Back in March I had the opportunity to walk with the Mayor on his Pioneer Square walking tour. It just so happened that I was scheduled to walk with him on the stretch of street where I live and pointed out a few concerns that residents and businesses had. One of the problems that he paid specific attention to was the boarded up Metropole building. If you’re interested in reading a history of the building, check out this article.

Here’s what the building originally looked like:

Here’s what the building looked like before the fire:

Here’s what it looked like when we moved in to the neighborhood:

Here’s what it looked like when they tried to add some donated art:

Mayor McGinn in front of the Metropole building:

And here’s what it looks like this week:

I talked to the managers of the building who said that working with the ad agency to add the posters was a decision that they made not only to recoup some costs from the building sitting empty for the past 3 years, but more because they wanted to support their local sports team. The Sounders FC posters were planned to remain up for two weeks as part of a marketing campaign the Sounders are running, after which the owners were thinking about replacing them with SAM posters throughout the rest of the summer.

According to the Sounders Marketing Team, they weren’t aware of the rules in Pioneer Square regarding an approval process for signage through the historic preservation board and are now working with the owners and the ad agency to remove the posters until they can go through the proper channels.

After the Sounders posters come down, however, I discussed with the property manager the potential of painting the wood so that it looks like the businesses you want to open there once it’s renovated. This was done successfully in Columbia City as part of their revitalization and has the potential to do the same in Pioneer Square. The building, which has been undergoing insurance litigation for a little over three years now, may not find any resolution until around December of this year.

The owners of the building want to stress, however, that they want the Metropole building to be a successful part of the neighborhood and are happy to work with artists or groups who are willing to get involved in activating their “storefront.”

So – if you had a choice, which one would you prefer?

Update:

I have contacted Real Change and we have a meeting + tour planned. After talking with friends and coworkers, I realize that when I posted this a week or so ago, that I framed the conversation in the wrong way. I think Real Change is an incredible organization and they do great things for the region’s homeless. Pioneer Square is also a model community for how they deal with homelessness and the low income population. Even though we have under 2,500 residents, we have a history of great relationships with the shelters and human services located here. What it really comes down to is that homelessness is a city-wide issue, not a neighborhood issue, and there are a few factors that lead many of the services to locate in Pioneer Square (history, the free ride zone, etc.) What I’m doing now is working on a dialogue with Real Change, with the Homeless Intervention Director for the City’s Human Services Dept, and other organizations to talk about broadening the support for the homeless community and not sending the message to the homeless/low income that they should only feel comfortable in one or two neighborhoods. This is a long update, but I wanted to add it to this post in case anyone comes back to read it, but I’m not quite ready for a new post yet.

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Every now and then, I do a search for “Pioneer Square” on twitter to see what people are talking about and if there’s something new going on that I may not have heard about. A few weeks ago, I came across this announcement on Real Change’s twitter page:

To be honest – I was shocked. I know some people feel like they have a few too many human services in their neighborhood, but there’s no doubt that Pioneer Square has the highest concentration. When the Pioneer Square neighborhood plan was being worked on, one of the issues that was stressed was that there should be a moratorium on new human services moving in or current human services expanding.

Just to be very clear — I am supportive of many of the human services in our neighborhood. This isn’t about whether a human service is good or bad or if you love them or hate them — it’s about the fact that if you have a concentration of services in one neighborhood, it sends the message that that’s the only place they should feel comfortable being. Not in other “nicer” neighborhoods, but yes, you are welcome in Pioneer Square.

I called Real Change to find out more information about the move because I couldn’t find anything on their blog or website or twitter. Real Change was very open and willing to talk about it. Apparently they are supposed to open May 24th in their new location on Main between 1st + Western. When I asked them if they were worried about potential objections from the neighborhood, they said that the Landlord was satisfied with the measures and precautions they take.

Which isn’t really an answer.

