12th Avenue Neighborhood & Business District

Through the 12th Avenue Initiative, we are working on a retail survey to gauge what types of businesses are missing from the 12th Avenue neighborhood.  We’re specifically looking at 12th Avenue between Yesler and John Street.   I know this overlaps a bit with Pike Pine so when you’re taking this survey, please focus on 12th Avenue by itself.  We’re looking for ways to improve 12th as a commercial corridor and to help create an identity for the street.

Click here to take survey

Please take a few moments and fill out the survey so that we can understand what YOU want from 12th Avenue. All input will be extremely valuable and can help guide future development in the area.  This information will also be compiled as part of a larger retail study that should be completed by mid-summer.

We appreciate your help!

Given our meeting-heavy month of May, the 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee meeting next Tuesday will be canceled.

Mark your calendars for July 13th at 5:30pm for the next meeting where we’ll be discussing the design ideas for the James Court Park.

Retrofit Home (a former 12th Avenue business) has moved to 11th and Pike into the old Aria space. While we loved them in the old location, we really love their new space, which is FABULOUS!

Come check it out at their (re)Opening Party this Saturday , June 5th from noon to 9pm. Explore the new space, say hello, buy some awesome stuff, and celebrate another great local business!

The Seattle Parks Department held a meeting last week to discuss plans for the James Court Park on 12th Avenue. Landscape design work will be done by Hewitt and Ellen Sollod, local artist and resident of the 12th Avenue neighborhood.

The 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee sent a letter to the Parks Department last year with a set of recommendations for the park design and these ideas were the basis for discussions at the meeting.

Neighbors at the meeting continued the discussion with these major themes emerging:
- Need to activate the park to keep it lively
- The park should celebrate and be a product of the community
- Despite its small size, the park needs to create a presence on 12th Avenue
- Possible use of play surfacing (the spongy stuff found in playgrounds) in molded sculptural shapes that could provide seating as well as a neat place to play on for kids
- There should be an interactive element at the park — something to get the community engaged with one another (tables for games, stage for performances, regular events, etc.)
- No room for a traditional swingset or other kid-only function
- This is also a chance to create a gathering space for the community and Seattle University students to come together
- The park should be bold and claim the neighborhood
- There should be some landscaping in the park but we are limited in the size so these elements need to be mixed with hard surfaces
- There should be some art element at the park (something interactive, a rotating exhibit, etc.)
- Some sort of artistic lighting feature at night to activate the park (although safety was not a huge concern from the neighborhood)
- The park will be directly across James Court from the new Seattle University student housing project with first floor retail uses. On the other side is WaterTown so there will be lots of people in the area and lots of "eyes on the park".

We are still seeking input and ideas for the park. The next meeting will be Tuesday, July 13th at 5:30pm at the Seattle University Alumni and Admissions building.

If you have comments or ideas in the meantime, please contact Susanne Friedman at the Parks Department at 206-684-0902.

Outside Saba Ethiopian Restaurant near 12th and Yesler

Outside Chatterbox at 12th and Spring

Check it out!
There are two more benches along 12th Avenue!

As noted in my earlier post when the first bench went in, Capitol Hill Housing received funding for this project from the Seattle Office of Economic Development’s Neighborhood Business District Fund and has worked with the 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee to choose a bench design and designate locations along 12th Avenue.

The benches were created from surplus granite curbstones available from the City of Seattle. Many thanks are due to Kevin Long of Urban Wilds who did a fantastic job on design and fabrication of the granite stones as well as installation on the sidewalk. We also want to thank Daniel Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio for help with the design, offering up a workspace, and general assistance with the project, Greg Lewis for help with installation, 12th Avenue Iron who fabricated the bench legs, Kate Leitch at the Seattle Department of Transportation for helping us with City permits, and to each property and business owner who supported this project.

Thanks to everyone that came out Saturday for the Capitol Hill/12th Avenue Street Sweep! Be sure to check out the curb bulbs near Jefferson and and at the intersection of Madison/Union/12th. They look great with their new plantings and fresh mulch!

Special thanks to Seattle University, Seattle Academy, Umpqua Bank, and Pioneer Fellowship House for organizing teams to help. Thanks also the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce for letting us tag along and partner on this event.

Please join us this Saturday morning for a street cleanup on 12th Avenue from Madison Street to Yesler Way.

Saturday, May 22nd
10am: Meet at the Volcano water fountain in Cal Anderson Park for free breakfast and cleaning supplies.
10am - Noon: Pick up litter on 12th Avenue
Some volunteers will also be weeding and replanting overgrown curb bulbs along 12th Avenue.
Noon: Meet back at Cal Anderson Park for free pizza and ice cream.

Thanks to BECU, Peet’s Coffee, Pagliacci Pizza, and Bluebird Ice Cream for donating food.

Thanks to our partners at the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, Seattle University, Seattle Academy, Umpqua Bank and Pioneer Fellowship House for volunteering.

If you would like to get involved or have questions, please contact Cecelia Gunn at 206-204-3832 or cgunn@capitolhillhousing.org

Representatives from King County met with neighbors at the 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee meeting last week to discuss redevelopment plans for the King County Youth Detention Facility at 12th and Alder. Current plans for the site include demolishing and building a new, larger court room facility with structured parking for up to 600 cars. The existing detention facility along Spruce Street will remain. The design team presented three options, which are shown below. These were not intended to be concrete design plans but rather three concepts to show general themes and to generate conversation about what is needed and wanted at the site.

Please see the attached word document below to review the minutes of the meeting and find out more about the plans for the site. Also attached is a document from King County outlining why the current court room facility is being rebuilt. King County welcomes your comments and questions. For more information, please contact their outreach coordinator, Shanon Kearney, at 206-269-0229 ext 112.

Option A

Option B

Option C

May 2010 Meeting Minutes

limitations-of-current-court-facility

The first of five benches has been installed along 12th Avenue! This one is located at 1721 12th Avenue between Olive and Howell outside Lucky Devil Tattoo.

Capitol Hill Housing received funding for this project from the Seattle Office of Economic Development’s Neighborhood Business District Fund and has worked with the 12th Avenue Stewardship Committee to choose a bench design and designate locations along 12th Avenue.

The benches were created from surplus granite curbstones available from the City of Seattle. Many thanks are due to Kevin Long of Urban Wilds who did a fantastic job on design and fabrication of the granite stones as well as installation on the sidewalk. We also want to thank Daniel Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio for help with the design, offering up a workspace, and general assistance with the project, Greg Lewis for help with installation, 12th Avenue Iron who fabricated the bench legs, Kate Leitch at the Seattle Department of Transportation for helping us with City permits, and to each property and business owner who supported this project.

Be on the look out for four more benches to be installed along 12th Avenue in the next few weeks!

Ever wonder what the inside of 12th Avenue Iron looks like? Catch this really cool upcoming event on May 21st there. It is the annual fundraiser for ARCADE which is a great northwest architecture and design journal.  I went to the party last year and it was an awesome gathering of cool designer peeps (way cooler than me), great music, performance and beautiful auction items. Please check it out, tickets can be purchased at the link above.