One person was reported shot and police were looking for a possible suspect vehicle in an incident under investigation near Denny and East Olive Way early Tuesday.
Police were called to the scene just before 3 AM where a man suffering from a gunshot wound was reported in front of the nightlife businesses along E Olive Way.
Seattle Fire treated the victim and transported him to Harborview. We do not have information on his condition. Continue reading
Rinck in a video celebrating the SDOT reversal of its reversal on E Union earlier this month.
The city’s reversal on a plan to remove a red paint bus lane from a few-block stretch of Capitol Hill has become a movement.
Wednesday, Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck was on her home neighborhood turf near the busy triple intersection of 12th, Union, and Madison to announce a “coalition-backed initiative” she says will push for improving — and, apparently, preserving — bus lanes throughout the city.
“For too long our city has missed the moment to ensure frequent and reliable bus service on some of our most used bus corridors. Now is the time to fix these longstanding issues head on,” Rinck said in the announcement. “I’m proud to stand with transportation advocates to find a new way forward for Seattle’s bus riders.”
The citywide council member was joined by representatives from Transportation Choices Coalition, Amalgamated Transit Union 587, Transit Riders Union, Aurora Reimagined Coalition, Fix the L8, and Central Seattle Greenways at a stop for the Metro Route 2 bus as traffic roared nearby the busy Capitol Hill intersection along the RapidRide G corridor.
CHS reported here earlier this month as the Seattle Department of Transportation said crews were in the process of reversing a small stretch of E Union changes made under the RapidRide G project, including removing the red-paint bus lane through the area where poor design had left Metro needing to detour the block. After advocates spoke out against the whipsaw decision, SDOT announced it was reversing the reversal and would be installing a pedestrian signal that would make the stretch of E Union safe for Metro’s Route 2 to return to the block. Continue reading
By Matt Dowell
Jamie Guerriero loves and hates the 8.
“I live down in Lower Queen Anne, half a block away from the last stop,” he said about the often maligned bus route that links Seattle Center with Capitol Hill. “It’s so essential to get back up to the Hill.”
He takes the 8 up Denny two to three times per week to visit Capitol Hill friends and the farmer’s market and says the bus is either 5 minutes early or 15 minutes late all the time. And to take it during rush hour is hellish.
“For a 4:30 happy hour, I have to leave by 3:30,” he said.
Guerriero is car-less and is a big fan of the transit system in general. But the 8 has underperformed for the 13 years he’s lived in Seattle.
“It’s such a major route, but I get the feeling the Metro just doesn’t care about it.”
In fact, throughout Guerriero’s 13 years in town, King County Metro and SDOT have been working to improve the 8’s reliability. But it’s still falling short. Can it ever really be fixed?
This year, the Transit Riders Union and Central Seattle Greenways have renewed their “Fix the L8” campaign to get SDOT and Metro to address the issue.
“We’re on track for the least reliable summer we’ve ever had,” said Nick Sattele, a campaign organizer. Continue reading
A rendering of the planned new building and the neighboring landmark La Quinta
Thanks — and sorry — to the La Quinta resident who alerted CHS to the notice
Residents of Capitol Hill’s La Quinta apartments have been issued a 90-day notice to vacate as a planned redevelopment of the landmarked property including plans for a new twin apartment building behind the old one at 17th and Denny moves forward.
The March 5th issued notice cites “Substantial Rehabilitation” for the order. Permits to enable demolition of two neighboring houses to make way for the new construction are also in motion.
CHS reported here in 2022 as DEP Homes, a small real estate investment firm that lists an address near Judkins Park in the Central District, purchased the property including the landmarked building and the two neighboring houses for $4.2 million and set about a planned redevelopment that would add a twin five-story apartment building behind the 98-year-old La Quinta structure.
DEP Homes did not respond to CHS’s messages about the notice and the company has not responded to any of our inquiries over the past three years. DEP owner developer Cao Huynh is a prolific Seattle real estate investor. Capitol Hill firm S+H Works is DEP’s architect on the project.
