Tomorrow morning, a judge’s announcement is scheduled to be the next step toward the future of The Hole – the excavation (behind the green-screened fence in our photo) for the stalled West Seattle project originally known as Fauntleroy Place, once slated for a new Whole Foods (they’ve since pulled out) and Hancock Fabrics (they haven’t answered requests for comment), plus apartments. The decision is in the first major trial in the tangle of lawsuits over what went awry; what’s scheduled to be decided is who has “lien priority” – the entity that holds the site’s note, 3922 SW Alaska LLC, is arguing against the claims of Ledcor Construction, among other components of the complicated case. If you’re interested in the fine print, here are documents summing up the points made in closing statements (which we covered a week and a half ago) – one from 3922 SW Alaska here, one from Ledcor here.

But The Hole’s future isn’t entirely a matter for a judge and development company to decide.

The night after we covered the closing statements brought the regular monthly meeting of the Southwest District Council – which has expressed concern more than once about The Hole.

During the meeting, SWDC co-chair Erica Karlovits expressed surprise at the testimony the previous day of Thomas Lee, owner of Madison Development, with which 3922 SW Alaska is associated, that “We’ve taken steps to make it safer than [it was] when we purchased it”; she said that the spokesperson for that company had stopped responding to inquiries from her group Junction Neighborhood Organization and the West Seattle Junction Association, though, Karlovits said, “not all the safety issues have been addressed,” particularly concerns about the sidewalk along SW Alaska, as seen in our photo above.

SWDC sent a letter about the overall safety concerns back in April; that was followed by a tour, with the aforementioned spokesperson, in May; some work ensued (here’s our July report), but Karlovits is most concerned about the SW Alaska frontage, where there’s no “Jersey barrier,” reportedly because of sidewalk-width concerns. “Isn’t the safety issue greater than the width of the sidewalk?” she asked.

Meantime – we’ll be in court tomorrow to report on the judge’s decision, and what’s next.