SquirePark.org

For Rotary Boys & Girls Club Style alums Aaron Brooks, Rodney Stuckey, and Marcus Williams, the NBA dream became a reality on June 28, 2007. Aaron Brooks was drafted by the Houston Rockets; Rodney Stuckey wears the blue and red of the Detroit Pistons, and Marcus Williams is now a member of the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.

Each is still adjusting to life in the NBA. The long days of travel, the intense competition, and the pressure to perform at a peak level day-in and day-out can be difficult.
(more…)

Swedish Medical Center, Cherry Hill Campus, located in Seattle’s historic Central District, Citizen’s Advisory Committee: The name is a mouthful, but the truth is that your Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) has been operating for two years now, trying to help guide development at what most of us still know as “Providence Hospital.”

As you can read most any day in the paper, the business of medicine is changing and it is changing at Providence as much as anywhere. You are probably aware that Swedish Hospital bought Providence some years ago: they recently renamed it “Swedish Medical Center, Cherry Hill Campus, located in Seattle’s historic Central District” (or SMC/Cherry Hill for short). What you may not know is that SMC has sold about half of its campus buildings to a developer, Sabey Corporation. Where all of this gets tricky from the point of the CAC, is that SMC and Sabey are trying to continue to develop the campus under the Major Institutional Master Plan (MIMP) developed by the Sisters of Providence 13 years ago, even though SMC/Sabey are on record stating that they do not intend to build much, if any, of what is called for in that plan. Interesting times, indeed!
(more…)

Earlier this year, neighbors from the Central Area informally gathered to dine at local restaurants and walk around the neighborhood. Neighbors had the chance to get to know each other and share neighborhood happenings and histories.

Local restaurants have also appreciated the opportunity to get to know their neighbors, too. Mrs. Thompson of Thompson’s Point of View restaurant, located on Union just east of 23rd, expressed that this type of community visibility and activity offers the very best support for local businesses like hers. She welcomed the opportunity to serve some comfort food to local residents and also invites suggestions regarding favorite comfort food that neighbors might like to see added to her menu.
(more…)

Do you enjoy working for and on behalf of your community? If so, please consider joining the Squire Park Community Council Board. The SPCC is actively seeking neighborhood residents, business owners, and/or employees for open board positions. At the January 12 quarterly membership meeting, the Board will call for such nominations.
(more…)

The Rotary Style Basketball program is known for having the best teams, best athletes, and best coaching in the Pacific Northwest; however, most people never realize how successful Style team members become not only in athletics, but in business and life.

We spoke with Boys and Girls Club Athletic Director Daryll Hennings to discuss the team’s overall goals and how the team impacts the lives of many Central District kids.
(more…)

Centraldistrictnews.com is a free online news community for the neighborhood, where you can go to view, post, and discuss the news and events in the Central District. Anyone can join and enjoy full access to create their own blog posts with stories, images, and/or video, or create a discussion by commenting on stories posted by your neighbors. We built centraldistrictnews.com to help connect the community and get organized online. Come join us today: www.centraldistrictnews.com.

—Scott Durham

The Department of Neighborhoods has transferred to the City Office of Housing the responsibility for finding a purchaser for the City-owned property at the northeast corner of 12th Avenue and Jefferson.
This parcel is one of two properties still under City control among those acquired in 1992 as part of Mayor Norm Rice’s 12th Avenue Plan. Proceeds from the sale of those properties have been dedicated to capital improvements in the neighborhood. To date, the City has received an unknown amount from the sale and lease of the property. (The Department of Neighborhoods (DON), the office formerly with the responsibility to manage the 12th Avenue Plan, is not able to report how much money it has received over the Plan’s 15+ year period. Public sale records suggest that the sales price for all of the 12th Avenue property DON has sold was nearly $1.6 million. DON is unable to say how much has been received from property leases and unable to say how much has been spent on capital improvements; however, DON states that, at this time, approximately $358,000 is left in the 12th Avenue Capital Improvement fund. Additional street improvements may be performed on 12th Avenue and 14th Avenue with money from that fund. The amount remaining after that is slated to go toward planning and development of a 12th Avenue community gathering place. (See related 12th Ave park article.)
The 12th and Jefferson property, 9,791 square feet, has an assessed value of just over $1 million. At a meeting in July, the Office of Housing floated the idea of transferring that property to a developer for no money if the developer would agree to provide below market rate housing. There would, thus, be no money from the sale of that property for the 12th Avenue Development Fund. That idea was rejected by those attending the meeting, and the Office of Housing was requested to consider other strategies for providing affordable housing in the neighborhood.
—Bill Zosel

