Comments

1
",,,a former military site called Fort Lawton,,," seems awkward, what's wrong with just Fort Lawton, or former Army base Fort Lawton, which it was. A Military site just sounds weird to my tin ear. Anyway, yeah it would be a perfect site for affordable housing...carry on...
2
That land has a high market value and low benefits for poor people - It's in a food desert and not near established transit lines. The feds should sell it for the highest dollar, and the resulting property taxes can help support practical affordable housing.

Yes, it's not the After School Special resolution that The Stranger likes, but that happens sometimes.
3
@2: I suggest a luxury resort, with upscale condos, shops and fine dining.
4
Fort Lawton housing in the Army Days was multicultural multiracial and mixed income
6
@3, that would be downtown central, Capitol Hill, SLU, and the new waterfront. Please stick with the script. Did you not get your community activist training memo?

Goals: $$$$ for happy developers, property speculators all the way to the bank. They’ll have even bigger pockets to fit more politicians in which means Seattle can add thousands more city employees to make sure that happens. See the symbiosis. This is an expensive city and we City workers need more help spinning, err showcasing the evils of those who resist. Also city workers need a raise. We can’t live off less than a $100,000 wage. It’s hard work to create a housing and transportation armageddon! Took this city 10 years to do a good job of it and to persuade cashiers and dishwashers $15/hr is the perfect pay point for them. Gotta keep the Happy Hour martini and tapas cost down you know because we aren’t rich.

Don’t forget there are 12,000 SLU parking spots to fill up at $60K per spot. With more to come with the new Convention Center while buses get kicked to the curb literally. But... we have those cute, citrusy 2wheel decorative things to tool around. They are cheap and disposable and become urban art when you want to pile them on bushes (to replace that nasty, unhygienic gum wall). Plus they meet that multi modal transportation vision (had to go to grad school to get that down) while providing another reason to ban all car drivers unless they work for Amazon or are Comic-Con Convention attendees.

Bikes are perfect for Ft. Lawton residents to get their whole paycheck groceries when the #33 fail to show up every 1/2 hr. Those old geezers need exercise. And the space challenged ones need to lose weight to make more room so biking is perfect. See Win Win here.

Don’t forget these poor residents will get food voucher from the really progressive soda tax to shop at farmers market for like 3 organic, locally grown apples (same WA ones they sell cheaper at Fred Meyer, but shhhh, it’s the thought that counts) after we city workers get our paycut first of course. Admin work is really, really hard, plus you have to rally the troop to show up at a meeting in a freaking house of worship (hello ACLU, I want to sue for PTSD here) on a Tuesday evening (OT pay) and face these good for nothing (except for paying their taxes), so boring homeowners. One bright thing homeowners are good for- they are perfect to gaslight as the evil, racist, old, really uncool old, white people clutching their pearls (even if they are none of those things).

8
A savvy developer could create some sort of Local Improvement District (or something like that) that contributed X amount of dollars per parcel per year towards affordable housing, and it would probably be a selling point. They do it with solar. Why not affordable housing?
9
I'd hate to see Fort Lawton end up sold off to the highest bidder for further luxury condo development--like Seattle needs more of that!
My oldest sister was born at Fort Lawton when my Dad was in he Navy.
@8 Catalina Vel-DuRay: I like your thinking.
10
I'm not at all sorry that affordable housing carried the day at last night's meeting because we need affordable housing (duh). What I will now watch with interest is:

1 - How the city responds to a lack of nearby services (food, transit, healthcare, etc). 2 - How much the price per unit costs creep up. 3 - How police respond (and how long it takes) from their distant, overcrowded perch at North Precinct HQ.

I wish the project luck.
13
When I was a newt to Seattle over 20 years ago, I found a cheap rental in Magnolia by the railroad yard. It was coincidental that I ended up there since I knew nothing about the best place to live. It was cheap, cheaper than someplaces on Capitol Hill, and my landlord was an easy going native who didn’t demand a $30 credit check (a lot of money 25 years ago). The bus on 15th came frequently to get to Pill Hill. There were lots of workers like me. Living in old, cheap apartments, duplexes/triplexes created out of mid century homes. I can’t recall any pearl clutching type hanging out at the Roadhouse (locals called it the Roachhouse) Tavern back then.

Visiting the old neighborhood, those cheap rentals are gone replaced by expensive, errr market rate rentals populated by tech geniuses. But the wonderful thing about change and progress is even evil pearl clutching types have found the affordable housing Jesus. The Magnolia Community Council (which represents all of Magnolia) sent a letter to Mr. Affordable Housing Rob Johnson supporting upzoning in Magnolia Village and along the sleepy arterials of Magnolia.

So not only will poor old folks will get housing at Ft. Lawton, but the homeless will find housing smack in the heart of Magnolia Village. There are banks, grocery store, eateries, drugstore, medical clinics, dentists, and 3 as in THREE bus lines (one which takes people to UW). See it really does take a Village.

WIN WIN.
14
NOTE TO ALL: There is no glut of "luxury condos" being developed in Seattle. Or few condos at all. (We actually need more condos.)

Nearly every residential development you see - like 90% - are apartment developments NOT condos.

And not even luxury apartments. They're just priced like they are "luxury."

That's the crime. The development you're seeing is pure rapacious rent seeking. This city has been building apartments on every scrap of land it can and rents still keep going up. Find out who owns those apartments and you'll have your answer.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.