West Seattle, Washington
03 Tuesday
No arrest yet in Monday’s North Delridge sexual assault, nor do detectives have any new information to release, Seattle Police tell WSB today. But area residents plan an action Friday night. “We want to bring awareness and support, and make the authorities look at us and do something,” says one neighbor. Another tells WSB the neighborhood’s reaction began with anger but then led to a search “for ways to bring more attention to this issue.” They plan to meet up at Cottage Grove Park at 5 pm tomorrow (Friday, August 19th) to place teal balloons around the neighborhood; that’s the color for sexual-assault awareness. They’ll also be circulating flyers. They want to ensure everyone knows this happened. The victim was attacked around 6:15 pm Monday; police searched the 26th/Juneau vicinity and beyond for hours, but SPD has released few details and only a description of what the attacker was wearing.
7:10 PM: We don’t have full details on this but several people have asked about it so we’re making note of what we do know – police have been searching near 26th/Juneau for what was reported as a suspect in a sexual assault. No info yet on circumstances nor even victim description but police have been using at least one K-9 team to search (that’s why you’ve heard short siren bursts – those are part of the warning that a search dog is out). We’ll add anything more we find out.
7:55 PM: SPD spokesperson Valerie Carson says the only information they’re releasing tonight is that they searched the area but so far have not arrested anyone.
TUESDAY NOTE: Still awaiting information from SPD; hoping to have a followup whenever we get it.
10:58 PM: Seattle Fire has just upgraded a response to the 9400 block of Delridge Way SW – it’s now a “full response.” Original dispatch was a report of people possibly setting “rubbish on fire next to a building.” Updates to come.
11 PM: They’ve just downsized the response, after arriving units discovered what they told dispatch was a “tapped rubbish fire.”
Just got word of this, so it wasn’t in the daily list. Laurel Trujillo at Ounces in North Delridge sent the invitation – between now and 6 pm, kids 10 and under are invited to come jump for free in the “bounce house” they’ve set up. Parents must be there to watch, of course. Ounces is at 3809 Delridge Way SW.
If you follow the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and/or the daily preview lists we compile from it, you know West Seattle nightlife brings many chances to play games in West Seattle – trivia, bingo, Scrabble, more. Now, get ready for a different kind of contest – an adult spelling bee! It’s on the way to The Skylark in North Delridge next month – here’s the announcement:
Skylark, West Seattle’s most intimate live entertainment & dining venue, is pleased to announce the launch of Spelldown After Dark (TM), an adult-only spelling bee to take place every Friday night in September and that will pay cash prizes to nightly winners and to the final 2022 Spelldown Champion.
Says Skylark owner and Spelldown co-founder Matt Larson: “Spelldown has been developed over many months, has been tested with live players who left wanting more, and is now primed to bring a game show-like competition to greater Seattle. We expect players to feel the rush of competition in their veins, but there is a limited number of seats per Friday night and we encourage players of all levels to sign up quickly. Spelling has never been this much fun … both to play and to watch, so bring your friends!”
Sign-up for players is now open! The games will begin on Friday, September 2nd at 8:00 pm and will repeat each Friday in September starting at the same time. Players, who we call Spelldowners, will be limited to 12 per Friday night. For the first four Friday nights, all players will be new, so in total for all of Seattle, we are limited to 48 players for Spelldown 2022. There is a one-time sign-up fee of just $15, one winner per night, and the first four winners plus 2 runners-up will play in the thrilling championship finale on Friday, September 30th.
Sign-up for audience members is also now open! To maximize the fun of being in the live audience, audience members will be limited to 65 per Friday night. There is a small cover charge of $10 per audience member and there will be opportunities for audience participation! Given limited availability, Spelldowners, invite your friends and followers to support you in this game show-like experience before space runs out on the night you have selected.
