From SPD’s Blotter:

Officers arrested a registered sex offender for attempting to lure two young girls into his parked van [yesterday] evening in the Central District.

At approximately 5:25 p.m. officers responded to the area of 23rd Avenue and East Yesler Way for the report of a man trying to lure a 12-year-old girl into his van. Preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect attempted to lure two 12-year-old girls into his van while they walked down the sidewalk in the 2400 block of East Yesler Way.

Officers contacted the suspect, a 72-year-old man, who was sitting in a light-colored minivan located in the 2400 block of East Yesler Way. A computer check showed that the suspect was a registered sex offender and he was subsequently taken into custody.

Officers are currently interviewing the suspect at the East Precinct. Upon completion of the interview, the suspect will be booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Child Luring.

There was never any physical contact between the suspect and the two 12-year-old female victims.

This remains an active and on-going investigation.

Prosecutors have charged a 23-year-old suspect in a nearly deadly robbery attempt and stabbing on the Seattle University campus earlier this month.

CHS was the first to report on the mugging and stabbing incident that put 23-year-old student Geoff Vincent in the hospital with life-threatening injuries in the early morning January 15th attack near 10th and Marion. Police arrested three suspects after swarming the area and searching with the K9 unit. Two of the suspects were teenagers. The other, 23-year-old Brandon Pamon now faces first degree robbery charges in the attack.

Prosecutors last week said they were weighing charges against the male teen in the attack who was 15 at the time of the incident. Because the suspect was 15 at the time of the incident, he may be tried as a juvenile and not an adult.

According to the charging documents, Pamon was convicted for a 2008 residential burglary and multiple misdemeanor crimes as an adult. His juvenile record includes multiple felony convictions. Since turning 18, Pamon has been booked at least 11 times and had five warrants issued for his arrest, prosecutors said.

According to police, the victim said the suspects began following him near 10th and Pike as he walked back to the Seattle U campus around 1 AM that morning. Vincent told police he was jumped as he entered campus and said tried to fight back and drew a knife when he saw one of the suspects carrying a blade as they violently knocked him to the ground and began beating and robbing him. In the subsequent fight, Vincent was stabbed, piercing his heart and lung. After hospitalization, Vincent is back on his feet, according to his Twitter feed.

Concept image courtesy of Lake Union Partners

Construction on the long-vacant lot at 23rd and Union could finally start this spring, now that real estate development company Lake Union Partners has purchased the land from former owner Ian Eisenberg.

Puget Sound Business Journal broke the story late last week, reporting that Lake Union Partners paid $3.8 million for the lot. The new owners are hoping to break ground this spring on a previously designed building with 92 apartments, 74 underground parking stalls, and 4,000 square feet of retail space. Lake Union Partners is also planning to develop a lot at the corner of 24th and Union, where they hope to build an approximately 40-unit building.

We previously reported that Eisenberg planned to develop the land in partnership with Lake Union Partners, with a timeline of breaking ground in August 2013 and opening in fall 2014. But that timeline was delayed, and Eisenberg eventually decided to sell the land.

The lot was the former home of the Coleman Building, which was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake and subsequently demolished.

Photo by aubrey.pullman

The Central District Flickr Pool contains hundreds of images of scenes in and around our neighborhood. Interested in being part of it? Check out the pool here. If we like your photo, we may feature it on the front page of Central District News!

photo by aubrey.pullman

Residents around the area of 21st and Cherry received a notice from the city earlier in January announcing planned upgrades to make the intersection safer for pedestrians. An endearing hand drawn map accompanied the notice.

The notice says, “The project consists of a curb extension on the southwest corner and a new wheelchair ramp on the northwest corner. This project was requested by the community through the Neighborhood Park and Street Fund, a city-administered program that works with communities to prioritize and build neighborhood projects.”

The project’s aims are to “reduce pedestrian crossing distance of E Cherry Street, improve pedestrian visibility, and improve accessibility for people with mobility challenges by installing new curb ramps.”

Cherry Street is notoriously difficult for pedestrians to cross — and even more so if you’re in a wheelchair. Motorists rarely obey Seattle laws requiring cars to grant pedestrians the right of way in most cases, even when there is no marked crosswalk. And they tend to move at high speeds as they come down the hill towards 21st Avenue.

The notice did not say when construction would begin, only that it would last two to three weeks and is scheduled for 2014. The city will place temporary “no parking” signs in the area three days before construction.