Concept image courtesy of Lake Union Partners

The fenced-in, weed-filled vacant lot on the southwest corner of 23rd and Union may not stay that way much longer. An already approved but stalled six-story building is now set to break ground as early as August.

Formerly owned by Jim Mueller, the property and approved building design were sold to Ian Eisenberg, who also owns property on the northeast corner of the intersection including the car wash, Med Mix property and the building that houses the Neighbor Lady.

Eisenberg and the Lake Union Partners will build and maintain ownership of the building, which should open its doors in fall of 2014.

“The interesting thing—and fun thing for us—is to understand who the neighborhood is,” said Scott Roberts of Lake Union Partners. “I’m sure we can contribute to the next hopscotch.” Hopscotch CD ended at 23rd and Union Saturday.

The planned building includes 92 apartments, 74 underground parking stalls and 4,000 square feet of retail space. The developers are lobbying to identify a restaurant for the larger corner retail space, they said. No retail tenants have been officially lined up yet.

Leasing of rooms will start three or four months before the building opens in fall 2014. Rent rates are not yet available.

The new owners do plan a few tweaks to the design, mostly geared toward improving the pedestrian environment, they said. They want to give the retail storefronts “more of a residential feel.” Continue reading →

For details, see our previous post.

Video of the largest group of people playing hopscotch in Seattle history (second largest in the world):

Photos: Continue reading →

The man shot and killed Tuesday evening in the parking lot of the 23rd and Jackson Starbucks has been identified as Brandon L. Williams, 29.

Williams died after being shot in the torso, according to the King County Medical Examiner. Police are investigating the shooting as a homicide.

The security guard told police that Williams and a group of people were fighting in the parking lot on the east side of Starbucks just after 7 p.m. The armed guard, who is contracted to work the area and was on-duty, approached the group and told them to leave.

As some in the group separated and began leaving, Williams allegedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at the people he had been fighting with. He then allegedly turned the gun on the guard, who fired and critically injured Williams.

After being shot, Williams stumbled to the north side of the Starbucks, where he collapsed.

There were at least six bullet casings marked on the ground at the scene. It is unknown whether Williams ever fired his gun, which was found near the spot where he collapsed.

A man in his 30s was transported to the hospital Thursday evening after being shot in the leg near 26th and Spring, police say.

We will update when we learn more.

UPDATE 5/31: SPD says the suspect is a black male in his 20s last seen wearing a black baseball cap and a black sweatshirt.

From the blotter:

Officers continue to search for the suspect in a shooting in the Central District that left one man wounded.

At approximately 5:18 p.m. officers responded to 911 calls of shots fired in the alley behind the 900 block of 26th Avenue.  Preliminary investigation indicates that the adult male victim was exiting his gated yard into the alley when he heard a male voice yell something.  He then heard a single gunshot and was struck in the leg by a bullet.  The victim ran away from the shooter and back into his house. His mother began to drive him to the hospital when responding officers arrived.  The victim summoned the officers for assistance.

The officers called fire department medics to the scene.  The medics subsequently transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of his non-life-threatening injury.

Witnesses observed a black male suspect running southbound through the alley with a gun in his hand.  Officers conducted an extensive area search however, the suspect remains at large.

The suspect is described as a black male in his 20′s, last seen wearing a black baseball cap and a black sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect is asked to call 911 or Seattle Police and refer to this incident.  Anonymous tips are welcome.

This remains an active and on-going investigation.

Mayor McGinn announced $3.2 million in funding for programs at Seattle Public Schools this week, including funding for a new health program at Bailey Gatzert Elementary.

With the announcement, Bailey Gatzert joins CD schools Madrona K-8 and Washington Middle School in receiving funds from the Families and Education Levy.

The new school-based health center at Bailey Gatzert aims “to provide access to physical and mental health services to students in elementary schools that serve populations with lower academic performance coupled with inequities in health access and outcomes,” according to a city press release. Neighborcare Health will provide the services.

More details on the new levy recipients, from the mayor’s office:

Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent José Banda, Beacon Hill International School Principal Kelly Aramaki, community leaders and local students and parents gathered at Beacon Hill International School today to announce a new round of Families and Education Levy investments in student programs for the coming school year. Continue reading →

Image from Hopscotch CD

I hope you have been doing your hopping exercises, because Hopscotch CD is Saturday.

Almost two miles long, Hopscotch CD (a project led by Jackson Commons) will connect the neighborhood from Jackson to Union with community events, stands, garage sales and more along the way. There will also be a series of group walks through out the day (see the footprints on the map below for more details).

Although the map has been completed (again, see below), it’s not too late to get your things together to hold a garage sale, lemonade stand or just about anything you want along the route. It’s pretty DIY, so just set things up and get ready to meet a whole lot of CD neighbors.

If you want to be a part of hopscotch history (I know that’s been your lifelong dream), then be sure to get to the Centerstone parking lot (18th/Columbia) at 1 p.m. Saturday as you and many of your neighbors will attempt to break the world record for the number of people playing hopscotch at the same time.

Organizers tell CDNews that they are still looking for volunteer help, especially people who can help chalk the course Friday around noon and people who would like to help clean up after the event wraps up Saturday evening at 6 p.m.

