You may have heard that there is a Target store and “neighborhood shops” proposed for the Goodwill site at Rainier and Dearborn.

In fact the proposal is for almost 750,000 sq ft of commercial space, 650,000 of it retail. This is about 2/3 the size of the Northgate Mall. It will require over 25,000 automobile trips per day which will make traffic on Rainier and Dearborn even more of a nightmare.

The Dearborn Street Coalition for Livable Neighborhoods is composed of over 40 organizations that are pressing for an improved project proposal from the developer – one that is less automobile intensive, provides more housing and less “formula retail” (currently 90% of the retail square footage is dedicated to stores over 5,000 sq ft), and that fits in better with the character of the International District.

The proposal still requires a number of city approvals and is far from a “done deal”.

To find out more go to
http://www.dearbornstreetcoalition.org