Last December we did a feature on the Top 3 business opportunities in the CD – vacant commercial spaces in prime locations with a lot of potential.  We decided to follow up and check on whether or not our community dreams had been realized.

#3 – 26th Ave & East Union St

This former burger stand has been sitting vacant for several years, and though we had hopes it would be transformed into a taco shop or a breakfast diner, nothing came to fruition in 2010.  Unfortunately, this new photo doesn’t look too different from the photo a year ago – just slightly different graffiti.  We’re hoping 2011 offers another chance for this little storefront to become another vibrant thread in the fabric of the Central District.  

#2 – Legacy at Pratt Park

Last year we hoped that the newly completed Legacy at Pratt Park building and the storefront space along Jackson would attract businesses along this major arterial in the heart of the Central District.  Today Corner Store & Deli at 1720 S Jackson Street is thriving.  Owner Negash Yassin opened the bright little store in August 2010 and stays busy with local foot traffic and neighbors stopping in for snacks and freshly made deli sandwiches, with meat and cheeses in a case at the front.  They also have a pretty impressive wine selection, so the next time you’re nearby and need a bottle of vino, stop in and give them some business.

Across the street, Dustin Daigle, Leasing Manager for the Legacy at Pratt Park complex, said that the building is at 93% residential occupancy and leased in record time.  In September 2010 the development celebrated its one year anniversary, and though the retail spaces are still mostly vacant, there are exciting things on the horizon.  Legacy has donated space in one of the empty suites to Pratt Fine Arts, which uses it as a gallery.  As Daigle put it, “We wanted to work with the community.  No one wants to look at empty space, so let’s fill it with art.”  By appointment the director takes interested parties through the space, which Daigle says has resulted in the sale of some original art.  

Additionally, Daigle said there has been some interest in the other retail spaces, but not from the sort of anchoring tenants that Legacy would like to see in the building.  “We don’t want someone who will move in here and then three months later be out of business,” he said.  “We want long term tenants,” who are going to strengthen the community. One such tenant may be a neighboring business owner who is in talks with Legacy to open a second business, a coffee bar in the southeast corner of the Legacy at Pratt Park development.  The business would be an internet coffee house by day, and at night would transition into more of a sports bar.  The intention would be to supply the residential neighbors with a place to grab a bite to eat or enjoy a drink with friends, and likely tenants at the Legacy building would be frequent patrons. 

Still, even with the new cafe hopefully opening up in Summer 2011, there are several thousand square feet of retail space for lease along Jackson, and that means there is still a lot of opportunity at Pratt Park. 

#1 – 23rd & Cherry, former home of Dilletante Chocolates

One of the gems of the Central District revival right now is this building, the future home of Seattle’s youth arts programming organization Coyote Central. Once the home of Dilletante Chocolates, this building is undergoing extensive renovations, including seismic upgrades and a new roof.  No easy task, Coyote Central is scheduled to open its new doors in April 2011.  Considering the tile art on the historic brick building, metal tree sculpture across the street at Garfield Community Center, and the ceramic mosaics lining the exterior of Medgar Evers Pool down the block are all Coyote Central projects, it seems more than fitting that the organization’s first permanent home will be at 23rd & Cherry. 

So where are the Central District’s biggest opportunities of 2011?  As for 2010, two out of three ain’t bad. 

As we approach the close of 2010, plan a safe and happy New Years celebration close to home. Here are a few highlights of the happenings around the CD this year, including a few of our sponsors. Have something to add to the neighborhood 2010/2011 party? Let us know in comments.

All Purpose Pizza is open their regular hours, 4:00-9:00 pm New Year Eve and New Years Day for dine in or take out.  Stop in for some pizza before you head out to later events.

Twilight Exit is going to have their annual New Years Karaoke Night with champagne toasts at midnight and amazing sing-alongs and drink specials the entire evening.  (I can say from experience that this is one New Years tradition you should take part in!)

