Why Pioneer Square is a better fit for the Creative Economy than South Lake Union (Crosscut)
A real estate expert explains how these old work districts fit the needs of new creative workers better than the sleek tech zones such as South Lake Union. One reason: small blocks.

Groundbreaking for new Seattle streetcar line (Seattle Times)
Sound Transit and Seattle officials are breaking ground Monday for a streetcar line through the city’s First Hill neighborhood.

PHOENIX JONES VIDEO: Woman shot in Pioneer Square (Seattle PI)
The gun shots were heard near the 11:20 mark on video recorded by Seattle Superhero Phoenix Jones who was standing near the scene; Jones had 9-1-1 called immediately.

Police seek tips in Pioneer Square shooting (Seattle Times)
Seattle police are asking for the public’s help in their search for the person who shot a woman early Sunday morning in Pioneer Square.

Comment(s) of the Day: Phoenix Jones is Awesome and You’re a Spineless Piece of Crap (Seattle Weekly)
Yesterday I posted about Seattle “superhero” Phoenix Jones and how a video he recorded early Sunday morning is being used by Seattle Police as part of the investigation of a shooting in Pioneer Square. And, yes, I pointed out with no lack of snark that Seattle Weekly has questioned Jones’- shall we say – superpowers in the past. This questioning of a beloved Seattle crime fighting institution led to a torrent of negative comments. Here are some of the highlights …

Stamen Design overlaid watercolor textures onto “open street map tiles,” showing us what our neighborhood could look like if it were painted by a local artist:

(it’s worth it to click on the images to view them larger)

I could already picture a print of this up on my wall. Stunning!

via Kottke.org

You are invited to the Q2 (second quarter) Pioneer Square Tech Social! As part of our neighborhood’s emerging tech startup scene, you are integral to making Pioneer Square a bustling hot spot on the Seattle map. Come celebrate with us and meet some new colleagues!

Our host this quarter is BuzzBee, a strategic marketing consulting firm that specializes in driving results for enterprise technology companies. Beer, finger foods and music will be provided, courtesy of our hosts. Capacity is limited to 70 people so RSVP now!

To send an invite to a colleague, visit the event webpage and click on the forward icon or email a list of names and email addresses to hien[at]pioneersquare.org.

What: Q2 Pioneer Square Tech Social
Where: BuzzBee
307 Third Ave S, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98104
When: April 19th, 2012, 5pm – 6:30pm

Updated–Artists to Poster Giant, “We all live in this city, please show us some respect, is that really too much to ask?” (Seattle PI – Arts)
It began as a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I was sitting at my computer when reports started to come in that something was up. One post after another came in to my Facebook, mostly from artists bemoaning the loss of some important Seattle mural work on 2nd and Main in Pioneer Square. The artwork of artists like Baso Fibonacci, Jean Nagai, Weirdo, huemr and a tribute to Ana Dyson by some other local artists had been recently covered-up wholesale with yellow, black and red placards. Some FB posters were rabid and absolutely certain that this was the work of Poster Giant and that it was further evidence of the company’s disrespect for anything but filthy lucre! And upon further research, their Facebook page seemed to corroborate the group’s involvement.
UPDATE
First off, thank you Poster Giant, for at the very least not dragging this out to the point where it created any more enmity–I personally hope that this will lead to a new era of positive interaction between the city, its artists and your company.

UPDATE: Pioneer Square pergola damaged, again, when semi gets a bit too close (Seattle Times)
A truck stayed put in order to do no further damage after it hit the pergola in Pioneer Square Thursday evening.

Seattle’s historic Pergola hit, but only minor damage this time (King5)
A semi-truck hit the Pergola in Seattle’s Pioneer Square Thursday night, causing only minor damage.

‘Bunnarchy’ takes over downtown Seattle bars (Seattle PI)
On Saturday afternoon dozens of people wearing furry ears and cotton tails invaded Pioneer Square during the annual “Bunnarchy” bunny bar hop.

Streetcar work expected to bring more noise and disruption (Seattle Times)
Seattle’s First Hill streetcar project begins this month with utility relocations, followed by track and street construction in June, lasting until February or March. The bike lane and the northbound road lane will be built mostly in mid-2013.

20 Seattle bars we miss (Seattle PI – Big Blog)
#4 is the Fenix Underground

Seattle’s office towers filling up, brokers report (Seattle Times)
Empty space also is more difficult to find in downtown’s northern reaches. The total vacancy rate in South Lake Union and the Denny Regrade is under 10 percent, according to Broderick, compared with 15 percent in the central business district and 23 percent in Pioneer Square.