Here’s the full map: Continue reading →

Photos by artist Adam Kuby

A 14-foot-tall stormwater tank near the Washington Park Playfield could have been a pretty grim presence in Madison Valley. But the city got Portland-based artist Adam Kuby to turn the face of the tank into a work of art.

The Madison Valley Stormwater Project celebrated its completion this week. More details on Hydro-Bio-Geo, from the Office of Arts & Culture:

A companion piece to his multi-part artwork Incrementally at a nearby stormwater detention facility, Kuby designed Hydro-Bio-Geo to be compatible with the character of Washington Park. The artwork animates the exposed facade of the 14-foot-tall stormwater holding tank. Three pairs of downspouts and weep holes send water down the wall to a rain garden below. These wet zones will soon become lush and green as they become colonized with moss and ferns. In between, faux-bark facades lead to 29 cavity nesting birdhouses embedded in the wall. As the landscape matures, the bird houses will become more attractive nest sites. Continue reading →

Hamann, pictured here during an October 2012 bout at Garfield Community Center, brings home National gold this week. Photo by Truman Buffett

Two women boxers with CD ties have continued their dominance in the ring. Jenn Hamann and Queen Underwood have both brought home gold medals from the Women’s Continental Championships.

From East Side Boxing:

International newcomer Jennifer Hamann (Seattle, Wash.) duplicated the efforts of her much more experienced teammates in the featherweight finale against Argentina’s Karen Carvajal. Hamann wasted no time in winning her first international gold, taking an 18-15 decision over Carvajal to add a Women’s Continental Championships title to her resume.

2012 Olympian Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) boasted the longest road in the tournament to her gold medal at the 2013 Women’s Continental Championships. Competing in the deepest weight class in the event, Underwood boxed every day of the event en route to a lightweight final round match-up with Argentina’s Dayana Sanchez. Underwood earned a 19-11 decision over Sanchez to win Continental Championships gold after falling short of the medal stand in the 2012 event.

The scene at MLK and Jackson shortly after the April 29 shooting

Prosecutors have charged 22-year-old Donald “Mess” Massey, Jr. for allegedly shooting and injuring two men in the parking lot of the Quick Pack Food Mart at MLK and Jackson last month.

Massey has been charged with two counts of first degree assault and one count of domestic violence for an apparently unrelated incident four days before the shooting.

Police located him in a car at 20th and Cherry May 14 and arrested him for the domestic assault. While he was in jail, they figured out he is also the suspect in the April 29 shooting.

In court documents filed late last week, King County Prosecutors and SPD investigators say the shooting stemmed from a gang dispute between the Valley Hood Piru and the East Union Street Hustlers. Both gangs lay claim to the Central District and have had violent clashes in the past. Continue reading →

After nearly two and a half years at the helm of Central District News, it’s time for me to step aside to make room for a new editor.

As many of you know, CDNews is a part-time job for me, sharing my attention with Seattle Bike Blog. Since I founded the bike blog in 2010 (shortly before taking the reigns of CDNews), it has grown dramatically. I am now making the leap from part-time to full-time on that site, and that unfortunately means leaving CDNews.

I have been honored to be the editor of this innovative, popular and collaborative community news site. Started in 2007 by CD resident and software developer Scott Durham, the site was uniquely built around tips and contributions directly from readers like you. I will miss helping all you active CD residents get out the word about your own innovative projects, moderating vibrant community conversations and helping to keep my neighbors connected and informed about what’s happening down the street and across the neighborhood.

I will not be completely absent. Aside from helping the new editor get settled, I am still hoping to develop the Central District Journalism School. And, of course, I can’t wait to join all of my neighbors as a regular commenter :-)

There will be some changes to the site, including one you will notice very soon: Advertising placements on CDNews and our sister site Capitol Hill Seattle will be combined, expanding the reach for advertisers in both neighborhoods.

Stay tuned, because the site will need you all more than ever during the transition to a new editor.

Speaking of which: We are now seeking someone to take over as Editor at Central District News. It’s a big responsibility but a good opportunity for anybody interested in being a big part of the community. Pay is part-time equivalent.

Requirements:

• Experience in professional or student journalism (experience in an editorial role is a plus) or related field.
• Desire to grow both the journalistic and business elements of the site.
• Flexible schedule. Community news sometimes happens at strange hours.
• Ability and motivation to work with lots of independence.
• Residence in, ties to or great love for the Central District neighborhood.

Responsibilities:

• Report and produce regularly-scheduled and current content for CDNews website.
• Report breaking news, including reporting from the scene if applicable.
• Moderate website discussions (comments) and user-submitted content (stories and event listings)
• Maintain social media for CDNews, including active Twitter and Facebook accounts.
• Maintain and expand relationships with advertisers. Editor will still have full editorial independence.

Compensation:

• Part-time pay to start.
• Pay will grow as the business grows.

Central District News was started in 2007 by resident and software developer Scott Durham who handed over the reins of the site to his business partner Justin Carder. Justin is also publisher of CapitolHillSeattle.com and continues to manage both sites. CDNews has grown to be read by more than 1,000 visitors every day.

To apply, send résumé, a one-page cover letter and up to three published writing examples to tips@centraldistrictnews.com. We will accept applications through June 3.