Community Post

Help keep Fire Station 6 as community resource – Public Hearing on Wednesday

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The city is trying to figure out what to do with the 23rd/Yesler fire station building. This community post is about one potential option.

Seattle will soon decommission Fire Station #6, located at 101 – 23rd Ave. S., Seattle (cross street is Yesler), in the Central District in the South End of Seattle.

Dr. John Ruhland and a coalition of supporters have proposed establishing an Holistic Community Health Clinic to provide nutritional and other natural therapies. The fire station Clinic will provide care to all people independent of ability to pay.

The coalition is asking the City to donate the use of the fire station for this medical facility that will be of great benefit to the community.

There is a public meeting with City of Seattle representatives on Wed., Oct. 17, 2012, 7–9pm at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 17th Ave. & Yesler, Seattle.

For more on the proposal, see: http://firestationclinic.org/index.html

EDITOR’S UPDATE: More details from the city:

The meeting is another opportunity for the community around Fire Station 6 to learn about

the City’s plans for the soon-to-be-former Fire Station 6. The Department of Finance and Administrative Services has recommended that the property be sold in an open, competitive process and that the proceeds of any sale go to funding the Fire Levy Program approved by voters in 2003. Interest has been expressed in redeveloping the property and the meeting will be an opportunity for proposals to be explained by proponents. Meeting attendees will have ample opportunity to ask questions about proposals and the redevelopment process. People with redevelopment plans are encouraged to attend this meeting and to contact the individuals listed below in advance of the meeting.

When:

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Program starts at 7 p.m.

Program ends at 9 p.m.

Where:

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, LHPAC

104 17th Ave. S.

Seattle, WA 98144

LHPAC is located on 17th Avenue South between East Yesler Way and South Washington Street. People with disabilities may use the Main Entrance.

Questions?

Contact :

Louis Webster at 206-684-0357 or

Hillary Hamilton 206-684-0421

in the Department Finance and Administrative Services’ Real Estate Services Section

E-mail: [email protected]

E-mail: [email protected]

 

54 thoughts on “Help keep Fire Station 6 as community resource – Public Hearing on Wednesday”

  1. What do we call natural remedies that work? “Medicine”.

    This proposal is crazy. They’re proposing to take city property and offer pseudoscientific treatments “at free and low cost”. Purported naturalistic treatments like the ones proposed by this clinic are a sham and a scam and have not been supported by a single well-conducted scientific study. The supporters may come up with plenty of anecdotes and poorly constructed studies, but they’ll never show you a good, university conducted RCT to support their methods.

    I should hope the proposed center provides treatment at free and low cost. It should be a crime to charge for this bunk.

    A neighborhood health center is great (but isn’t Odessa Brown close?). But not a neighborhood sham center.

  2. I disagree. Not everything needs to be addressed by Western medicine. I have nothing against traditional treatments, but diet and some natural therapies have their place too. I think it would be very beneficial to the community to have a clinic like this available to those who can’t afford to go to a Naturopathic doctor.

  3. A free natural medicine warehouse. My god that’s hilarious. Go ahead, you do that “Dr.” DoGooder. It will be closed within 2-6 months and you’ll have wasted a lot of time and money, but whatevs. Acupuncture makes you at least think it cures everything, right?

    This neighborhood and this building are crying out for it to be a cool brewpub. Srsly, it’d be an awesome space for one, and I’d be a frequent patron. I bet a lot of you would prefer not leaving the neighborhood for a decent brewpub, too.

    I know, not gonna happen. But jeebus at least put something in there that doesn’t sound so lame.

  4. I’ll second the call for a brewpub. There’s nothing like this in probably a mile. A McMennamins style facility would do very well here and take full advantage of the historic structure, particularly the large doors on the east side. I’ve been thinking this for some time – it’s nice to see others have the same idea.

  5. HAHAHAHAHAHA!
    Yeah, because we all know “Medicine” these days is natural. Is this what Pfizer, Bayer and GSK pay you to say? How much do YOU work with natural medicines these days good Dr.? Please do tell.