In an email, however, they gave the reasons for their move:

“In my conversations with donors, businesses and community leaders, people are excited for our move to the area.“

Not sure what people they’ve been talking to — no one seems to have known about it until it showed up on twitter. That means that they haven’t even reached out to the Pioneer Square Board, or other leaders in the community.

“Our relocation to Pioneer Square serves several objectives to us, to the community as a whole and to our vendors.  Moving outside of the Downtown area, as many non-profits have done, is not practical for our vendors or our community.  Pioneer Square is affordable and in need of vibrant businesses and organizations like ours.  We aim to be good neighbors, as we have been for 15 years in Belltown.”

I understand why they want to stay downtown, however, we are very aware and open regarding the problems that we’re having with homelessness and drug dealing down here — similar to Belltown, but we have it more concentrated. Bringing their vendors down here is going to expose them to the drug dealers that target the population of people who utilize the existing services in the area. One Real Change vendor even recently said that she was nervous about coming to Pioneer Square to pick up her papers and wasn’t sure if she would continue with the program.

Continuing in the email, they then stated how they would help the neighborhood:

What we bring to Pioneer Square is a staff of 12 employees and 4 full-time interns, as well as many volunteers and donors, who will be in the area daily- buying lunch, buying parking, shopping on their lunch breaks and bringing their families and friends into the area.

Not to be overly cynical, but 16 staffers don’t really outweigh the queuing of 400 vendors that is going to take place [as I mentioned above -- setting up yet another target for the drug dealers], or the fact that it’s contributing to Pioneer Square becoming a one stop shop for most of Seattle’s homeless.

Morning queue at Lazarus Day Center + known location of heavy drug and alcohol usage and fighting

Because of the decision of Elliott Bay Book Co to move at the end of this month, our neighborhood has received a lot of attention. We have a revitalization committee led by OED, and a lot of people working on activating the neighborhood, as well as articles and TV features.

There are a lot of people working really hard on this neighborhood right now and no matter how good Real Change is for homelessness, it just feels like taking a step in the wrong direction.

If Real Change really wants to be a good neighbor and to be a part of the neighborhood, it would have been nice if they had done some outreach and met with PSCA and other Pioneer Square business owners and residents to talk about how their move would affect Pioneer Square, and even how being located in our neighborhood could affect the vendors in their program.

I’m very supportive of what they’re doing for homelessness and I would just hope they would be equally supportive of what we’re trying to do for our neighborhood. I would also hope that the landlords who are leasing out spaces would be mindful of how each tenant can help/hurt Pioneer Square.

Just found this post on The SunBreak Blog called “Drug Dealers Star in Pioneer Square’s Reality TV.” It is so ridiculous, but I can’t help but smile for a few moments at the soundtrack they chose to accompany this video. I would hope that something like this could lead to an arrest, but it’s doubtful (as it was shot by a civilian). Reminds me of this story from 3 years ago (thanks Heath).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcR0k5BYHy0[/youtube]

This really has got to stop.

Reminder: If you ever see this or something that even looks like this, call 911.

Update

To see an update to this post, as well as a clarification to the rumors, click here.

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(disclaimer: rumors are contained in this post. Some parts may be truth. What is truth and what is rumor, however, you will have to figure out for yourself as I have not been able to clarify any details.)

The one truth I can state here: Elliott Bay may or may not be leaving.

The Rumors:

1. A principal at Jones + Jones (owns the building) is raising rents, effectively “pushing” the bookstore out.

2. An investor in the bookstore is pushing for the move to a different neighborhood

3. EBBC doesn’t care about the neighborhood and all efforts by others to help the bookstore have been ignored. A little bird told me that a former mayor and other influential Pioneer Square residents set up a meeting with the owner to talk about possible options and to offer support, but that he didn’t show up.

4. EBBC just has a bad business model. Unwilling to go online or use an online medium to promote the store, they don’t have much of a chance. Not sure how moving to Capitol Hill will help (see report of a local CH bookstore that just closed). The rumor is that staffing levels have not changed, even in this economic downturn, making it difficult to stay in the black.