For Spelldowners, more information and sign up here:
simpletix.com/e/spelldown-after-dark-contestant-slot-ticke-tickets-111813For audience members, sign up here:
simpletix.com/e/spelldown-after-dark-an-adult-spelling-bee-tickets-111812
(WSB photo: Looking east on SW Andover late this afternoon)
We reported Monday on the removal of dozens of eco-blocks that had been placed along SW Andover and 28th SW after the city swept the longrunning RV encampment there in June. This afternoon, we finally have the full SDOT explanation of what happened and what’s planned for the area:
The eco-blocks were removed by the business that placed them. Following protocol, SDOT sent a warning notice after the concrete blocks were placed due to the lack of an approved street permit. The correspondence led to a productive conversation in which the business took responsibility for setting them and agreed to remove the eco-blocks at their own expense. During discussions, we shared plans for paving the street and discussed how the curb space and right of way currently work for businesses in the area.
New pavement being added on the north side of SW Andover Street creates space for a westbound protected bike lane, the option to leverage the paving project, and fill a gap in our bicycle network. This concept resonated with those with whom we spoke. Crews are also making drainage and landscaping improvements, which is why you noticed dirt removal. The paving of SW Andover St between 26th Ave SW and 28th Ave SW is currently scheduled for August 8-11. The paving repairs damage that may have occurred due to increased traffic during the West Seattle Bridge closure.
The bike lanes will be on both sides of SW Andover St, between 26th Ave SW and 28th Ave SW, and bike enhancements could be potentially added to SW Yancy St. The design is at about 50%, and we expect installation to be this fall. There will be no impacts to travel lanes. However, some parking and loading zones will be impacted and removed. The Bike Master Plan recommends a Neighborhood Greenway treatment. Due to the industrial nature of the area and for the comfort and enhanced safety of those biking, we are installing a protected bike lane (PBL). The Levy to Move Seattle is funding the bike lane design.
SDOT says the paving will be complete this week; the schedule for building the bike lane is not yet finalized.
12:20 PM: Thanks for the tip. Dozens of “eco-blocks” placed in the aftermath of the SW Andover/26th/28th RV encampment sweep almost two months ago are gone, and city crews are back in the area today. They told our photographer that they’re there to remove some of the soil as the next phase of the cleanup.
As our top photo shows, SW Andover is blocked in the area, and crews expect to be there until about 2 pm today. Before the sweep, West Seattle Health Club said they’d been told of a proposal to build a bike lane along that stretch of Andover; the person who tipped us today said a crew member told them about a plan for pedestrian/bike infrastructure. We’re asking SDOT if that’s true, as well as seeking further details of what’s happening today, and will add whatever we hear back.
4 PM: We’re still waiting for additional info from SDOT. Meantime, Newell Aldrich in Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s office tells WSB, “CM Herbold has been in touch with SDOT since June about potential extension of the bike lanes on Andover beyond the existing portion between Delridge and 26th. She received confirmation from SDOT that they do plan to install bike lanes there beyond 26th and Andover to 28th, and beyond. We haven’t seen a design yet. The Seattle Bicycle Master Plan includes connections on 28th, then Yancy to Andover.”
Thanks to the reader who sent a tip that South West Plumbing‘s North Delridge headquarters appeared to have suddenly cleared out. We went over to look and indeed – dark, closed, no one there, trucks gone, So we called today, and here’s what we learned: They’ve moved to Renton, to a site near IKEA. The move happened this past weekend, They stress they’re still serving this area (and the rest of the region), but they’d outgrown the site at 2401 SW Alaska. As for what happens next with that North Delridge site, we’re still looking into that; it’s 20,000 square feet, zoned C1-55, which means commercial/residential development up to five stories.
South Delridge is the busiest West Seattle redevelopment area right now, and another early-stage plan is circulating a community survey. Cone Architecture sent a postal-mail notice about a 12-townhouse project in early-stage planning for 9216 20th SW (near 20th/Barton; map). Their description of the project is “two parcels (with) six 3-story rowhouses, six 3-story townhomes, surface parking, and green spaces.” Online documents indicate that one parking space per unit is proposed. This is on track to go through Streamlined Design Review rather than full Design Review, so no public Design Review Board meeting is expected, but you can get early comments in via this online survey, open through Friday (August 5th). The site has been used for single-family housing but was rezoned to Lowrise 1 during the HALA Mandatory Housing Affordability process.