The Bottleneck Lounge will be open on New Years Eve with no cover charge.  They will be featuring $6 champagne cocktails from 4:00 pm to close and glasses of bubbly will be $6 as well all evening.  On New Years Day the Bottleneck will be open at 12:30 pm for a build-it-yourself Bacon Salt Bloody Mary Bar.  Folks can choose from a myriad of fixin’s to make that perfect Bloody Mary.  They’ll also be featuring discounts on their Bacon Pop Pecorino and making BLT sandwiches all day long.  (Sounds like a good hangover cure).  

Central Cinema is throwing a Footloose “Dance Your Ass Off New Years Party”.  The event kicks off at 9:30 pm with a viewing of the classic 80s musical film with subtitles and interactive moments followed by a midnight toast and one solid hour of the best dance music videos!  Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 the day of, but get yours early in case this event sells out!  2009’s “Decade Do Over” New Years event at Central Cinema was a blast!

Thompson’s Point of View at 2308 E Union is going to have Darnell Parker in for a Karaoke Night.  There will be music and dancing until 2:00 am with a champagne toast at midnight.  There’s never a cover at Thompson’s and of course it is adults-only after 9:00 pm. 

Pony, our neighbor on the Capitol Hill border line at 1221 E Madison, is going to have DJ El Toro from KEXP spinning for them at their no-cover New Years dance bash. 

And finally, if you decide to stay in and celebrate at home, your friends at the Washington State Liquor Store at 23rd & E Union will be open until 9:00 pm on New Years Eve, so stop in for supplies before then.

Please keep our streets safe, drink responsibly, and have a safe and happy New Year!  

All right folks, I have two questions to get you sharing with your neighbors:

One, did you have a Merry Christmas in the CD?

Two, are you bothered by “Merry Christmas”?!

For the sake of conversation…

1. Yes, we did!  We had friends over, watched movies, ate good food, played Wii, visited with some neighbors, all the while embracing the mantra “drink and be merry”.  ;)

2. I’m afraid this could dissolve into a religious discussion, but I’ll try anyway.  It would seem (thankfully) that the politically correct movement is waning.  I acknowledge that we have differences – as opposed to pretending we don’t – and go from there.  I am not much religious, but I say “Merry Christmas,” because that’s the holiday I was brought up with.  Do you have a problem with that?  Some do, some don’t.  Please feel free to throw me a Hanukkah wish or what have you, I will gladly accept it.  Do you concern yourself with this?

In the end, Merry Christmas.  Or Happy Holidays.  Or whatever.  :)

Garfield Neighborhood

We have had a few experiences as of recent. Foot crime – same person of question last night 1:56AM made his way to the front of the home. Walked completely around the Suburban, broke the window on the passengers side, this same person is also the same person who is also pictured walking with the goods from the crime on 24th on the 17th. 

Garfield Neighbors will be posting: neighborhood watch signs and they do have CCTV. survellience warning signs up in the area. 

kai in snow, originally uploaded by tomathonhenry.

Things will be quiet on the site for a few days but we’re still around so definitely holler if you see something everybody needs to know about, have a question or just want to say, “Merry Christmas and happy New Year.”

In the meantime, we’ve run a special human-powered algorithm to determine some of the best little, happy stories of the Central District in 2010. We’ll get back to all the news and information next week (unless something big happens in the meantime, of course)

Top “Happy” Stories of 2010:

• Big pre-spring cleaning in Jackson Place
• Saturday: Squire Park Community BBQ
• Feet First comes to the ‘hood; a Q&A with Executive Director Lisa Quinn
• Umojafest Parade Photos
• The Pollinator Pathway project-getting ready for next phase
• Neighborhood Character: Bust on 22nd
• Your streets are cleaner thanks to a Bellingham woman
• New El Mestizo restaurant is a hit
• Molly Moon’s truck outside Buggy Wednesday, plus wine tasting
• Weekly Wide World of Wildlife in the Central District
• Pratt mural featured in Seattle Times

East Madison Street, 1959, originally uploaded by Seattle Municipal Archives.