5. The Office of Economic Development (OED) has offered their help to keep Elliott Bay in the neighborhood.

According to an article that just came out in the LA times, the owner feels that it’s the store’s location in Pioneer Square that is hurting his sales, and that he could do better in Downtown or in Capitol Hill.

The article implies, however, that Aaron is waiting for a decision from 11 banks, regarding the potential of receiving a loan.

When the banners were unveiled at the ING meeting, the possible exit of the bookstore was one of the main topics. Speakers urged employees thinking about moving, to move to Pioneer Square, or to shop down here, or to party down here. At first, I was a little annoyed that Elliott Bay was being talked about at an event celebrating the neighborhood, as the topic kept coming up. But then, a member of the board pointed out that we should maximize the negativity of the situation to show the city how much help we need down here.

I originally planned on organizing a “buy a book” week for the bookstore to show them how much they mean to the neighborhood and to encourage sales. The summation of the article, however, just points to the “it’s not personal, it’s business” motto, when Aaron says that if he could lure an buyer into taking the store on as “a hobby,” the future of book retailing would no longer be his problem.

To me, that just shows a general lack of empathy for this bookstore that has been around for so long and that means a lot to so many people.

What would it take for the bookstore to stay? Is it really as simple as one of the 11 banks giving them a loan?

Whatever it is, it needs to happen soon, or our neighborhood is going to need even more help than it needs now. I’m going to follow up with the Office of Economic Development to see what incentives are offered to businesses that are willing to open up shop in Pioneer Square. If they do decide to leave (which I hope they don’t), let’s get another incredible “destination” shop in there, and prevent another rug store, bar, or homeless shelter from moving in.

UPDATE

Just had a brief conversation with the owner and it looks like we’ll be able to clear up some rumors and maybe figure out how to help the bookstore. Be on the lookout for an update this Saturday. Christmas is a good time for a bookstore-buy push, don’t you think?

Ever since we moved in to P², we have had a problem with the line of homeless people sleeping next to Masins Furniture. And I’ve always wondered why it hasn’t been a problem for them. For a store like Masins with prices what they are — don’t they realize it’s a deterrent for anyone going to their store when the homeless sleep in their doorways and make them smell and then sleep all along their building? Ever night?

I can also imagine how nerve-wracking it would be for anyone getting off of a bus or waiting for a bus right there.

(sorry for the image quality — I always take these through the window while I’m waiting for the elevator)

I understand why this happens, though — location, location, location! Isn’t that what realtors always tell us? It’s a strip that has no retailer entryways, it’s right across the street from the Union Gospel Mission, and it has cover overhead. What makes this situation worse, however, is their disregard for cleaning up the space. Every single morning, I watch out the window as they just get up and leave their free city blankets (that are handed out like candy by the city) and their cardboard boxes for someone else to clean up.

I think it’s the MID workers who pick up after them most mornings. They even attempt to clear them out after they’ve had a nice long rest there.

This is what I’m talking about when I talk about the different types of homeless people. The homeless that sleep next to Masins have a total disregard for the neighborhood and the other people who live here. When I was having a conversation about this with Sgt Gracy (community police sergeant for P²), he said that Mr. Masins has actually written quite a few letters of complaint, but that nothing has worked. Every time they clear out the current homeless there, 15 new ones take their place.

I was trying to brainstorm possible solutions that might help keep them away, but none of them seem feasible. There are already lights there all night, and even the nightly construction noise didn’t keep them away. I thought maybe if cones were placed all along the wall with signs warning them to stay off the sidewalk that it might work, but I’m sure they would just move them.

Any ideas? I’m thinking about contacting the developers that are working on the building there to see if they might be interested in teaming up to help make some changes on the block there.

In the meantime, I’ve decided to vent my frustrations by renaming it:  Annoying Homeless Sidewalk.