  6. Yes! Brewpub. We’ve gentrified to the point that we need a proper pub here in the Jackson corridor. Better yet – a dog friendly bar, like Norm’s Alehouse, or at least have an outdoor shelter for dog people.

  7. No, you may not have a million dollar donation of city funds. WTF kind of sick request is this. Sell the place. Specifically specify that it must be a brew pub and that the city will support all permits and licenses. It is the only sane thing to do. We all want it.

  8. Great idea, you cant throw a rock with out hitting some sort of “social services” establishment on 23rd. There seems to be little room for private business and entrepreneurs.

    A good pub will do far more for the community than any amount of taxpayer funded giveaways.

  9. Think about it. Plenty of space for giant conical fermenters, wide open space (assumption, haven’t been in there), retro/historical decor, big fire truck doors wide open in the summertime, yard space for occasional beer gardens, stripp…, I mean fire poles, etc. and craft beers named using Central District themes.

  10. I have a prior engagement and cannot make this meeting. I hope somebody shoots this half-assed holistic medicine idea down, and that somebody suggests the BREWPUB!

  11. I’m not against a brew-pub, but a pizza place would probably be a better fit for the neighborhood. Quick, no-nonsense, grab’n’go food. Okay, I admit, I just love the idea of a wood-fired oven in a former fire station.

    As for the Holistic Health Center, whatever that means, I agree that it would just duplicate the efforts of the clinic one block down on Yesler.

  12. We can ask for a wood fired brew pub.

    And what is with that dude at Rainier and Weller? When is the outdoor wood fired pizza oven going to fire up? He said June, the August, Still nothing. I want some Pizza. All Purpose needs a doh, menu, ambiance make over. They need that restaraunt rescue guy.

  13. I think APP already closed. I hate to speak ill of the “dead”, but I agree, I was never a fan. I couldn’t eat there anyway because my GF is gluten intolerant and they didn’t do slices. Ditto, that take’n’bake place in the shopping center. I’d love a casual pizza joint within walking distance.

  14. I have posted this before. We need a Fremont Brewery type brew pub and eatery. Anyone for a growler of Yesler IPA? A large open area where kids and parents can eat and drink, meet and greet. Please leave the boring concepts to some office suite. Could All Purpose Pizza reopen there with the Brew Pub.
    Brew Pub, Brew Pub Brew pub………

  15. Brew Pub Brew Pub….
    I have posted this before. We need a Fremont Brewery type brew pub and eatery. Anyone for a growler of Yesler IPA? A large open area where kids and parents can eat and drink, meet and greet. Please leave the boring concepts to some office suite. Could All Purpose Pizza reopen there with the Brew Pub.
    Brew Pub, Brew Pub Brew pub………

  16. Honestly this is another sign of the unbridled gentrification of the CD. Don’t you people ever consider anything beyond your own selfish needs? What this neighborhod needs is places for people to conduct commerce not more generic yuppie distractions. It should be turned into a venue where people can rent inexpensive space to open their own business. Like a central market where peole enter and access a variety of businesses from LOCAL residents that actually serve the needs of and provide services not found in the neighborhood. It should reflect the values of the people who have lived in this neighborhood for decades.

  17. I’ve read some of the letters of support for the the clinic and was impressed. If Aaron dixon supports it thats good enough for me. If the clinic actually winds up being a place where low and moderate income people can access holistic healthcare I would be for that. My fear is that it would somehow be turned into a venture not unlike PRATT art school which is outrageously expensive, uses the name of a famous black civil rights leader but primarily serves the needs of affluent people OUTSIDE the neighborhood instead of people of color in the CD. In fact SOME of the staff in the front office at Pratt are condescending and outwardly hostile to people of color who walk in there lookin for info. For this reaso you will find few people of color at Pratt.

  18. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Your self-righteous indignation is only matched by the vagueness of your idea.

    Everyone: Don’t feed the ‘gentrification’ troll.

    And for the record, a “business from LOCAL residents that actually serves” me some LOCAL beer not currently “found in the neighborhood” *would* reflect the values of this here decades-long resident.

  20. When my kids were younger we were poor, not black, and were scholarshipped quite a few times at Pratt. Have you walked in and asked for a scholarship for your kid to make art there?

