West Seattle, Washington
16 Tuesday
ADMIRAL SAFEWAY: We first reported in February that Safeway had advised the Admiral Neighborhood Association its long-anticipated plan to redevelop the store site was ramping up. Last month, general bullet points emerged when Safeway applied for a permit. Tonight, the company unveils its design at a community meeting at Hiawatha, 7 pm.
THE KENNEY: Last night, the century-old Fauntleroy retirement center discussed its major redevelopment plan — all but one building will be torn down — last night with neighbors. (Our article will be published later this morning; two major changes were revealed last night, including the proposal for one building to be 6 stories high.) Tonight, The Kenney’s management and consultants are presenting the plan again, in a meeting geared toward local community groups and organizations (though everyone’s welcome), at The Kenney, 6 pm.
ALKI COMMUNITY COUNCIL: West Seattle’s fabled beach community has had a lot going on this summer – what’s ahead for fall? Attend tonight’s ACC meeting to find out. 7 pm, Alki Community Center.
Later today – we look ahead to a few of the big events coming up in the next few days beyond tonight, including Holy Rosary’s West Fest (WSB sponsor) tomorrow and Saturday and the first-ever West Seattle Junction Car Show (co-sponsored by WSB) Sunday.
WEST SEATTLEITES ON THE RADIO THIS AFTERNOON: On KUOW during its 2 pm show, an interview with local author/historian Clay Eals about the history of West Seattle’s transportation woes (94.9 FM or listen online). Meantime, though it’s not listed on their webpage right now, we heard a promo for KIRO Radio‘s Ron and Don talking with West Seattle barista/former “Project Runway” contestant Blayne during their 3-6 pm show today (will update when we get a specific hour).
FIRST OF TWO KENNEY MEETINGS TONIGHT: As we first reported a month ago, The Kenney is launching a $150 million redevelopment project, including tearing down old buildings and putting up new ones to double its capacity. Tonight is the first of two meetings to show the plans and answer questions; it’s geared to area residents, 6 pm, Fauntleroy Church. Tomorrow, a meeting geared to local community groups and organizations, 6 pm at The Kenney.
ADMIRAL SAFEWAY MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT: Second-to-last reminder, Safeway unveils its plans for the major Admiral redevelopment at a community meeting tomorrow, 7 pm at Hiawatha Community Center, one week before its first Design Review Board session. Safeway declined our request for a pre-meeting peek at the plans, preferring you to see it at the meeting first; tomorrow’s format will be a presentation followed by Q/A, *not* a drop-in open house – be there at the start. (Forest points out in e-mail that a Tacoma Safeway project evolved with significant neighborhood input, another reminder that your participation can make a difference.)
PARK-ING DAY LOCATIONS: We’ve told you before about PARKing Day, a nationwide event this Friday meant to call attention to the need to make sure urban areas have greenspaces. Its centerpiece: Community groups converting parking spaces into mini-parks for the day. The official Seattle map is out (see it here), and there are two area locations: One in the heart of The Junction, the other on 16th SW in White Center (in front of Full Tilt).
BUSINESS BIRTHDAY: We like to mention local businesses’ anniversaries, and here’s the next one – M3 Bodyworks (WSB sponsor) is celebrating its third anniversary with a discount on its prepaid massage package – you pay for four, the fifth one is free. It’s an online-only special, available till midnight Saturday night; go here to check it out.
A week or so ago, we spotted the predecessor to that sign at West Seattle Nursery – it simply said “Under New Management,” which brought us a couple of notes from folks who wanted to know if that meant the nursery had been sold. Never got to check in person, but this amusing new sign appears to be proof it hasn’t. Meantime, a sign in The Junction proclaims a new development’s name; exactly one month after the teardown of an old house at 41st/Edmunds, south of Jefferson Square, a sign in front of the steeply sloped lot declares the future cluster “The Incline on Edmunds”:
The web address on the sign, by the way, takes you to a page with (currently) only renderings of the future definitely-not-cookie-cutter townhomes. Last but by no means least, tonight’s the official full moon; on the other side of the moonrise we shot last night, Scott C sent us this photo of the moonset early this morning:
Can’t guarantee a similar sight Tuesday morning, but the moon’s high in a cloudless sky right now, so if you’re up early, look toward the Olympics, just in case.
TONIGHT: Arbor Heights playground meeting, 7 pm, AH Community Church (project preview here). TUESDAY: Alaskan Way Viaduct open house, 5:30-7:30 pm, Fauntleroy Church. WEDNESDAY: 1st of 2 meetings about the $150 million revamp for The Kenney, 6 pm, Fauntleroy Church (project preview here). THURSDAY: New Admiral Safeway project design unveiled at community meeting, 7 pm, Hiawatha (and The Kenney hosts the second meeting about its project, 6 pm). For other events this week and beyond, see our list here.