This photo from the Seattle Municipal Archives shows that Central District News isn’t the first advertising supported business to operate in the area. The picture was recently added to the Central District Flickr pool. Thanks for sharing! Note that one of the billboards in this 1959 view down East Madison is for cigarettes — a level we have not fallen to. Yet. A current-day view, below. We get the approximate location right?

View Larger Map

Seattle Times reports that City Light has finalized its picks for contractors to test thousands of streetlight poles and vault covers in Seattle after electricity leaks were found across the city:

Seattle City Light has hired two companies to help it test all 20,000 metal streetlight poles to see if they have faulty wiring that could cause dangerous voltage problems.

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City Light hired Davey Resources Group from Ohio and Power Resources Corp. from New Jersey. It was Power Resources that discovered three power poles on Capitol Hill, First Hill and the Central District that were emitting contact voltage, which could pose a safety hazard.

We reported last week that three electrified streetlight poles were found on corners in central Seattle including right here at 23rd and Union:

• 13th Ave E at East Aloha — 60 to 80 volts — Cause: Deteriorated wires
• Boren at Marion — 90 to 105 volts — Cause: Unknown
• 23rd and East Union— 60 to 80 volts — Cause: Unknown

Each of the lights was shut down until repairs could be made, according to City Light. We were not able to confirm from City Light exactly which pole was identified at 23rd and Union.

While the exact cause of the escaped voltage is not known for two of the three locations, age appears to be a factor in each as old wiring was to blame on Aloha and the two metal poles involved in the First Hill and Central District locations were both 30 to 40 years old. City Light told us that the contractors would likely target neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and the Central District for inspections first given the age of the infrastructure in the area. Times reports that the contractors are continuing to work with City Light’s original springtime target to complete inspections across the city.

The voltage in each of the three nearby locations was potentially dangerous. The Queen Anne dog death on Thanksgiving that first brought attention to the problem poles involved about 90 volts but even 30 or 40 volts can be lethal to small creatures — including humans.

UPDATE: Owners Julie and Carlos confirmed that the economy was the main factor in closing Dulces. They have been behind on the rent for over a year, and came close to losing their home.

In an email, they wrote that they were “forced to move in order to survive” but hope the new venture will give the opportunity for a new start.

During the last five days of business, they will offer a 20% discount to neighbors to thank them for their support over the years.

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Big news on the restaurant front in Madrona – Dulces Latin Bistro will close at the end of January, 2011, after 17 years of business at 34th and Pike.

Changing neighborhood demographics and the economic climate contributed to owners Julie Guerrero and Carlos Kainz deciding to close the restaurant and move to a to-be-determined location on Capitol Hill.

A pizza restaurant will be moving into the space – which will make two new pizza places on 34th, with Zaw coming in the spring as well.

Readers will recall that Dulces opened a wine outlet and revamped their menu this past summer to bring a diversified clientele to the location.

Through the end of January, you can still visit the Wednesday free wine tastings (5-7pm with complimentary hors d’oeuvres) and the New Year’s Eve $40 prix fixe dinner from 5-9pm).

We have a call into Julie and Carlos for more details and will update this post accordingly. 

It’s not the greenest of holiday experiences so you’ll want to offset some carbon credits before you head out, but here’s a map of some of the Seattle area’s more extravagantly lit neighborhoods. Not sure we’d recommend trying to bike through any of the spots marked unless we are bringing *lots* of friends. For biking — and the definitely green walking alternative — stick to the local joys of your neighbor’s light strings.

View Christmas Light Displays in a larger map

Hi! I saw an Oreo-themed car in the Starbucks/Walgreens lot on 23rd and Jackson last night. I would love to know if anyone knows the owner or, if the owner is reading this question? I would be very interested in doing a story on your car!