Earlier this month, we did a barely deeper dive into what the hell is 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? Type of a protracted story.
Both method, at as we speak’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 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 unique aim in shopping for the land— most of which is positioned between 1st and Occidental Avenues immediately south of Qwest Discipline— was to create a brand new NBA stadium and doubtlessly #BringBackOurSonics. Since that effort failed, he’s been in search of a strategy to offload the property.
Throughout as we speak’s public remark, Port of Seattle Commissioner President Toshiko Hasegawa revealed that the Port was in talks to purchase Hansen’s properties, doubtlessly obviating the residential elements of the Maker’s District mission totally. 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 could 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 combo, and assist mitigate points round homelessness and crime in SoDo.
Moreover Hansen and the large builders and constructing trades unions who stand to profit from this invoice, supporters embrace the Housing Growth 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 skill 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 questions of safety, one thing they tried to show by way of a current security demonstration. The Port and all its related unions are united towards the present invoice.
So now that it’s legislation, what occurs?
Hansen will nearly certainly unload his parcels to or accomplice with a improvement firm and that firm will nearly certainly start work on the Maker’s District.
Folks 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 mentioned in a textual content to The Stranger. “Right now’s greatest winner is an out of state billionaire developer, who greater than a decade in the past made a guess that he may purchase industrial land on a budget and get the 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, doubtlessly the onerous method.
Then again, if the invoice’s supporters are proper, we’ll acquire 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 metallic yard artwork in.
Both method, we’re simply completely happy that Hansen doesn’t personal the constructing housing Hooverville. Nevertheless 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 one more bar that allows you to throw peanut shells on the bottom.
Marcus Harrison Inexperienced contributed reporting to this text.
