That's all great, but Nickels missed an obvious neighborhood that's in a "downward spiral," an area that's been waiting for city help ever since neighborhood leaders met with city council members on September 21, 2001. The neighborhood? Capitol Hill. Or, more specifically, Capitol Hill's central drag, Broadway.
"We were led to believe that Broadway and Capitol Hill issues were on the agenda," says Barry Rogel, president of Broadway's Business Improvement Association. BIAs are intended to revitalize businesses in an area by collecting a fee from merchants and putting the money toward area improvements and services. "We were going to be one of the neighborhoods the city would focus on. If leaving us out of that list was an intentional omission, I think it's a loss for Capitol Hill."
The area did get some city assistance in 2001, after the city council meeting, to deal with graffiti, garbage, and abandoned newspaper boxes. One Capitol Hill umbrella group also put together a plan outlining larger solutions for public safety, street improvements, and economic development. "If the mayor wants to be reminded of what those issues are, we had a plan and got it to the city," Rogel said after he heard the mayor's comments. Indeed, the city apparently ignored the plan, and turned its attention to neighborhoods like South Lake Union and the University District. After his State of the City speech, when The Stranger asked Nickels about the Broadway omission, he chuckled and said, "There are too many neighborhoods to list. But we're working with the BIA." Not so, contends Rogel, who says the "lines went dead" after Capitol Hill gave its plan to the city. (And by the way, Greg, Capitol Hill is the densest neighborhood in town.)
The city's lack of attention to Broadway has had obvious effects. In December, Broadway's BIA shut down its Businesses of Broadway group (the BIA's public face), laid off the executive director, and shut down its website for lack of funds. It seems the dues paid by Broadway merchants, which are based on revenues, weren't enough to pay debts, basic street maintenance, and a director.
"The long and the short of it is the BIA, like a lot of BIAs, is having a lot of financial problems," says Rogel, who owns Deluxe Bar and Grill at Broadway and Roy Street. The BIA will continue to pay off incurred debts by hosting the annual summer "Cirque de Broadway" festival. After that, basic street cleaning is about all the BIA can afford. There's no money for promoting the district, and without an executive director, there's no one to lobby the city full-time for help.
And even more concerning than the faltering BIA, less than two weeks ago the Broadway Market lost its most prominent tenant, the Gap. The Gap's windows are now covered in paper, leaving a gaping hole on the Broadway Market street front. The Market's management is trying to re-lease the large space near Republican Street. Gap Inc. officials did not return calls for comment.
The empty Gap space isn't the only vacancy. Several other stores on Broadway are gone, or about to move or close. Uzuri--an African gift store a few doors down from the Gap in the Broadway Market--is holding a massive moving sale. An Uzuri clerk didn't know where the store would relocate, but it'll probably leave Broadway after February. The Cellophane Square space at John Street is empty after the music retailer moved three doors down and reopened as Everyday Music. The old Godfather's Pizza space at Denny Way has been vacant for several years, and the Ron and Jerry's ice cream shop (formerly Baskin-Robbins) at Harrison Street closed several months ago. "It's concerning," says Capitol Hill Community Council President Illeny Maaza. "It might be part of an overall decline of Broadway. Losing the [Broadway Market] movie theater [last summer] was another indicator."
There are several theories for Broadway's woes. Mike Petrone, owner of Broadway's Capitol Hill Cafe, lists public inebriates and a lack of retail diversity as reasons people don't think of Broadway for shopping. Add rising rents to the lack of shoppers, and you have plenty of merchants packing up and leaving. "They're tired of it," he says. "They're trying to move to a quieter or better area." Plenty of other Broadway merchants and nearby residents share Petrone's views. Some have compared the loss of the Gap to the University District's loss of Nordstrom and other larger retailers from the Ave several years ago, which sparked a downward retail spiral for the whole street.
Broadway needs a shot of vitality--similar to the help the city gave to the downtown core several years ago. Downtown was cleaned up, and businesses encouraged to set up shop there. Today, it's the retail center of Seattle--and some argue it's sucking business away from nearby Broadway.
The mayor hasn't articulated a plan for Broadway. While areas like the Ave get $9 million in infrastructure improvements, and the mayor names neighborhoods like South Lake Union, Pioneer Square, and Northgate as areas to assist, businesses on Broadway haven't seen any action from the city since last year. "City hall doesn't care," says Petrone at Capitol Hill Cafe.
"The mayor's economic agenda is neighborhood-focused," says Nickels spokes- person Marianne Bichsel. "Broadway is an area that we're definitely paying attention to. The mayor has met with members of the BIA and taken at least one or two tours [of Broadway]."
We know he's met with the BIA, Marianne. It's the fact that those meetings produced no results that has Broadway folks hopping mad; not to mention Nickels' disappointing State of the City speech. Oh, and wow, a real live tour of Broadway?! Who hasn't toured Broadway, the heart of the densest 'hood in town?