Thanks for the tip. Notices like that one we photographed tonight are posted along SW Juneau in the 25th/26th vicinity, signaling the city’s intent to sweep the area encampment(s) as early as 9 am Monday morning (August 1st). This is the area where 56-year-old Anthony Gonzalez was shot dead in his tent last month. About a week after that, a city rep told us that the encampment would be removed, but wouldn’t say when. The newly posted notices describe the reason for the sweep as that “Materials in this area are an obstruction to the intended use of this property, are in a hazardous location, or present a hazard” and advise that anything left there will be put into storage, accessible for 70 days. Neighbors had circulated photos showing burned debris and what appeared to be fuel containers at the site, after a fire that followed the murder.
(WSB photo, October 2021)
Less than two weeks after fire gutted that building at 16th and Barton last fall, the site was put up for sale – and now it has a development proposal: A 67-unit microapartment (small efficiency dwelling units) building. The proposal has just appeared in the city’s “early design community outreach” pipeline. It would be a four-story building with no offstreet parking, spanning this site and one on its north side. Records show this site sold for $612,000 (original listing price was $700,000) two months ago, about the same time the same ownership LLC also bought the north parcel. Online records for the microapartment project indicate the developers are Sound Real Estate Development and the architects are SHW.
A new restaurant will open next month in the former Hoang Kim space at 9418 Delridge Way SW [map]. No, not Phorale – that apparently didn’t work out. Now the space is slated to become Nacho Mama. After its liquor-license application appeared online, we talked briefly to Nacho Mama’s proprietor by phone this afternoon. She told us she’s opening as soon as August 1st, with a menu that will include tacos and frybread, hours 7 am to 11 pm.
We reported earlier this month on Block Drops, a project created by local Girl Scouts Paige, Evelyn, and Emma to make it easier for community members to clean up their neighborhoods. On behalf of the project, local cleanup organizer Erik Bell sent word that four Block Drops are planned in Delridge this week – four daylong chances for you to go get equipment, do a bit of cleanup, and know that the results will be tended to. Here are the dates and locations where supplies will be available (pickup and dropoff), 9 am-5 pm each day:
Monday, July 11 – Dragonfly Pavilion (28th & Dakota)
Tuesday, July 12 – Delridge & Findlay
Thursday, July 14 – Cottage Grove Park (26th & Brandon)
Friday, July 15 – Delridge Playfield (26th & Genesee)
These Block Drops are listed here, and you can watch that webpage for others coming up.
(WSB photos)
The South Delridge Farmers’ Market is now in the middle of its second season in the courtyard of Hope Academy (9421 18th SW). This year it’s happening twice monthly – twice as often as last year – and today was our first chance to visit. The market is a project of African Community Housing and Development, centered on BIPOC growers and makers.
10 vendors are there today, including Nhia from Heu’s Blooms and Greens in the Kent Valley:
She told us this is the first time she’s been able to get to this market this year, as the weather’s been unusual. She’s selling flowers and produce. Next to her booth, with produce and plants, is Antoine from Regeneration Farm in Woodinville:
Regeneration is one of the market’s founding vendors, He told us it’s the kind of market that his company is most focused on serving – reaching people who face the greatest barriers to accessibility of fresh, healthy food like this. Other vendors today include Seola Bee Company, Black Origin Plants, Aash Farms, and Small Axe Farms.
(Most are from King County, though there’s also an apple farmer today, from Chelan.) Just before we stopped by, market managers explained, they had a crowd of customers from the mosque that’s co-housed with Hope Academy, because today is a Muslim holiday – Eid al-Adha, explained as a day to celebrate bounty after a period of sacrifice that marks the annual pilgrimage that is a tenet of the faith. If you don’t get to the South Delridge Farmers’ Market today – it continues until 2 pm – your next chance to visit is in two weeks, 10 am-2 pm Saturday, July 23rd.
