CDNews tipper Bill forwarded a note from Seattle Housing Authority noting their plans to demolish the vacant business block north of Yesler on 12th Avenue. A fact sheet from SHA (attached at left) says that the demolition is moving forward “because it presents a safety hazard and blight in the neighborhood.” Issues include repeated break-ins from transients who have been camping out on the second floor.
Although SHA has not immediate plans for development on the property, they’ve previously mentioned the possibility of expanded public housing to provide room for Yesler Terrace residents who will be displaced by the proposed redevelopment of the 70 year old housing complex. The block may also become home to the maintenance base for the 12th Avenue streetcar.
In the meantime, SHA says that the property will be fenced and well-maintained.
The Seattle Fire Department will be using the building for fire training on Wednesday of this week, and may include some “harmless, artificial smoke” in their drills. That could be a fun daytime outing if you have any young kids who like to watch big trucks, ladders, and people in fire gear.
I was wondering why they were standing on the sidewalk looking at the building. Now I know :) Thanks Scott!
Why surround it with a fence…make it into a temporary P-Patch for the neighborhood! With the rate that projects actually get approved and built in this city…it’ll probably be functional for several years…and…the corner might actually look good.
I know this was an extremely contaminated lot that SHA has been remediating for the last several years. So, not sure PPatch is the best idea here. What disturbs me most about this is that the vacant lot that they own adjacent to this property has been trash strewn for years now, with no apparent efforts made to clean it up or tend to the curbside landscaping. I worry that it will just get worse when the building comes down.
I had that same thought – the lot next door is also an eyesore, and having a second vacant lot there is unlikely to motivate them to clean it up.
SHA should consider the impact it has on the neighborhood while it “land banks”. Even if they maintain the lot in a better condition than the adjacent lots they own on 12th, all could be vacant and unused for years.
SHA is not the only landowner land-banking on that section of 12th. King County Youth Services, the Catholic Archdiocese (east side of 12th immediately south of Youth Services facility), and Pioneer Human Services (west side of 12th accross from Youth Services facility) also have been sitting on their property for years.