Cafe Bengodi’s Rustic Pastas Will Carbo-Load You Into A Food Coma (Seattle Weekly – Voracious)
You’re downtown, it’s lunch time, and you’re starving. You certainly have options–sandwich shops, soup and salad joints, Vito’s two-martini lunch–but nothing satisfies a powerful hunger like a pile of pasta, and for this particular craving, Cafe Bengodi delivers in spades.

WildTangent opens new Seattle office, plans to hire more than 20 engineers for ‘secret’ project (GeekWire)
In fact, companies in our own backyard are now finding it necessary to be in the middle of the city in order to attract tech talent. The latest example is Redmond game distributor WildTangent, which just opened a new office in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood at 101 Yesler. That’s a stone’s throw away from another big name in gaming. San Francisco’s Zynga opened an office in the old Washington Shoe Building last year.

New Plan to Replace Ride-Free Area: Tiny Buses (PubliCola)
King County and the city of Seattle may replace the downtown ride-free area with small, 15-seat “circulator buses” to serve people who can’t afford to pay bus fare, which ranges from $2.25 to $2.50, once the ride-free area goes away at the end of September. The circulator would offer service about every 20 minutes.

In addition to all of the construction that our neighborhood is dealing with in regards to the Viaduct and the new tunnel, we will also soon feel the impacts from the (wonderful) new streetcar that is coming:

Wherever workers are tearing open and repaving the road, one lane of traffic will be reduced. Crews will be proceeding simultaneously through four sections of the 2 ½-mile route: Broadway, Yesler Way and 14th Avenue, South Jackson Street through the Chinatown International District, and Pioneer Square to Union Station.

Down in Pioneer Square, the city this fall will strengthen old steel bridges that support the streets alongside King Street Station, then lay tracks for the streetcar.

source: The Seattle Times

I’m not one to complain about this, though — I’m just glad it’s still going to come into Pioneer Square!

Scenes from Pioneer Square art walk April 2012
Just a few of the eye-catching things at this month’s art walk, below. Artists: Forgive the quality of the pics, taken with a phone.

Police: Man caught with meth in Pioneer Square (KOMONews)
A 22-year-old man was arrested early Saturday morning after police say he was caught carrying methamphetamine.

Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts Cafe Coming to 3rd & Columbia (Market Watch)
“We are proud to extend our presence within the downtown Seattle corridor,” says Top Pot Doughnuts co-founder Mark Klebeck. “Like our flagship cafe in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, downtown business patrons as well as the Pioneer Square neighborhood will have their own Top Pot Cafe!”

Downtown Seattle could be in line for 1st elementary school in years (Seattle Times)
After months of discussions with city planners and downtown developers, Seattle school officials have included $32 million to open a public elementary school in the South Lake Union area in the district’s first draft project list for its next construction levy. The school wouldn’t open until 2019.

April Art Walk Gets Real. (Seattle Weekly)
The Soil, Platform, and Fictilis galleries in Pioneer Square all have something in common; crowds that flock to them on the First Thursday Art walk. One of the strongest reoccurring themes you ask? Stickin’ it to the man!… Literally.

Major railway also has concerns about new Seattle arena (King5)
The railroad serving the Port of Seattle is echoing concerns raised by the Port and the Seattle Mariners about the effects of adding a third sports venue in SODO.

7-year-old shatters fundraising goal for Union Gospel Mission (King5)
A few weeks ago, he set the goal of raising enough money to buy 5,000 meals for Union Gospel Mission by Easter. He learned Sunday morning that he shattered that goal, raising enough for 8,295 meals.

From WSDOT:

If you’ve been near the Alaskan Way Viaduct lately, you know that construction of the SR 99 tunnel is well underway. The project has affected traffic and parking at the western edge of Pioneer Square and along the waterfront. More changes are on the way this spring, including:

· A new traffic detour beneath the viaduct that allows us to close Alaskan Way south of Spring Street

· Changes to ferry access

· Changes to bicycle and pedestrian access

· Parking changes

Please join us next week at Milepost 31 (211 First Ave. S.) to learn how this work will affect Pioneer Square and the waterfront, and how we’re working with residents and businesses to keep these neighborhoods vital during construction.

Wednesday, April 11 or Thursday, April 12

7 to 9 a.m. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Note: The same information will be presented at both meetings.

If you are unable to attend and have questions, please contact us at viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov or 1-888-AWV-LINE (298-5463), or visit www.alaskanwayviaduct.org.

Pioneer Square suffering from lack of public restrooms (Q13Fox)
Pioneer Square is one of Seattle’s most active neighborhoods. Every year, millions of tourists, sports fans, nightclub goers, and homeless travel through the area – and none have any place to “go.” Residents and business owners are increasingly frustrated that their alleys and street corners are being used as bathrooms.

