Earlier this month, we did a barely deeper dive into what’s up with Council President Sara Nelson’s sudden curiosity in reviving a failed plan to rezone SoDo for residential housing. Is it about including housing? Or is it a giveaway to a billionaire pal?
Both manner, at in the present day’s full council assembly, she obtained her want. A movement from District 6 Councilmember Dan Strauss to delay consideration of the invoice till the council’s July 15 assembly failed 6-3, garnering help solely from District 7 Councilmember Bob Kettle and District 8 Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck. After debating a complete raft of amendments, the invoice handed council 6-3, with solely Kettle, Rinck, and Strauss opposing, the latter with an emphatic “completely not.”
So what does it do?
The invoice would allow housing within the Stadium Transition Space Overlay District (STAOD), a use that was explicitly banned when the district was created. Its passage paves the best way for billionaire Chris Hansen to develop a bunch of land he owns in SoDo into one thing described as a “Maker’s District.” His authentic purpose in shopping for the land—most of which is situated between 1st and Occidental Avenues immediately south of Lumen Subject—was to create a brand new NBA stadium and probably #BringBackOurSonics. Since that effort failed, he’s been in search of a technique to offload the property.
Throughout in the present day’s public remark, Port of Seattle Commissioner President Toshiko Hasegawa revealed that the Port was in talks to purchase Hansen’s properties, probably obviating the residential facets of the Maker’s District mission fully. Strauss cited this revelation as a part of his motivation for delaying the invoice.
The district as envisioned by Nelson and her allies would create a compound together with gentle industrial areas and “workforce” housing. Half of any residential models within the mission can be required to be inexpensive. Proponents of the Maker’s District say it will help small companies and artists, add much-needed inexpensive housing to the combination, and assist mitigate points round homelessness and crime in SoDo.
Apart from Hansen and the large builders and constructing trades unions who stand to profit from this invoice, supporters embody the Housing Improvement Consortium, the Chief Seattle Membership, Seattle Made, the Alliance for Pioneer Sq., the Seattle Mariners, Plymouth Housing, and the Seattle Good Enterprise Community.
Opponents say it will severely injury the Port of Seattle’s capability to do enterprise, all whereas placing inexpensive housing within the path of air pollution, a la South Park. Additionally they argue that pedestrians and cyclists within the space will face extreme issues of safety, one thing they tried to show through a latest security demonstration. The Port and all its related unions are united towards the present invoice.
So now that it’s regulation, what occurs?
Hansen will nearly absolutely unload his parcels to or companion with a growth firm and that firm will nearly absolutely start work on the Maker’s District.
Individuals on the Port of Seattle will, after all, be livid about that, however there’s not a lot they will do about it. Hasegawa didn’t maintain again her disappointment on the invoice’s passage.
“This can be a agency shove down a slippery slope of sluggish however positive encroachment on industrial lands. This can be a loss for the general public who can pay sooner or later with sources, missed alternatives, and heartache,” she stated in a textual content to The Stranger. “At this time’s largest winner is an out-of-state billionaire developer, who greater than a decade in the past made a guess that he might purchase industrial land on a budget and get town council so as to add thousands and thousands to his property worth simply by altering the zoning.”
Whether or not the development and eventual inhabitants of this superblock mission will have an effect on Port operations as negatively as promised is one thing we’ll simply have to search out out, probably the arduous manner.
Alternatively, if the invoice’s supporters are proper, we’ll achieve a bunch of inexpensive workforce housing proper on the sting of downtown, plus a bunch of low-cost industrial models to make mead or chai or steel yard artwork in.
Both manner, we’re simply comfortable that Hansen doesn’t personal the constructing housing Hooverville. Nonetheless you’re feeling about including housing to SoDo, there may be one factor I feel each Seattleite can agree on: this metropolis can not afford to lose even yet another bar that permits you to throw peanut shells on the bottom.
Marcus Harrison Inexperienced contributed reporting to this text.