  21. Miguel we are the neighbors who live here and brewpubs are in all types of neighborhoods of every diffrent mix of races. Your term yuppie is just as racist as someone using other sterotypical ways of discribing a specific economic, educational and/or racial dempgraphic. Your comment is offensive and racist and boring. I will explain this in detail over a pint of Yesler IPA when this conversion happens. Can anyone see if Elysian Fields of any one else is interested in making a berw pub happen?

  22. BREWPUB!! Make this happen, city of Seattle!

    Tom or other CDnews editor – show this thread to somebody important and/or influential. You know some, right?

  23. RE doing a brew pub: The thing to do would be to make a pitch to someone like Elysian, Pyramid or McMennamins. I keep harping on the latter because of their extensive background with rehabbing and reusing historic structures. The pitch would entail a thumbnail sketch of the demographics of the retail catchment area, the lack of competition, etc. – a basic economic viability analysis. Then show how the space could work for the proposed use. I’d be interested in helping if someone wants to do this.

  24. Pretty sure we are OUPIES Now. Not young. DINKS maybe – for a bit. Grumpies for me.

  25. To state the obvious, Jonathan, you’re the man with the plan. We humble commenters have ideas, maaaaybe some capital, but not the specs training you just demonstrated.

    But I AM a homebrewer, and I am more knowledgable than most in regards to how the beer gets made. So I am fluent in brew-ese, good with numbers, and would be able to talk with other brewpubs in the area to gain & understand detailed information about what’s needed on the production end of things.

    Care to set up a meeting?

  26. In my abundant spare time… I’m a grad student, so I don’t have lots, but sure, I’d be happy to get a coffee some time.

  27. I’d prefer a beer, since that’s what we’re talking about. How about tomorrow (Thursday) at McMennamins on Capitol Hill at 7? I’d prefer to stay anonymous on this site if you don’t mind, but I’ll know what you look like from your picture. FYI I’m not a psychopath.

  28. We want dogs in the bar. We all have dogs. I want to go out for a beer with friends and no stinking dog haters.

  31. I too homebrew, my wife and I have also been bouncing around the idea of a restraunt in the neighborhood.

  32. Go read who wants the clinic here and why. Rather than locate it at Odessa Brown these people,most live outside the CD and Seattle sterotype this area as a permantly POOR area. They want to save us with this clinic. Shamelessly trying to guilt trip us into feeling bad that we want retail development here. One was grotesque in their description of the building being anything but for public use, donated by the city and had a how dare you even conceive having a pricatly owned retail business like every other neighborhood in Seattle. So how many thousands does she put away in salary from admin funds from her grants for serving the poor while living in the North End. How dare we consider changing their social service plantation into a real neighborhood! These are the same kind of people who brought you the DESC facility and other social service agency’s placed on potentially sucessful retail sites in the CD. We are not a social service containment zone. We need commerical retail development in a beautiful historic building, we need a brew pub of distinction. Here’s to a pint of Yesler IPA!

  33. I would love a brewpub or pizza place at this site. A friendly, social gathering place for the neighborhood, like the Starbucks, but also open at night!

  34. Isn’t Odessa Brown just a children’s clinic? That does leave a gap for adults, BUT that said an alternative medicine clinic is not something I want to put my tax dollars behind. Please feel free to point me to it, but as far as I know there have been no alternative medicine treatments studied to this point that have been able to hold up to a rigorous double blinded study…. the effects have been proven to be mainly placebo, which while that can actually have a good effect and I’m fine with an individual being able to seek it out on their own, I don’t care to subsidize it.

  36. The firestation is an incredible art deco building that presents the opportunity for a publicly accessable centerpiece for the community. As a fire station, though public, it was obviously unaccessable. Nothing says accessability like a resturant. I go with the brew pub/resturant concept (King Fish Cafe) with possible architectual offices as a tenant or building owner. It should be privately owned and rezoned to allow for commercial/ office/retail use.

  42. The citizens of Jackson Place Demand the city identify a permanent solution our greivences over the lack of adequate community services in our area – namely the lack of a proper firehouse brew pub. We request that the property be zoned specifically for use only as a brew pub. Should the property not remain in contiguous common use as a brew pub it is to be confiscated and resold to the next available operator of said brew pub.

