Way back in January of 2008 we started to follow three mega-priced homes that seemed to have foreshadowed the peak of the Central District real-estate market. One and a half years later and more than two years after first hitting the market, one of them has finally sold.

The home at 820 21st Ave was new construction that had taken over a vacant lot. But its original price of $879,000 was evidently too much for buyers to stomach. A big discount on that price seems to have brought it back down to reality, as a “Sold” sign went up on it last month and on June 5th a sale finally closed for $635,000 (a $244,000 discount off the original price).

As for the other two homes we covered in that 2008 story, the heavily remodeled house next door at 824 21st Ave sold in December for $325,000 (a whopping $318,000 discount off its original price), and the formerly million dollar house at 2315 E. Columbia is still on the market for $649,950 after going through a foreclosure auction at the beginning of this year.

Many thanks to site sponsor and local real-estate pro Mark Petrak for helping me research this story.

Everyone seems enthusiastic about a CD Election Forum, and several people even want to help organize it.

I suggest those interested in creating an election forum attend this month’s Central Area District Council meeting ( 6PM , Thursday, Douglass Truth Library), invite the Council to sponsor the event, and organize a group to plan it (see comments on previous post for some smart ideas). I’m trying to contact the Chair, Tenaya Wright, to suggest it as an agenda item. If the District Council isn’t interested, we can huddle and organize outside.

Election in brief:

• Mayor: 8 candidates
• Council position 2 (Conlin incumbent) 2 candidates: they skip the primary, should we skip them?
• Council position 4: 6 candidates
• Council position 6 (Licata incumbent): 3 candidates
• Council position 8: 6 candidates
• Seattle School Board Director District 5 (district voting in Primary, Citywide in General election): 4 candidates

A few personal thoughts: 27 people to listen to! I suggest a July (18th or 25th) Saturday morning event at (say) Garfield, and advertise time-slots for each race. One minute statement, 2 questions/candidate runs at least 2 1/2 hours. 

Last night around 11 p.m., a teenager was looking in my living room window. He looked startled to find me there with my friends and said he had the wrong house. I didn’t think much of it until an hour later when I went to bed and found some lights on. My jeans pockets had been emptied out, my bureau had been rifled through, and my old laptop was missing. I’m missing all my tips that I made from this weekend (I work at Mezzaluna), some other cash I had tucked away, and my old laptop. It is an old iBook and has been broken for 2 years, but I had been meaning to try and get some stuff off of it.

I’m the same person that posted a couple of months ago about someone stealing parts off of my car in broad daylight. I live near the MLK & Yesler corner. Thieves are getting a lot more brave these days. Be careful!

We lost our pug today. He’s small, black and his name is August. We live near 31st and Union, but he was last seen in the parking lot at Grocery Outlet. My name is Jim and my number is 206-660-2784. Reward for anyone who brings him home to us.

From Seattle’s East Precinct, Tuesday, June 9, 2009

It’s the Central District’s hidden, forgotten, and neglected park. If you mention Plum Tree Park to most neighborhood residents, they’ll probably ask “Where’s that?” Obscured by trees along its street-facing side, it occupies a few lots in the middle of 26th Ave between Olive and the pedestrian stairs of Howell.

Angela Giliam lives within view of the park and has been hoping for years that it would get some love from the city to make it an amenity for people in the area. One of her prime concerns is the lack of lighting. It’s very dark on that part of the street, and that attracts late night crowds that bring a lot of noise and other problems along with them. The high front retaining wall and dense foliage only add to the problem.

Angela says that two years ago the city presented plans for a park makeover that included re-arranged landscaping and new walking paths. But after a short period of outreach, nothing else was heard from city officials (we’ve got calls in to get more details from the parks department and will follow up with another story when we hear back). Instead, things seem to have gone backwards, with the park losing its trash can, water fountain, and benches.

Knowledgeable neighborhood leaders have told me that parks improvements rarely come only from the city. In most cases they require long-term organization and pressure from neighborhood groups, plus a generous amount of private fundraising. And think again if you’re hoping that last year’s parks levy could help – almost all of our area’s funds are going to refurbish Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center and the art museum in Volunteer Park.

