Tools
Gentrification by Any Other Name
In an effort to create an identity for the neighborhood between Belltown and Pioneer Square (the blocks between Lenora Street and Cherry Street on the north and south, and Third Avenue and Western Avenue on the east and west), local marketing firm Tip Top Creative has given the area a "place brand."
Starting in September, residents and property owners in the zone will find themselves part of "The West Edge," a name Tip Top marketer Debbie Campbell calls "fun and bright." The firm's services (converting social problems like homelessness and vacant storefronts into marketing tools like "edginess") were contracted by the Metropolitan Improvement District (MID), a neighborhood development organization funded by a voluntary tax on downtown property owners. Sylvia McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Downtown Seattle Association, which set up the improvement district, says branding neighborhoods is a popular national trend. "Branding brings identity and recognition to your service, product, or destination," she says. "It also provides the customer with a total experience they can embrace and gives them more of a reason to buy than, 'It's just a good product.'"
Stranger Personals
While the MID will coordinate the brand rollout in September, Tip Top began its work in January with focus groups, research, and surveys, producing and rejecting neighborhood names including Chenora (Cherry + Lenora), the Steppes, and the Blocks. MATTHEW PREUSCH
King-Size Leak
In response to last week's Stranger article about John Curley's controversial behavior ["Creepy Curley," Pat Kearney, July 5], sources at KING 5 claim management is searching backlogged employee e-mail for the source of the leak. PAT KEARNEY
Monorail: All Aboard. All Clear.
The monorail got a boost Monday, July 9, when the city council passed a Nick Licata resolution asking King County and Sound Transit's permission to build a Seattle monorail. Ever since Seattle penned a deal with King County Metro in 1972 to operate mass transit, Seattle has been required to get approval from the county before building any other transportation system. Licata wrote the resolution as an official request, as well as a statement of support for the monorail, which has traditionally been a divided issue in the council. (In fact, last July, the council voted 7-1 to disband the monorail board.) This year Licata's resolution passed 9-0. PAT KEARNEY
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