(9218 18th SW rendering by Caron Architecture)
Last December, the mixed-use project proposed for 9218 18th SW [map] got final Southwest Design Review Board approval (WSB coverage here), and today, after staff review, the city has published a key decision for the project, which is summarized as “a 5-story, 48-unit apartment building with retail,” with 28 offstreet-parking spaces. Publication of the decision opens a two-week appeal period; this notice explains how to appeal. The project still needs other permits/approvals before construction can begin.
BACKSTORY: The proposal for this site first appeared in city files in March 2020; it was originally envisioned with up to 76 units, but that number dropped as the project went through reviews. The triangular site was upzoned during the HALA process.
Police are in the 9400 block of Delridge Way SW right now, investigating a reported shooting. The victim apparently turned up in White Center, so there’s been no medical callout at the Delridge scene. No information on circumstances yet; we’ll update if/when we find out more.
As featured in our daily event list and calendar, a new summer-solstice celebration is debuting today! The gardenkeepers (above) invite you to stop by the Delridge P-Patch (5078 25th SW) for all-ages fun until 7:30 pm. We went over just as it was getting started.
You can buy dinner from West Seattle’s own Chef Gino Williamson, proprietor of TheHomeSkillit.com – he’s on the Delridge side of the garden (by the sidewalk) and at center in our top photo. Organizers told us this is an extension of their regular 6 pm Tuesday storytime. (added) Several kid activities:
A small plant sale too:
You can even spend $1 on an entry to guess how tall the P-Patch’s tallest sunflower will be at season’s end!
About a block east of Denny International Middle School, where SW Kenyon bends northward into 24th SW, a tangle of blackberry vines all but hides the public trail that leads to a footbridge over Longfellow Creek and, beyond, toward Delridge Way. Seattle Public Utilities is about to give the area a major makeover as part of its “natural drainage systems” work. SPU expects to start work this week that will result in:
*New walkway, bridge, and boardwalk to make it easier for people to get to nearby schools, homes, and bus stops
*Natural drainage systems to reduce pollution in Longfellow Creek
*Art installation to enhance the space and connect community to the creek
The artist is Brian Borrello from Portland. Here’s a rendering from the design presentation (which you can see in full here):
According to the construction alert SPU says it’s sent to neighbors, work will last about six months. The streets are expected to remain open but there will be pedestrian detours. This is part of a larger project that includes work along 24th further south, and will include work at Sylvan/Orchard, as explained in this “online open house.”
(WSB photo, Saturday)
Erik Bell, who organizes community cleanups at least once a week in West Seattle, has an invitation for you tomorrow, if you have Juneteenth off – a community cleanup to follow up on the city cleanup of the SW Andover/28th RV encampment. Here’s the invitation for the 10 am-noon Monday cleanup, in case you haven’t already seen it in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
We’ll be tackling the neighboring streets around the West Seattle Health Club which was just cleared of a long-standing RV encampment. Although it looks clean from the casual drive-by, the gravel parking strip is littered with a myriad of ground-in micro trash and broken glass, the city was only able to come get the large trash items.
We could use an army of folks to come in and give this neighborhood the love it deserves after years of neglect, so come for as little or as much as you’d like…and bring a friend!
What to expect: This has been a long-term RV encampment so has years worth of junk ground into the gravel. If there are any left over tents around we will steer clear of any of those and just focus on the roadway parking strip and sidewalks. Pickup sticks, buckets, vests, gloves and bags will be provided and the resulting trash will be reported for pickup by Seattle Public Utilities.
Parking: We should be able to park back along Andover by Monday but I’ll make updates as the cleanup approaches.
Please reach out with any questions, concerns or carpooling opportunities. I can be reached at 206-852-9552
10:32 AM: A sizable Seattle Fire response is headed for a house in the 5000 block of 25th SW [vicinity map]. Updates to come.