Seems Magnolia/Interbay and West Seattle have a lot in common these days – not only the jail-sites fight (see below), but also future Whole Foods stores. MagnoliaVoice.com broke the story of a slowdown on the nearly complete WF in Interbay; as soon as we saw it early this morning, we e-mailed Eric Radovich at BlueStar – which is developing Fauntleroy Place, with the West Seattle WF (final approved design shown above) – and he replied early this am, “Still full (speed) ahead for us at this point … target Feb. of 2010,” which means no change from previous projections. A similar reassurance was issued a month ago, and FP has swung into major excavation since then. (Side note: If you haven’t heard of Magnolia Voice before, it’s a new neighborhood-news site affiliated with MyBallard.com, both operated by people who, like your WSB co-publishers here, are veteran journalists we happened to know personally long before they ventured into the online-community-news business.)
That’s the night view of the BlueStar project, still known as Spring Hill (but maybe changing), that just finally finished a Design Review process that exemplified how public comment and concern CAN make a difference. As some point out, the final chapter isn’t written until the building is built — but so far as this stage of the process goes, concerns from neighbors and criticisms from reviewers were not only heard, but also incorporated in the design approved tonight. Here’s a summary along with a few more views from the official presentation – plus the only real low note of tonight’s meeting before the Southwest Design Review Board:Read More
(Updated version of WSB clickable Junction/Triangle development map)
Heard about this after last night’s 34th District Democrats meeting (full report on that is still in the works), and it’s just been confirmed by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen: Toward the widely voiced concern that the Junction and Triangle areas be looked at in a “big picture” sense while so much development roars forward, Rasmussen is asking Junction developers (here’s our report on their West Seattle Chamber of Commerce appearance yesterday) and leaders of the Chamber and the West Seattle Junction Association to be at the September 22nd City Council “briefing” session. Also invited: along Representatives of city agencies including SDOT (transportation) and DPD (planning). Rasmussen staffer Brian Hawksford explains, “The purpose would be to have the developers describe their projects to the Council in an informal setting and to explain how they hope the city can be helpful in the overall improvement to the streetscape.” Rasmussen himself elaborates:
I see all of the development that is being planned in the Junction area as a tremendous opportunity to create one of the greatest residential and commercial neighborhoods in the City. For that to happen it is important for the developers and the City to work together to insure that design of the buildings, landscaping, transit planning, traffic management, parking and pedestrian walkways are all coordinated and complementary. The City can play a major role to insure that the coordination occurs. Recently I met with representatives of the Fairmount Community Council and they too see this potential. I would like as many people who are interested to participate.
I know it may be difficult for the public to attend this meeting during a weekday here at City Hall. The meeting is planned to be held here … because I would like the Council to understand the importance of this effort. It will be televised and can be viewed online as well. If people would like more meetings to be held, we can do so in West Seattle.
The meeting’s at 9:30 am September 22nd at City Council chambers downtown. It will be shown live, as are all such council sessions, by the Seattle Channel — channel 21 on cable, or seattlechannel.org online.
Last month, we brought you in-depth details of the $150 million redevelopment project on the drawing board for The Kenney, the longtime retirement community in Fauntleroy. (Read our story here.) Today, we get word from The Kenney’s CEO Kevin McFeely that two meetings are set next week to discuss the project with, and answer questions from, neighbors and other area residents/community leaders: 6 pm Wednesday at Fauntleroy Church (with official invitations going out to everyone within a half-mile radius), 6 pm next Thursday (9/18) at The Kenney (targeting local neighborhood associations and business groups). The project also is tentatively scheduled for its first Design Review Board hearing — which is a public meeting too — at 8 pm October 23rd (location TBA); here’s the city’s project page.
It’s the second-furthest-along of the Junction megaprojects – Capco Plaza, which longtime local businessman Leon Capelouto is building between 41st and 42nd on the north side of Alaska. Capelouto was one of four developers, with 8 projects between them, who spoke to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly luncheon today, and we were there to get the latest:Read More
Just added to the Design Review calendar, a second project for the 10/9 meeting, which previously had only the 35th/Graham mixed-use building on the agenda: 3008 63rd SW (map), described in the city files as three single-family homes slated for demolition, to be replaced by seven units. The lots are immediately south of the Cactus end of the ex-Alki Market building, east side of 63rd just south of Alki SW. No meeting site listed yet, but the Alki project presentation is scheduled for 6:30 pm 10/9, the High Point project for 8 pm.
Five days after demolition began at 6053 California, the building’s distinctive facade (along Graham as well as California) finally came down today (the top “before” photo is from last year). We once wrote we’d be sad to see it go, but as we acknowledged last week, neighbors tell WSB they’re glad, because the teardown will take away what had become a hotbed of trouble.
