Today the Seattle Times reports that Wright Runstad has been in negotiations with the County to move the ENTIRE facility off of 12th Avenue and to the Pac Med Building on Beacon Hill: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015824070_j
Up until now, King County has communicated to the neighborhood that leaving keeping he Juvenile Jail on 12th was a priority – the Jail building is actually quite new, it is the rest of the facility that is in disrepair (courts, etc.)
This could mean that 9 acres in the heart of the 12th Avenue Urban Village could soon be up for sale and transformation from largely a surface parking lot to….?
The development potential for the current jail area is enticing – close-in housing and open space especially. As for the impact on Beacon Hill, I would guess it to be small, as this building is fairly isolated at the north edge of BH, with nothin to the north til one gets to Little Saigon. And what is the problematic impact of kids in cells and kids in court anyway? Are they jacking cars on their way home?
I’m sure it wouldn’t thrill Beacon Hill but it sound like it would fit well in the PacMed building. And it would be great to redevelop that land — it is like a dead zone with life all around the edges.
I think this would be a great place for an emergency shelter and permanent park for the homeless. There are so many homeless in Seattle and beyond that would love a place here in the center of our city.
Why don’t we just put the homeless shelters and camp in areas that are out of the way and less centralized.. Makes no sense to put them on highly valuable property.