(Image: Viva La Quinta/Jesse L. Young)
(Image: CHS)
With reporting by Domenic Strazzabosco
Failing masonry appears ready to rip apart Seattle’s web of public reviews, permits, and financing windows to move a major Capitol Hill development project forward at the corner of Denny and E Olive Way.
City permit paperwork shows demolition approval moving forward “under emergency conditions” on the more than 100 year old, historic — but not landmarks protected — property once home to Capitol Hill classics Holy Smoke, Coffee Messiah, and In the Bowl. The facade of the 1917-era unreinforced masonry building is falling off, according to the filings, expediting the long awaited demolition of the old structures.
Filings show a traffic control plan, right of way impact plan, and haul route map being submitted for approval.
A plan for developing a seven-story, 106-unit mixed-use apartment building at the corner awaits but any work on construction is still a long, long ways off.
The project has yet to begin the public review process and will then need to await the alignment of economic trends and financing windows that has left many Capitol Hill projects on the back-burner.
The property’s developer has declined to comment on the situation and also directed the contractor being brought on to handle the demolition not to speak with CHS about the project. Continue reading
(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 woman was shot in the back and was hospitalized and police were investigating if more than one person had been in a Friday night incident at the Pantages Apartments on E Denny Way.
Police reported blood was also found inside a vehicle at the scene as they worked to determine where the shooting took place.
Seattle Fire and Seattle Police were called to the building around 10:30 PM to a report someone had shot a woman from outside the building. Arriving officers determined the shot had mostly likely not been fired through a window into the unit and took two people into custody, according to East Precinct radio updates. Continue reading
(Image: Fix the L8!)
(Image: Fix the L8!)
A campaign to fix a key bus line connecting the Seattle Center, Lower Queen Anne, South Lake Union, the Central District, and beyond via Capitol Hill is raising awareness for its mission to improve the average on-time performance of the Route 8 bus. The campaign is focused specifically on the stretch of road spanning from 1st Ave to Fairview for the trip known as “Route L8” to many riders,
Nicholas Sattele, a volunteer with Central Seattle Greenways who is heading up the Fix the L8 campaign, pointed out that Denny Way is getting repaved next year without plans to add a bike or bus lane.
“Seattle pays higher transit taxes and in exchange, we get money to use for transit improvements,” Sattele said. “Route 8 is notably absent from that list.” Continue reading
(Image: CHS)
The historic — but not landmarks protected — Olive Way Improvement Company building once home to Capitol Hill classics Holy Smoke, Coffee Messiah, and In the Bowl is being readied for demolition and redevelopment as a new mixed-use apartment project.
Early permit filings for the 1550 Olive Way project from developer Guntower Capital show plans for Runberg Architecture Group to design a seven-story, 106-unit building with street level commercial spaces for retail or food and drink, plus planned underground parking for around 22 vehicles.
At this point, any preservation of the 100-year-old structures elements does not seem to be in the plan. CHS reported here in April on the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board’s rejection of property’s nomination for possible historic protections. Continue reading
(Image: CHS)
By Soumya Gupta, CHS Intern
When the governor and the mayor show up to cut the ribbon in front of a new affordable apartment building in the heart of Capitol Hill, it’s a big deal.
This week, YWCA Seattle King Snohomish celebrated the opening of the new permanent affordable housing at 800 E Denny Way, where Governor Jay Inslee, Mayor Bruce Harrell, and officials cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the 91 new affordable homes for residents at risk of homelessness.
“The future entails an absolute right to housing in Washington State, and YWCA believes [in helping] that”, Governor Inslee said. “We need to thank the citizens for putting their trust in this investment.”
The new building is one of the latest examples of community organizations acquiring planned market-rate apartment projects across Capitol Hill for affordable housing. Continue reading