I was doing a photoshoot on my roof deck the other day [I do freelance photography], and right as I moved to a new position, with my nice big expensive camera, a seagull pooped on me. And not just a little bit of bird crap – this was a massive, cleansing of the bowels bird crap. My first reaction, of course, was to start screaming (which kind of startled the people I was taking pictures of) and to run into the house and after realizing it had splattered all over my camera (not to mention all down my hair), stick my head in the shower.

For those of you who live or work in Pioneer Square, I’m sure that this has happened to you. I was telling Phillip (who works the information booth at Occidental Square), who says that it’s actually good luck when a bird poops on you and that you should go out and buy a lottery ticket.

The Husband and I have named the bird Carl, and I swear he has it out for us. If we’re up on a deck people watching, he dive bombs us. We always have to warn people before they go on our deck that he’s out there, waiting. I know and you know that every time sometimes when they poop on you, it’s totally intentional.

After mentioning our experiences with Carl to our friends, they recommended getting owls (plastic) for our deck. So I did – two in fact. Let me show you how well this works out in P²:

Here’s another example of what could happen to you if you become reticent to the bird problem:

(Just kidding.. this bird is her “pet” – if you haven’t ever taken the time to talk to this fascinating woman, you should. Ask her about her chicken)

Why the city keeps calling city corners or city triangles “squares” is beyond me. Occidental Square, yes, you can have that. You are correct that it is (mostly) square. But Fortson Square?

For those of you who don’t know, Fortson Square is the corner of 2nd and Yesler, and features the stone “art” that has been around for about 10 years. A sculpture that was not meant to be sat on is the gathering place for most of the people who are part of Lazarus. Not to mention the 5 million other complaints against the center (which the Archdioses does nothing about), there are two major complaints I find absolutely ridiculous. The complaints aren’t ridiculous, the fact that it’s happening is ridiculous and that they refuse to do anything about it.

If you walk past the square in the morning, you will see the guys waiting in line to enter the Lazarus Day Center. What many of the guys have started doing is taking bricks from the stone path in Fortson Square to hold their place in line. Is this another one of my witty jokes? No, absolutely not. Here’s a picture to prove it:

The second complaint? The hundreds of cigarette butts littered throughout the square. Is it so much to ask the guys of Lazarus to keep their “hangout” cleaned up? Lisa (PSCA) is getting a bucket with sand for them to put out their cigarettes. We’ll see if it cleans the corner up.

Attention;
Tenants and Building Managers

Completion of today’s construction activities on 2nd Ave Ext S in the vicinity of S. Washington St. to S. Jackson St. will require evening and nighttime saw cutting.

This work entails cutting relief joints in newly poured concrete road panels to prevent cracking and damage as the concrete reaches its critical cure points.

This operation may be loud and disruptive and will continue beyond 10pm this evening.

Our crews are working to ensure that this process is completed as efficiently as possible to minimize our nighttime disturbance.

David Kerr
Project Engineer
C.A. Carey Corporation
206.450.3193
dkerr@cacarey.com

The husband and I were walking around Pioneer Square last night when we passed a man standing in a store entryway on the corner of 3rd and James. With just a casual glance, we saw that he had a thin line of “white powder” and was getting ready to use it.

We walked around the corner and called 911 while we kept walking, although I was a little freaked out to be telling the 911 operator out loud about the guy using drugs just around the corner with a bunch of other P² familiars still milling around. I thought for sure someone was going to yell “snitch” and beat us up or something. I also watch lots of movies.

Anyways, I’ve called 911 before when I thought I saw someone dealing, but first I had to talk to Chris (with PSCA) and our local cop about what a “drug deal” actually looks like and how to report it.

For those living within a few block radius of 2nd and Jackson, you may have heard the construction noise last night.

I called David George, Seattle’s Noise Abatement Coordinator, who said that he had received lots of complaints about the noise last night. I had also called him last week when they were jack-hammering until 2 am.