Would you like to join up with Angela to push for Plum Tree Park improvements? Leave a comment below and we’ll put you in touch with her.

The 37th District Democrats met tonight at Rainier Valley Cultural Center to vote on endorsements of candidates on the ballot in the Central District.  Tonight’s endorsed candidates are:

Seattle Mayor:  dual endorsement:  Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn.

Seattle City Attorney:  Pete Holmes

Seattle Council #2:  dual endorsement:  Richard Conlin and David Ginsberg

Seattle Council #4:  David Bloom

Seattle Council #6:  Nick Licata

Seattle Council #8:  dual endorsement :  David Miller and Mike O’Brien

Court of Appeals, Div. 1, position 3:  Anne Ellington

King County Exec.:  dual endorsement :  Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips

King County Council #5:  Julia Patterson

Port of Seattle #1:  John Creighton

Port of Seattle #3:  Rob Holland

Port of Seattle #4:  Max Vekich

City of Renton Council #2:  Jim Flynn

City of Renton Council #6:  Terri Briere

City of Renton Municipal Court Judge:  Terry Jurado

City of Tukwila Council #7:  De’Sean Quinn

Seattle School District #5:  Mary Bass

Seattle School District #7:  dual:  Charlie Mas and Betty Patu

The 37th District Democrats meet regularly on the second Monday of the month at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S. Alaska Street, at 7:30 pm. 

Hey, what’s going on down there? This class will focus on the drivetrain – your chain, your cranks, and all those things that make your bike go! The clinic will begin with an anatomy lesson around the drivetrain of your bike with lessons on shifters and the different shifting systems. You’ll learn how to adjust front and rear derailleurs, install cables, and there’ll be room for hands-on work at the end of the class. The Bikery requests a donation for attendance of clinics, but we let you choose the amount you feel is appropriate, and no one will be refused for lack of payment.

More info on the Bikery can be found at www.thebikery.org. The Bikery is located at 1265 Main Street, near the intersection of 14th, Jackson, Rainier, and Boren.

Help us spread the word! We are reaching out to you and your neighbors so that everyone is aware of the route and necessary road closures.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle sold out two months early with 25,000 entrants! The course starts on Interurban Ave in Tukwila and finishes at Qwest Field in Seattle. Even if you do not live or work directly on the course, please be aware of the road closure times and plan ahead to give yourself extra travel time to get around town.

Be Prepared. Plan ahead.
Review the Road Closure Information and Alternate Access Routes http://www.rnrseattle.com/course/Road_Closures.html

Course Description
Both the full and half marathon start together on Interurban Ave in Tukwila, south of downtown Seattle. The course runs through Tukwila and makes its way to the scenic shores of Lake Washington for miles 4 through 9. Full marathoners only split off for 2 miles on the floating Lake Washington Bridge. Both courses merge together again, and all participants head toward downtown Seattle on Interstate 90, where the half marathon will split and finish downtown outside of Qwest Field.
The full marathon will continue north onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Hwy 99, with views of Elliott Bay, passing the Space Needle and Lake Union as the Alaskan Way Viaduct/Hwy 99 becomes Aurora. Runners will u-turn and head back toward downtown on the highway before finishing outside of Qwest Stadium downtown. There are some rolling hills between miles 15 and 20 in the full marathon course, culminating in mostly flat miles 20 through 26.

Road Closures
Most road closures and detours will be in effect between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. At 5:30 am, Police and event personnel may implement a soft closure along the entire race course. The races begin at 7:00 am, and streets will reopen on a rolling basis as soon as the last participant has passed and all course support materials have been removed. Streets along the earlier miles of the route will open earlier than roads along the end of the route. Please review the road closure grid and course map for more information. Residents and businesses located near the race course are urged to plan ahead and to be aware of road closure schedules and alternate access routes.

From Seattle’s East Precinct, Monday, June 8, 2009