Milepost 31 kicks off its spring speaker series (Central District News)
Since opening in December, more than 1,500 people have learned about the future State Route 99 tunnel at Milepost 31, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s new project information center in Pioneer Square. In April the agency will introduce a new Milepost 31 monthly speaker series to give visitors more insight into this massive project.

Child rapist gets 30 days for violating probation terms (KOMO News)
John Callahan spent a total of 25 years locked up in prison and at the special commitment center on McNeil Island. But exactly a week after his release, police on March 12 arrested Callahan in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. The rapist and child molester had violated the conditions of his probation by crossing county lines without permission. He had also failed to check in with his parole officer.

New Seattle TourSaver Book Offers Exclusive 2-for-1 Travel Savings (SFGate)
For pre-season savings, orders can be placed at just $59.95 for the Seattle TourSaver, which features dozens of 2-for-1 deals worth thousands of dollars. Check out all the deals online: Seattle TourSaver.

Kids at the Seattle Square Market

Last night, I participated in my first “focus group,” hosted by the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA). It brought together parents and soon-to-be parents who live in downtown to explore what works and what doesn’t work when living downtown with kids (of all ages). Although we don’t have kids yet, we are going to this July (!) and plan on staying in Pioneer Square for as long as it makes sense.

My group was made up of four individuals with kids (ages 6, 3, 3 and 2), two individuals who are expecting, and one individual who is studying families in downtown areas as part of her profession. The group was also diverse in terms of those who would send their kids to private school vs. public school and those who have nannies vs. those who use daycare.

We started out discussing why we love downtown. Everyone in the group agreed – we love:

• being in the center of everything
• easy access to the theater and museums
• good transportation options
• walkable neighborhoods
• feeling connected to people in your building and owners of shops you frequent
• the diversity of the people that surround you
• not having to drive/commute
• the many daycare options downtown (but long waiting lists!)
• amazing programs for kids (children’s museum, SAM, sound bridge, aquarium, etc.)
• feeling like your kids are more cultured/sophisticated (know their way around downtown)

And then we hit the topic of challenges to living downtown as a parent:

• Hard Impossible to get strollers onto buses (but easy on light rail!)
• No “safe” open spaces/parks/playgrounds to connect with other downtown parents
• While there are some parks (SLU, Denny, proposed Westlake park), they don’t keep kids entertained for very long due to lack of a good playground structure
• People wanted playgrounds not just parks – and playgrounds for kids of different ages
• Lack of public schools (or knowledge surrounding public schools if you live downtown)
• Variety of housing types that allow for more space (i.e. cities like Vancouver offer townhouses at the base of big apt/condo buildings)
• Lack of programs downtown specifically targeted to downtown families (i.e. YMCA doesn’t even offer kids swimming lessons!)
• Difficulty connecting with other parents and families who live downtown

Surprisingly, public safety was only briefly mentioned, but no one in our group seemed to have a problem with it. I guess when you live downtown, you’re not one that struggles with the perception vs. reality problem because we just understand the reality.

As we went longer into the meeting, three of the four people who already had kids (PSq, West Edge, and Retail Core) admitted that they were either planning on moving in the next two years or were currently trying to leave. The two major reasons were lack of good school options downtown, and lack of a community playground that connected parents with other downtown parents.

The most interesting part of this meeting, however, was at the very end, when we went around the table and each person stated the one major thing that would have to happen that would keep them downtown with kids. I thought that based on how long the conversation was focused on schools that it would rank highest, but people actually voted for the community playground. They felt that if there was a sense of community downtown and a connection with other parents, that they would make public/private schools work when their kids hit age 5. Although I don’t have kids yet and may change my mind once I do, I voted for the school as the one thing that needed to happen, and two others voted for “school with a playground attached” as a (cheating) compromise.

So for those of you in the square with families – do you agree? What would keep you downtown? Or cause you to leave?

The website is now up for a new mixed-use project in the heart of Pioneer Square. This exciting project features retail, residential, office, and even some parking (rare for our neighborhood):

According to their website, here are some key features:

• 130,000 SF of Class A office space on floors 7-11
• Signage and naming opportunities provide excellent branding
• Pursuing LEED Gold Certification
• Highly efficient 26,000 SF floor plates
• Rooftop deck with sweeping views of Elliott Bay and Mt. Rainier
• Convenient in-building parking with 120 stalls
• Onsite bike racks, showers and locker rooms

This will be yet another great additional of residential housing to our neighborhood and will serve to add more “eyes on the street” and a great activation of that space. As a sidenote, if you’re a company looking to relocate to Pioneer Square in the next couple of years, this will also be a fantastic space to consider.