City leaders have talked a lot lately about saving trees and even increasing the city’s “tree canopy” — and yet the tree-cutting doesn’t seem to have slowed. This afternoon, the mayor’s office sent a news release about “interim regulations” just proposed to “close a loophole” — take a look and see what you think:Read More
That’s the newest rendering of the building that Harbor Properties is developing at 38th/Alaska (the site of a former Huling garage as well as West Seattle Montessori). And it now has a name: Link. We sat down recently with Harbor executives to get updates on this project and the other two that Harbor has in the pipeline in West Seattle — Mural, which is under construction, and the unnamed proposal for what’s currently the site of West Seattle’s only motel (36th/Alaska). Read on to see what we found out:Read More
That’s the California-facing view in the newest design proposal for “Spring Hill” (no relation to the restaurant), the project that BlueStar Management (same company behind Fauntleroy Place — aka Whole Foods/Hancock — and Gateway Center, aka ex-Huling Buick showroom) is proposing for 5020 California SW (map). The next public hearing before the Southwest Design Review Board is Thursday night, 6:30 pm, Hiawatha Community Center; the proposal that BlueStar and Hewitt Architects will show that night is now available online, with proposed views from all sides, “shadow studies,” and other information — you can download it from the city website. (WSB coverage of the last SWDRB meeting for this project can be seen here; we have been reporting on this project now for almost a year.)
Sometimes when development issues come up, and a controversial change is described as “according to what’s in the neighborhood plan,” people say “Who made that plan, when, and why?” The plans (all linked here) were drawn up about a decade ago, in an intensive community-involved process. You can’t go back in time and change what was written into them then – BUT you can get involved now with the process that will lead to neighborhood-plan updates – next opportunity has just been announced, a public hearing before the City Council at City Hall next Monday night, 5:30 pm. Agenda here.
Thanks to Brian for the tip – a month and a half after the demolition permit was issued, the backhoe’s digging right now into 6053 California (at Graham, north end of Morgan Junction) right now, from the alley side first (this view is looking southeast through the back fence in the alley west of the site) – this demolition has been going on by hand for a few weeks, as parts of the building were “deconstructed” for salvage before the walls started coming down. This is the building we once wrote we’d be sad to see go:
But neighbors are thrilled because while it’s been vacant, they’ve had tons of trouble with trespassers, transients, and even some arrests. Here’s the latest rendering we have of the townhouse/live-work project slated to replace it:
10:29 AM UPDATE: The teardown is currently in a stopdown – so if you drive by any time soon, you won’t see anything obvious from California or Graham.
Nine days ago, we brought you the first in-depth report about the $150 million expansion in the works for The Kenney in Fauntleroy (including the demolition, and “replication,” of the cupola-adorned building shown above) – if you missed it, you can read our story here. We’re mentioning it because the first Southwest Design Review Board public meeting has just been set for the project, October 23rd. (The official city page has the wrong address for this, but the right project link; there are a few more notable new West Seattle dates on the page — we’d already mentioned 5020 California SW is coming up again on September 11th, but now the second meeting for the 35th/Graham High Point project has moved from that date to October 9th, while the October 23rd meeting featuring The Kenney’s plan is also scheduled to include 4106 Delridge, a 5-story mixed-use proposal.)
Just got word from Sara Corn at Safeway regional HQ that the date’s set for the public meeting at which the company promised it would unveil full details of the proposed Admiral Safeway project before its Southwest Design Review Board meeting: That public meeting is now set for 7-9 pm September 18th at Hiawatha Community Center (one week before the SWDRB will consider the design).
Less than a week ago, we reported the Southwest Design Review Board told the developers of the 35th/Graham (map) mixed-use project it needed some work, so they’d have to come back for a second round of “early design guidance.” (WSB coverage here) Today, the city website shows the date for that has just been set – it’s been added to the agenda for September 11, which already had the next review for Spring Hill (BlueStar‘s mixed-use building at 5020 California, south of The Junction). Both projects will be reviewed that night at Hiawatha Community Center — 5020 California SW at 6:30 pm, 3420 SW Graham at 8 pm.
Obviously the name of this almost-done condo complex on the north edge of The Junction (just north of this site) has to do with the nearest cross-street; nonetheless, it was an odd coincidence that we noticed the sign for the first time while the car radio was playing a John Lennon-co-authored Beatles song.
That cupola at The Kenney, the century-old senior-care complex in Fauntleroy, is a West Seattle landmark. As part of the major redevelopment project that The Kenney is planning, the building it’s part of will be demolished – but hold on, the cupola’s not going away. WSB obtained extensive details of the proposed project, just as The Kenney starts applying for city permits (its project page is now online here) and rolling out the plan to residents, neighbors, and community groups. Read on to find out about the big changes in the works:Read More
Got a note with this photo, saying a demolition crew took down 4103 SW Edmunds (kitty-corner from the southeast side of Jefferson Square) today. As we’d reported previously, townhouses are planned for the site.
The concerns about the two major mixed-use (part residential, part commercial) projects on the Southwest Design Review Board‘s agenda last night were similar – particularly, how the projects will affect pedestrian flow once they’re built. But the results were quite different; one project is finally at the end of the process, while the other is just beginning what could be a long journey. Our full report, ahead:Read More
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