  43. Other requirements regarding archetecture, equipment, and continued community services.

    Everyone of course demands restoration of the pole for use in confidence building excersized (druken slide down), competitions (climb the pole), and mating rituals.

    We should keep one of the engines and abmulances for mobil events such as tailgating parties, seafair, etc. The ambulance outfitted as a beer and food truck. The engine converted such that we can stand on the back like firemen and garbage men of old and cruise in style to events. We would of course maintain the functionality of the engine for our volunteer fire brigade, and posse hauler for when we get called out to fight the BGD.

    Being as this will be HQ for the CD Urban Renewal Force (CDURF, closely associated with the SEADURF or Seattle Drunken Urban Renaissance Fighters), we will want to upgrade to bullet proof windows, some kind of wall or security baracade, and some guard towers where we can open carry and drink on the roof top outposts.

    I now have renewed hope in our hood.

  46. Seriously we need a committee to market this property to potential brewing/resturant developers or else it will go the way of being a social service agency. The person who started I believe this news piece also was a backer of the DESC jail facility in the Jackson Place neighborhood.

  47. I am going to say it should be called “Black Panther Porter.” To honor the diversity and neighborhood history of the CD. It can have a pic of the mural on 20th and spruce and the motto, “Keep On Keepen On.”

    We can also have:
    Pratt Pale Ale
    Seedy Saison
    Bruce Lee Lager
    and Nitro Charged Creamy Gentrification Ale

    OMARI can even pitch in with “Africatown Apple Cider”

  50. Here’s the inbox to start flooding:
    Louis Webster, AICP
    Real Property Agent
    [email protected]

    I live very close to the station and received a pamphlet at my door asking the community what to do with the firestation. I immediately wrote the following back in February (PLEASE DO THE SAME!!!):

    Greetings Mr. Webster,

    I am one of the residents affected by the sale of the former Fire Station #6 on 23rd and Yesler. Let me first say I find it laudable that the city is asking for community input; thank you for that. 

    Second, I’ll get right to it and say that I would like to see the building sold to someone who either (a) converts it into a market comprised of several small, independently-owned shops, just like what was done for Melrose Market, or (b) someone who wants to make a brewpub out of it.

    I understand either of these ideas may get pushback from certain members of the community, but I feel either would make a strong case that the Central District is a desirable place to live. Residents are tired of feeling they sacrificed location for affordability–we want high quality goods and/or nightlife in our neighborhood too! And before disregarding the brewpub idea for fear of attracting the wrong crowd, please key in on the nature of a brewpub:  a restaurant & bar that brews its own *craft* beers. The crowd that drinks *craft* beers is generally not a troublemaking lot, they’re the ones you want walking home in droves at night… think more friendly feet and eyes on the neighborhood, and less places for the criminals in this neighborhood to hide.

    I have not been inside the fire station, but I imagine either of these uses would look fantastic and draw healthy crowds. And when these crowds come, other business ventures are likely to follow in the area. These neighborhood revitalization things typically start with quality watering holes, after all. I DO NOT think we need yet another ‘community center’ that nobody between the ages of 10 and 60 uses. I say embrace the young, career-oriented adults who are rapidly moving into the CD and want to see the neighborhood become a cooler place to live.

    Thank you for considering this idea.

    Sincerely,
    (Somebody Else)

    HIS REPLY:

    Webster, Louis
    to me, Hamilton,, Webster

    Thanks for sharing your ideas.  It will take a developer to come forward to make something like Melrose Market happen.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  We’ll know more this time next year. 

     Louis Webster, AICP
    Real Property Agent
    [email protected] 

  52. 1972 called. They want their concept back. So let’s put a pub where a pub ought to be.

  53. Man, what kind of a goober thinks we should give a million dollar facility to a bunch of wannabee witch doctors. How purely laughable and frightenning at the same time. I’m going to dress up as JPR for Halloween.

    I’m going to need a few Gentrification Blond Ales just to get the horrid idea out of my skull.