An early design review meeting for proposed development at 23rd and Yesler, project #3005392 was conducted in October 2007, and the report from this meeting was forwarded to the developer who may now apply for a Master Use Permit. Further design review meetings will only be called after the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) receives the application for the Master Use Permit. Further information, including the report and developer presentation, may be obtained at the DPD Web site (address follows) or by calling the planner, Art Pederson, at (206) 733-9074.
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Planning/Design_Review_Program/Project_Reviews/Reports/default.asp
(more…)

The planning and development of a new urban gathering place at 12th and James Ct., under the ownership of the Seattle Parks Department, is set to move forward. Money for development will come from funds within the so-called 12th Avenue Development Fund. The Development Fund is money received by the City from the sale of a number of parcels on and near 12th Avenue. The exact amount available for planning and development will not be known until the Department of Neighborhoods provides information on the cost of completing the incomplete street and pedestrian improvements called for in the Mayor’s (Norm Rice) 12th Avenue Development Plan.
The urban gathering place on 12th Avenue arose from a neighborhood proposal to the Pro Parks Levy Opportunity Fund which resulted in a set-aside of $500,000 for such a public space. (See http://www.seattle.gov/parks/ProParks/projects/12thAve.htm) Also, King County Conservation Futures money of $550,000 was awarded to purchase land for a park, bringing the amount available for purchase of a new park to slightly more than $1 million. After a search for possible urban gathering locations, the City-owned site at the southeast corner of 12th and James Ct. has been selected. This site has been transferred to the jurisdiction of the Parks Department and since no purchase price is involved this frees up the previously set aside $1 million+ acquisition money for buying an additional piece of land to serve as a park for the 12th Avenue area.
For more information, see the Squire Park Web site (www.squirepark.org) and sign up for the list service: SquirePark12thAveNeighborhor@yahoogroups.com.
—Bill Zosel

In the Spring of 2007, a committee of local residents, business owners, and community representatives convened through Casa Latina’s invitation to discuss neighborhood concerns regarding its move to 17th and Jackson. Some of these concerns included: parking, traffic, loitering, “hanger ons” to the day labor center, littering, a crime increase due to unknown individuals moving through the neighborhood, and safety issues for the elderly who live in the nearby area, as well as adequate problem-solving and enforcement tools for issues that may arise following Casa Latina’s move to its new site.
(more…)

Join City Year Seattle for a day of service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as we build community through powerful service! On Monday, January 21, City Year Seattle/King County will unite community volunteers to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. Projects will benefit organizations in the Seattle area, and work tasks will include painting, landscaping, creating teacher packets, cleaning, organizing, and sorting. The services will take place at multiple locations, including West Seattle Elementary, World Vision, Seattle Indian Services Commission, EarthCorps, and the service hours will be 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. For more information, contact Dawn Jackowski at djackowski@cityyear.org or (206) 219-5012 or visit www.cityyear.org/seattle.

—Clanci Cochran
City Year Seattle/King County

On January 21, Seattle will hold its annual Martin Luther King Celebration, the largest annual MLK celebration in the country. This year’s theme is, “Let Freedom Ring, End Poverty, Racism, and War” and touches all of us. Due to construction at Garfield High School, Franklin High School will host this year’s celebration. Franklin is located at the intersection of MLK Way and Rainier Ave.

Workshops will begin at 9:30 am. The rally will take place in the Franklin gym at 11:00 am. There will be speakers and entertainment. The march will begin at noon and will wind its way to MLK Memorial Park. For more information or to get involved in the planning effort, call 206.296.1002.

Come participate in one of Seattle’s great traditions.

–John Jeannot

The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is proposing significant revisions f to the Land Use Code for Multifamily Zones (MF), that is, zones in which buildings having two or more dwelling units are allowed, as opposed to Single Family Zones. Most of Squire Park is zoned for multifamily buildings. Even some blocks that currently have only, or mostly, single family homes are zoned MF.
(more…)

Some who receive the Squire Park Newsletter have wondered aloud how it gets there. Four times a year, members of the Squire Park Community Council board and other neighbors deliver nearly 3,000 newsletters. The main reason for doing this is the hope that you’ll come to a community council meeting—maybe because there is something on the agenda that interests you, or maybe because you have something you want to talk to your neighbors about.
(more…)