10:35 AM: This has been quickly downsized – turned out to be a fire in the backyard.
(WSB photos)
Two days after the city cleared the mostly-RVs encampment site along SW Andover/28th SW, eco-blocks were installed this morning. The neighboring West Seattle Health Club had announced pre-sweep that to “avoid the return of the encampment, the West Seattle Health Club is partnering with our neighboring businesses to place cement eco-blocks along the surrounding area.” After a tip early this morning, we went over around 7:30 am and found two workers in gear from neighboring Nucor finishing the placement, which they said they’d started about two hours earlier.
Blocks are also in place along the west side of 28th.
As the camping was illegal – though not enforced for six-plus years – this is too. We asked SDOT about it on Thursday and spokesperson Ethan Bergerson replied:
Seattle Municipal Code 15.04 states that it is unlawful to place objects or structures in a public place without first securing a written permit. SDOT does not issue permits to obstruct public streets, sidewalks or parking spaces with concrete blocks because this can cause problems such as parking spillover onto adjacent streets, blocking utility access, conflicts with other transportation needs, or accessibility barriers which violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Additionally, the desire to prevent others from using a public space is not a valid reason for seeking a permit in and of itself.
Blocks like these have been installed, however, in other areas of the city, either post-sweeps or preventively. Some are also in place along part of a formerly much-camped area of 1st Avenue South in southeast West Seattle.
11-to-15-year-olds not involved in other organized summer programs will have a place to go as part of the Seattle Parks “Summer of Safety” program, explained here. The 10 community-center locations where it will operate in July and August include Delridge Community Center (4501 Delridge Way SW). The announcement explains:
Most sites will provide a free lunch through the City’s Summer Food Service Program. Regular SOS activities will include field trips, arts and crafts, as well as sports and athletics. The program will operate rain or shine and no sign-up is required; youth can drop in on any day and at any time during the program’s regular hours.
Dates and hours at Delridge CC are Mondays-Friday, noon-5 pm, July 5th through August 26th.
10:11 AM: As announced, the city is clearing the mostly-RVs encampment on SW Andover and 28th SW right now, for the first time in the six-plus years that people have been living in a line of vehicles there. Some of the RVs were already gone before tow trucks and other city crews started showing up:
SW Andover is closed west of 26th, and 28th is closed north of Yancy.
Police are there as well as cleanup crews.
So far our crew has seen two passenger cars towed, and noted that the agencies responding include the Seattle Animal Shelter, as there are pets there too. (added) This sign is up, listing the vehicles towed so far:
(added) Trucks were towed too:
12:10 PM: One RV trailer remains. Heavy equipment is scooping up piles of debris.
That’s on Andover. 28th (below) is also clear of vehicles – to Yancy; several are in view south of Yancy, by Dragonfly Park.
Police, SDOT, SPU, and cleanup-contractor crews are all still there. We’ll be going back later for another update.
5:06 PM: Back at the scene. Roads have reopened. City crews are all gone. So are all the vehicles and all the junk.
Also gone: All but one RV to the south on 28th by Dragonfly Park.
5:49 PM: Just received from the city:
Prior to the start of today’s RV Remediation and encampment removal on SW Andover Street between 26th Ave SW and 28th Ave SW, six RVs, three trailers, one box truck, three vehicles, two tents and 13 people were on site.
Four RVs and two trailers with a total of 9 people self-relocated from the area. The owners of the remaining two RVs and a box truck accepted referrals to hotels through King County’s Health Through Housing program and their inoperable RVs and truck were towed.
The occupant of the third trailer received a referral to a tiny house yesterday (6/15) and abandoned the trailer. That individual also relocated one of the vehicles from the site.
Two vehicles were abandoned and towed by the City.
One person residing in a tent was referred to 24/7 enhanced shelter.
In total, there were 12 referrals into enhanced shelter or tiny house village options from this location since outreach began on May 19.
During today’s RV Remediation, crews removed and disposed of an estimated 50,000 pounds of trash and debris.
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