Do not diss the Ballard empty lot. It is the only decent empty lot in this town. Unlike every other empty lot in Seattle, it had no ambition. It was not immediately earmarked to be a chain restaurant, an office tower, a mini-mall, nor a flagship store. It did not spend its entire existence wishing to be something more prestigious, unlike most Seattle people and institutions, who all aspire to be "the next Starbucks", "the next Nordstroms", "the next Microsoft", "the next Nirvana" and so on. It is not forever "under construction". It just is, a simple quiet empty lot of beautifully decomposing brick that harbors lots of songbirds and cooing pigeons and looks great in the sun, and you can just sit back in the sun and relax and not feel like you should be busy aspiring to be the next anything. Do not diss it. Enjoy it while it lasts.