Design for planned but stalled building on southwest corner

Ian Eisenberg, who already owns the car wash and Med Mix properties at 23rd and Union, has purchased the vacant lot on the southwest corner of the intersection and the building that houses the Neighbor Lady.

CDNews has also learned that the post office officially sent notice to southeast corner owner Tom Bangasser that they will vacate their space on the corner in January 2014.

The news comes on the heels of an announcement from Capitol Hill Housing, which intends to redevelop the Key Bank property at 24th and Union into a mixed-use affordable housing building.

Eisenberg hopes to secure financing for the planned mixed-use building that was designed for the southwest corner, but has been stalled since the recession hit. That project, led by developer Jim Mueller, passed design review in August 2008. Mueller sold the property and design to Eisenberg’s 23rd Avenue Capital Management LLC for $2.3 million in December.

Eisenberg said he is “lining up financing” and hopes to break ground as soon at the summer if he is successful.

“Our goal is to get it done before the two years”,” he said, referring to the building permits for the project that could expire if too much time passes without breaking ground. Continue reading →

The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy of social justice will take center stage around the CD this weekend, culminating in the annual march from Garfield High School to the Federal Building downtown.

The rally will start at 11 a.m., and the march will start moving toward downtown via Capitol Hill at 12:30.

If you were planning to travel through the area Monday morning, either find another option or simply lace up your shoes and join the march. Buses will be a mess and roads will be closed to non-foot traffic along the route.

The theme of the rally and march is: Let Freedom Ring!

If you can’t wait until Monday to get your MLK celebrations on, Mount Zion Baptist Church will host Martin Luther King, Jr – A tribute to the man and his dream from noon – 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Continue reading →

Harrell in front of his campaign headquarters in the MidTown Centre at 23rd and Union

City Councilmember Bruce Harrell announced his candidacy for Seattle mayor Tuesday, and his campaign set up shop at 23rd and Union next to Earl’s Cuts & Style.

Harrell has housed successful political campaigns at 23rd and Union in the past, but this time he is entering an already-crowded mayoral race with several other heavy hitters vying to the job.

Declared candidates so far include incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn, City Councilmember Tim Burgess, real estate broker Charlie Staadecker, state Senator Ed Murray, former Greenwood Community Council President Kate Martin, former City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck and, as we reported previously, Omari Tahir-Garrett. Continue reading →

Hey you! Yes, you. Have you ever wanted to learn the tools of the professional journalism trade? Do you want to tell the stories behind the people, places, issues and events down the block and around your neighborhood?

Then you should register for the first ever free Central District Journalism School course, hosted by CDNews Editor Tom Fucoloro.

The class is designed for journalism beginners who live, work or play in Seattle’s Central District. You’ll learn the basics of reporting and crafting a compelling news story, and classes will meet in the comfort of 25th and Union’s Cortona Cafe.

The six-week course—which may be among the first of its kind—starts Monday, February 18 and will meet from 5–6 p.m. every Monday through March 25.

There are only six spots available, so register now.

See you in class!

The Bullitt Center is on the edge of our typical coverage range, but its inventive design will likely have a big impact not just on future buildings in the neighborhood, but all around the world.

Slog posted this video earlier today, and it’s a good chance to see inside the 15th and Madison building that is starting to come together:

Living Proof: Building the Bullitt Center from Brad Kahn on Vimeo.

From ITO’s map of traffic fatalities, 2001-2009

With millions of dollars in federal, state and local funds behind them, the city is beginning outreach for a repaving, transit efficiency and complete streets redesign of 23rd Ave stretching all the way from Rainier Ave to E John Street. If everything goes smoothly, work could begin in mid 2014 and wrap up in 2015.

You have a chance to hear from project planners first-hand tonight (Monday) at the Jackson Place Community Council meeting, 7:30 p.m. at the Hiawatha Place Lofts. Also on the agenda: Judkins Park Light Rail Station planning.

23rd Ave is the last remaining four-lane street through the heart of the Central District, and is the site of several of the most dangerous intersections in the neighborhood for all road users. The intersection of 23rd and Jefferson is one of the most dangerous intersections in the entire city for people walking. Five people were struck by cars there between 2009 and 2011.

Between 2001 and 2009, four people were killed in collisions on 23rd Ave—two people on foot, one person in a car and one person on a motorcycle. This makes 23rd Ave by far the most dangerous street in the CD. Continue reading →

A man in his 50s was biking near 18th and Jefferson Friday afternoon when he suddenly had a cardiac event and collapsed, according to the Fire Department, which sent a large response to the location.

A person nearby saw him fall shortly after 4:45 p.m. and started administering CPR until medics arrived. They were eventually able to revive him, and the man was transported to the very nearby Cherry Hill Swedish Medical Center.

Here’s to the passerby who went to his aid and started CPR.

Last year, Garfield High students walked out of class to protest the lack of eduction funding. Now, it’s the faculty that’s taking a stand. Photo by jseattle

The faculty of Garfield High School unanimously voted not to administer a standardized test mandated by the Seattle School District, a bold move that puts pressure on the District to rethink the test’s place in Seattle classrooms. Administration of the MAP test was scheduled to begin next week.

Three teachers abstained from voting, and the rest voted to make the stand against a test they say is an ineffective distraction that neither helps students nor provides an accurate assessment of teacher performance. None voted against the idea.

“Over and over, teachers say that this is not what we’re teaching in our classrooms,” said Jesse Hagopian, a Garfield High teacher who has taken an active role in opposing the test.

“Students don’t have anything attached to this in terms of their grades,” he said. “Many get bored and just start pushing buttons.” This makes their scores on the computer-administered test go down, hurting the teachers whose performance is supposedly being assessed.

But beyond criticisms of the test itself, administering it two or three times a year consumes a lot of precious time and resources and “monopolizes computer labs for weeks at a time.” This is particularly bad for the students who do not have access to a computer and Internet at home and depend on the school lab. Continue reading →

Ja’mari Alexander-Alan Jones. Photo by Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times (used with permission)

Ja’Mari Alexander-Alan Jones—the 19-year-old man suspected of shooting and killing DeShawn Milliken at a Bellevue bar Christmas Eve—pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges in King County Superior Court.

Milliken was active in the Central District as a mentor, and his death was “a blow not only to friends and family but to the whole community,” according to a memorial fund website set up for his family. He was 30.

Jones, who already has one murder on his record, is facing up to 28 years in prison, the Seattle Times reports.

Court documents reveal some details of what happened that sad and frightening night at Munchbar in Bellevue Square. Much of the incident was captured on video. From the probable cause document: Continue reading →

Omari at a meeting about the sale of the 23rd/Yesler fire station

Omari Tahir-Garrett announced his candidacy for Seattle mayor with a one-line email in his signature all-caps style:

LIKE I PROMISED JUDGE MCBROOM  I AM BACK AND RUNNING FOR MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE THIS YEAR 2013.

He then copied and pasted the full text of a 2002 Seattle Times article about his sentencing hearing following an assault conviction for striking then-mayor Paul Schell with a bullhorn at 23rd and Union (Tahir-Garrett maintains that he used his fist, not a bullhorn).

Few CD activists are as controversial as Omari, who was a leader of the Colman School occupation in the 80s and early 90s. That effort eventually resulted in the Northwest African American Museum, which is not the cultural center Omari had hoped it would be. Just last year, Mayor McGinn cancelled a town hall at NAAM due to disruptions led in part by Omari. Continue reading →