrounding Central Area, First Hill, and Capitol Hill neighborhoods,” according to the department’s nomination document (PDF) on the property.

The nomination document describes the era of City Light’s investment in architecturally significant infrastructure: Continue reading →

One to hospital in shooting at 23rd and Union

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One person was reported shot in the leg and police were searching for cars seen leaving the area after gunfire broke out Saturday night at 23rd and Union.

Seattle Fire responded to one person with a gunshot wound to the thigh found near the liquor store just after 9 PM at the corner per radio dispatch reports. Police were searching the area for cars seen speeding from the area following the gunfire while officers were also collecting evidence from bullet damage to vehicles in the parking lot at the scene.

There were multiple descriptions on the cars reported leaving the scene, some with damage from the incident. Police were checking vehicles around the area including one found at 23rd and Cherry where two people were reported detained.

Shell casings were found near 24th and Union, according to East Precinct radio updates.

The victim was taken to Harborview. We do not have further information on the patient’s condition.

Police said the victim’s injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

UPDATE 3/18/18 9:38 AM: SPD has posted a report on the shooting confirming our initial details and asking anybody with more information about the incident to call 911:

On March 17 at around 9:06 p.m., East Precinct patrol officers were dispatched to the area of 24th Avenue and East Union Street to multiple 911 calls of shots fired. Upon arriving, officers quickly found a gunshot victim. The man had been shot in the leg. Officers immediately provided first aid and called for Seattle Fire Department medics. Police also canvassed the area for additional victims, suspects, and witnesses. Gang Unit detectives responded to conduct the investigation and process the crime scene for forensic evidence. Medics transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment of his injuries. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call 911.

19th Ave fire
If you heard more sirens following the shooting response at 23rd and Union, those were Seattle Fire responding to the View at Madison apartments in the 1600 block of 19th where smoke was reported at the building just after 9:30 PM. Firefighters were dealing with a reported smoldering fire on the exterior of the building but found no flames inside per radio updates.

Central District speaks up in search for a new Seattle Police Chief

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In her first public discussion about Seattle’s search for a new chief of police, Mayor Jenny Durkan came to a Central District community group representing some of the rawest, most challenging relationships to law enforcement in the city.

“We respect the office because we believe that engagement and communication and respect can get us a long way,” Andre Taylor said Wednesday night at a meeting of Not This Time, the Central District community group focused on reducing fatal police shootings. Taylor’s group is fresh off victory after Governor Jay Inslee signed into law new regulations changing the state’s standard for malice in police shootings and providing improved resources for law enforcement de-escalation, first aid and mental health training.

Many in the crowd Wednesday night had lost family to police shootings. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill, Central District students speak out against gun violence for #NationalWalkoutDay

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With reporting from Michelle MacKinnon and Alex Garland

Students and supporters walked out of their schools across Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Seattle Wednesday at 10 AM to come together for 17 minutes of silence to honor the one month anniversary of Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting that has reignited calls for gun control reform.

The actions Wednesday are part of a wave of activity including town halls with Governor Jay Inslee and Rep. Pramila Jayapal leading up to the March 24th March for Our Lives protest march starting at Cal Anderson Park.

At the Central District’s Garfield High School, student organizers were looking beyond school shootings. “We are planning March For Our Lives and participating in school walkouts because we want change and refuse to be ignored in our pursuit of it,” student Bridget Fox told CHS. “We hope to bring attention to the fact that gun violence disproportionately affects communities of color and other marginalized communities, and we strive to find methods of legislation that won’t have further unintended consequences in such places.” Continue reading →

Raised Doughnuts finds home on 23rd Ave

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(Image: Raised Doughnuts)

Change and redevelopment around 23rd and Union are shaping up quite nicely — but we’re not too sure about your belly. Popular pop-up Raised Doughnuts has found a home in the Central District.

The new doughnut bakery and counter is set to transform the old Collins Gold Exchange and minimart that was once lined up to become a Central District burger joint on 23rd Ave at E Spring. Continue reading →

Killer who says he gunned down two he met on Capitol Hill because they were gay pleads guilty to New Jersey slaying

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Family and loved ones of Dwone Anderson-Young mourned the 23-year-old’s murder at a vigil following the June 2014 murders (Image: CHS)

The man accused of killing two gay men he met on Capitol Hill as part of a nationwide murder spree investigators say was driven by extremist beliefs has pleaded guilty to another murder and admitted in court to the Seattle crimes.

Prosecutors say Ali Muhammad Brown was “jihad-inspired” when he murdered 23-year-old Dwone Anderson-Young and and 27-year-old Ahmed Said in the June 1st, 2014 slayings. The two were shot to death early on a Sunday morning after a night on Capitol Hill. Their bodies were found in the area of 29th and King near the home Anderson-Young shared with his mother. Continue reading →

A demolition, a homeless camp, and townhouses: the 22nd Ave story of Cherry Hill Baptist Church

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22nd Ave’s Cherry Hill Baptist Church — in the background, Tent City 3 has settled in across E Cherry

An 118-year-old Black church in the Central District lined up for demolition. A homeless encampment at the center of the city’s debate on how it should best approach providing housing to its residents most in need. A planned development that will build 14 townhouses that probably won’t be affordable but will help increase available stock in a booming city desperate for new housing. It’s a modern day Seattle story at 22nd Ave and Cherry.

Today, it’s mostly cold and wet. Tent City 3, recently moved in on church property behind the AM/PM and gas station at the corner, provides shelter to around 50 people. The New York Times just wrote about the camp and its most recent stay at Seattle Pacific University. “Some other cities grappling with homelessness, especially on the West Coast, have set aside places to allow camps or have opted not to enforce laws on outdoor camping for periods of time,” the New York Times remarks. “But the Seattle area went further into the experiment: It has, over the course of more than a decade, gradually allowed 11 camps to become permanent features of the landscape.”

The camps are also permanently on the move. Tent City 3 is now resident on land owned by Cherry Hill Baptist Church. Across the street, Pastor Willie Seals has big plans. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill and Central District high school population boom has Garfield looking for extra classroom space

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Garfield, the Seattle public high school serving Capitol Hill and Central District area students, is growing so fast it will need portable classrooms to make space for its students.

The City of Seattle is looking for citizens to join advisory committees that will help determine recommendations for possible zoning changes to allow the 23rd Ave high school and a set of other Seattle Public Schools campuses to “provide less than required on-site parking” so they have space to add portable-style classrooms. Continue reading →