Comments

1
Okay, first of all, the city has nothing to do with this. It's the school district. The city doesn't run the district or have any control over it. That's quite the basic fact to get wrong.

Now, the city wants to use the building to temporarily house students while another nearby school, Olympic Hills Elementary, is enlarged. The city also plans to plop four portable classroom buildings and possibly some parking spaces in the park, and to fence off the public park.

While the initial use of the building will be to house Olympic Hills students, it is quite likely the building will continue to be used by the district. The district as a whole and the NE in particular are nearly bursting at the seams as enrollment has grown for the last three years (with no signs of slowing down). That $10M (if that's the correct figure) is not just for temporary use of the building.

I think it is wonderful what these artists have done and yes, as a long-time district watcher, it doesn't surprise me that the district admits to not doing "due diligence." It still doesn't negate the fact that the district owns the property and needs to use it.

The district is running out of space to put these students.
2
"These artists aren't crying whining or crying bloody murder or asking for special treatment. They're asking the city to be smart, and to think long-term."
Good Luck with that.
3
So the Stranger thinks kicking poor people out of Yesler Terrace is good, but kicking artists out of Artwood is bad. Tearing up old buildings for condos is good, except when it effects the neighborhood the paper is in. Goldy supports unions, except when they interfere with his desire for a new stadium. I love your paper, but consistency isn't your strong point.
4
@3

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-t…

How does that sound like approval of what's happening at Yesler Terrace?
5
PUblic school students trump Artists. that is the way it is. Artists have been making due for centuries, we still get art.
6
I live two blocks north of Cedar Park/Artwood and it is a community treasure. Just knowing that beautiful things are being produced in my neighborhood makes me feel that all is not lost, and every day -- weather notwithstanding -- parents pass my house on their way to the park with kids on bikes and in strollers. The Seattle School District is organizationally challenged, to put it mildly, and they will do whatever they choose to do; protests will probably have no effect. But what a shame to extinguish one more light from the city.
7
I remember school levy opponents using this to try to sway voters away from a "yes" vote last year.
8
The school district is so desperate for space that there is no way to stop the conversion. The best we can do is have a voice in the process to make it as great a space as possible.

They're tearing down the old Pinehurst school to build a new one and put out a call for community members to help with the design. They may do something similar with Cedar Park.
9
@1:

Before you go excoriating Jen for "inaccuracies", best look to your own apparent misinformation, to wit:

"Okay, first of all, THE CITY has nothing to do with this. It's THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE CITY doesn't run the district or have any control over it. That's quite the basic fact to get wrong.

Now, THE CITY wants to use the building to temporarily house students while another nearby school, Olympic Hills Elementary, is enlarged."

Well, which is it? The School District, or The City? Make up your mind, please.
10
Cris Bruch is a goddamned national treasure!
11
Note: The building was land-marked last year. That means any new construction/improvements etc... is going to cost a lot more than $10 mil.
I grew up in the building, and my family still lives there. It is a rare and wonderful place and we all feel grateful to have been a part of it. Some of us want to fight and stay, others are ready to let go. But the people I feel sorry for are the neighbors. Because of my mom and the neighbors who came together a decade-ish ago, there is a wonderful park. There is no way that will stay. Instead this residential community (no bus stops, no sidewalks) is about to get injected with a ton of traffic. There has been very little thought in regard to urban planning, on the part of the school district.
12
@9 I forgot to put quotes around that part. That was Ms. Graves. It IS the district and NOT the City.
13
It's been great living here. We built our business here, http://www.oldschoolpinups.com/ & http://www.seattleretrophotography.com/ , we were married here and spent some great times. Some of the photos in the article are mine.
We understand the district needs space. We also understand they have not done everything they can to find the most economical or practical solution.
Life goes on.
Visit us at our new location for OldSchoolPinUps & Seattle Retro Photography at 1922 Post Alley at Pike Place Market. Cheers, Lance n Trixie.
14
It's been great living here. We built our business here, http://www.oldschoolpinups.com/ & http://www.seattleretrophotography.com/ , we were married here and spent some great times. Some of the photos in the article are mine.
We understand the district needs space. We also understand they have not done everything they can to find the most economical or practical solution.
Life goes on.
Visit us at our new location for OldSchoolPinUps & Seattle Retro Photography at 1922 Post Alley at Pike Place Market. Cheers, Lance n Trixie.
15
@11, I was one of those neighbors who worked on replacing asphalt with a beautiful park. Makes me very sad to think that will go away. And once it's gone, it won't come back, no matter what happens to the school building.
16
I was fortunate to have lived at what we used to just call Cedar Park, for over ten years. That was a singular time in my life that gave me a place to house my family, and happily--though haphazardly--meet our needs. Two daughters were raised here.

