For people who are worried about rent,
"Ho hum"

Visitors will need maps to find the Space Needle.

Relying on private industry to solve a public problem is insane. Developers are not motivated by the very real need for affordable housing in Seattle. They're motivated by profit alone, nothing else. Thus, they will do everything they can to squeeze as much money out of everyone as possible. This is why it costs 1500/month to live in a slum in the ID.

The city needs to take control of the situation more directly. Find some abandoned property in the city, something where the owners are delinquent in their taxes. Use emminent domain to seize the property and begin constructing units for the public benefit. Keep these units in the public ownership, and never allow it to be sold to any private entity. Since profit is not the motivation here, housing costs can be kept very low, and provide some competition that can force neighboring landlords to lower the rent they charge to avoid losing business to the publicly owned complexes. Instead of making this housing available only to the very poor, mix the incomes of people residing there. This avoids the trap of concentrated poverty which causes so many public housing projects to fail.

Free market fantasies will not save Seattle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv3WhFVt…

A big round of applause for the liberal concept of affordable housing in Seattle. I mean who needs a waiter, bartender, barista, EMT, nurse, teacher, administrative support, librarian, grocery store stocker, retail associate or anyone not making $80,000 a year to live in Seattle? I guess those left will just have to sit at home and enjoy the relentless rains. Its going to make for a tedious and depressing future for the city soon. Maybe another over-proced festival or expensive sports team will help. http://komonews.com/news/local/upzone-pr…

They should impose a poor taste tax and levy it on the Escala. Tackiest building in Seattle. I know it's nice on the inside (I am friends with the manager) but God, what an ugly building. Nothing worse than faux Mediterranean plopped down in the middle of the PNW.

Developers own Ed Murray and Seattle and get whatever they want. That said, taller buildings are needed. Now if gutless Ed would force Amazon to pay for their own transit center and buses like MSFT to offset traffic problems they cause...

Catalina - spot on as always. A (big) bit of Boca parachuted into Belltown.