I most remember the community of support we had with each other--the joint efforts to govern, build and create:

One example of one of the first ways we initiated contact with large numbers of our neighbors: for three or four years we ran Halloween's Haunted Hallway: each of the 15 or so of us created a different, long-dead denizen of the teaching and custodial ranks of this ghostly, but once very disciplined, though demented, school. I was Tim the Kindergarten Teacher, dimly portrayed in a caged alcove littered by an increasingly infantile obsession. I half-hummed and muttered "Three Blind Mice" as I hid in a corner, behind a blackboard and blocks, until I launched myself at the bars of the grill directly in front of the visitors, screaming my version of the last lines of that haunting song: "See how they die!"

Of course, there were studio shows every month or so--glassworkers, fabric artists, sculptors and painters, arty gardens, and lights representing the Pleaides constellation lit each night on the large, flat and sloping roof. On one exterior wall, we wrested official permission for local grafitti artists to create a constantly evolving mural.

Before our incredible building manager helped create the coalition of neighborhood support for the park, I also remember the local community meetings called by the district, in the auditorium of our school (also the occasional homecourt of a basketball team that included such players as Washington State's current Official Meterologist, as well as the legendary cartoonist Gary Larson).

This isn't the first time the district has threatened to end Cedar Park as a community. Perhaps the demographics have drastically changed, but we--all of us tenants--endured years of meetings called to determine our fate, listened to the aging and/or just angry few call us an eyesore and worse.

Thanks to our building's manager we hung on and became an established and integral part of the neighborhood. I agree with those who point to the history of artists coming into and enhancing a place through interaction with its residents, becoming residents themselves, and then being shunted on to another lucky place.

I could go on and on, but now it's time for me to get ready for work. I'm an elementary school teacher, in Shoreline, just north of what is now Artwood.

18
@1: Fair point. I was conflating "the city" with the district, but it may be a completely separate jurisdiction. It was probably irresponsible shorthand, but I think you know what I meant. Thanks for pointing it out.
19
@14 & @16 - Thanks for your comments, always nice to have a better picture of what's happened. If you don't mind, a few questions:

1) Who spearheaded the campaign to landmark the building? And what was the intended effect of getting the designation? I ask because my neighborhood is attempting to get a school designated.

2) Is there a specific alternate plan that the District should pursue?

3) It looks like the District just approved the A&E contract early in March. This would generally be the phase where costs get nailed down. Any ideas where the $10M number came from?

Curious on all fronts, since we are trying to get additional BEX funds allocated to our school and these issues will surely come up.

20
@ 19, I am the manager of Artwood Studios and I will take a stab at answering your questions.

1.The landmark process was not spearheaded. It came about because the School District wanted to tear down the building and build a new school. Because the building is over 25 years old and over 30,000 square feet, the landmark review is automatic. The building was designed by a prominent Northwest architect and, on that basis, after much review, the Landmark board voted unanimously to landmark it as a significant example of Paul Thiry's work.

2. I can't say that I know of a specific alternative, only that this site, because it is so small, and because a neighborhood park which neighbors built over 10 years will be substantially altered (they are already planning on putting 4 portables in the park, use will be restricted and the site will be fenced), is a poor site. My experience is that there is a lot of desperation fueling their decisions right now. I understand and it doesn't make for good long term planning that takes into account the overall health of the City.

3. The vote on the A/E contract was postponed until April 3rd because neighbors requested that the School District do a feasibility study on Lake City School. As for the 10M, this is somewhat confusing because the numbers have jumped around. Before the levy, the figure we heard to rehab the building was 3 to 6M. After the levy, we heard (at a School Board Meeting) 8 to 10.5M. I don't know what the disconnect is between those 2 numbers. (as someone intimately familiar with the building, I do know that the lower number is unrealistic) The School District is asking the state legislature to kick in 10M for this...so perhaps the 3 to 4M is the amount the district would pay from levy funds? This stuff is very murky. I have no idea if the legislature will give them this extra money, given that Seattle voters just approved 2 levys that total 1.2B. I think the reality is that all these numbers are guesses.

Hope this is of some help!
21
@16...Tim the Kindergarten teacher was fabulous. And the puppet theater you created here, as well as the plays that were written....all wonderful. Thanks for commenting...nice to hear your "voice"!
22
@20 - Thanks for the info.

It is a bit of a mess overall, and I feel your pain/lack of trust dealing with the admin folks.
23
This place is a treasure for Seattle. A school can be built in many locations, most likely better suited than this small residential site. Save Artwood Studios! Save Cedar Park!
24
More information about the Cedar park Elementary School building by Paul Thiry may be found here: http://arcadenw.org/article/the-unknown-…

An older article (2004) about the Artwood Studios may be found here: http://seattletimes.com/pacificnw/2004/1…
25
There is an alternative: The school district owns also the Lake City professional building on 125th street. This building is also a former school (lake City school), and is larger, updated-to-code, and better sited. Financial estimates priced reopening the Lake City school at double the cost ($20.), but this does not include the longer term consideration that this site has a much larger capacity and therefore will meet projected growth in student population. It appears that the reduced cost of cedar park also does not account for much cost that will have to be borne by the city (traffic revisions, no sidewalks), or extra costs to comply with the historic site designation. Apparently, SD revenue from Artwood studios is larger than from LC professional building rents.

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