West Seattle, Washington
23 Friday
That was the scene outside the West Ridge Park apartment complex on Delridge in mid-summer, as the complex advertised cheerily for “month-to-month” and “short-term” renters while proceeding with plans to convert to condos and rename the complex “Gables,” under the umbrella of Mosaic Homes, which recently turned the Graham Street Apartments into “Strata.” We had been wondering why we hadn’t seen any stirrings of marketing yet for Gables, though the city permit files show work aplenty; this note from a reader may give us a clue:
Thought you might be interested to find out that the West Ridge Park Apartments are no longer going to be converted to condos anytime in the near future. I am a resident there and recently inquired to find out when I would receive my 90-day notice to vacate. The front office worker told me that I wouldn’t be receiving a notice because the real estate market had turned and the remaining buildings were no longer going to be converted (at least for a while). They have begun the conversion of four of the buildings, which are almost finished, but according to the worker, the owners haven’t decided what to do with them once they are finished. She thought they may either keep them vacant for purchase at a later date or eventually lease them out.
We have a message out to Mosaic asking for comment; will let you know if they respond.
A free early Thanksgiving dinner tonight … another chance for you to drop off donations to brighten somebody else’s Thanksgiving … bazaars, music, more … among 35 West Seattle events for today, tomorrow, and/or Sunday:Read More
Three things of environmental note:
FREE E-CYCLING: This isn’t happening in West Seattle but it’s not far, and it’s free: 9 am-3 pm tomorrow, Safeco Field parking structure at Occidental & Edgar Martinez (map), you can bring certain electronic items for free recycling: specifically “any make or model of computers and related equipment, including monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, laptops, gaming consoles, and mobile entertainment devices.”
GREEN PAINT: The folks who run Authentic Home, the bright blue interior-design shop (AH-provided photo at left) that relocated to The Junction 2 months back, have a new line of environmentally smarter paint, described thusly: “Our new paint is Zero VOC and solvent-free and environmentally responsible. All 60 of our colors can be made with Authentic Home COLOR Paint GREEN and remain true to the colors and vibrancy in our original low VOC paint.” We’ll confess, we had to look up “VOC” (here’s the explanation).
SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE: Want to get an early start on a New Year’s resolution for all of West Seattle? Be at the Camp Long lodge tomorrow, 9 am-2 pm, for the Sustainable West Seattle Open Space Forum addressing “How do we make West Seattle more sustainable in 2008?” Free breakfast and beverages (bring your own mug and utensils, in the sustainability spirit). Read more here.
Besides the projects announced recently, the city says it will start work soon on a stretch of sidewalk along SW 104th near Arbor Heights Elementary.
Can’t tell so far from the sound of the scanner transmissions HOW it ended, but the incident that closed the West Seattle Bridge ramp to NB I-5 *is* over and police and DOT crews are in the process of reopening everything.
-As of this writing, the West Seattle Bridge ramp to northbound I-5 is STILL closed because of the situation which, piecing together various accounts (see comments on post below), appears to involve public-safety/emergency workers trying to talk someone off their perch on that ramp. This has been ongoing for almost 11 hours, according to the city 911 log, which shows the incident open since units were first sent to a “rope rescue” at Columbian/12th at 10:27 this morning.
-WSB reader Venkat found an advance link to an article in this Sunday’s New York Times about “what you get for $900,000” in several real-estate markets. One is right here in “West Seattle, Washington,” where the article features an Alki condo.
-We mentioned last week that the city Parks Department is holding meetings all around the city in the next few weeks to gather thoughts about what should be in its forthcoming Strategic Business Plan. We also promised to let you know when a link was up for an online survey to be offered to people who couldn’t attend those meetings. Now it’s up — go to this page and follow the “short online survey” link.
… get an extra turkey for the West Seattle Food Bank. We checked with WSFB today to see what they really need for last-minute donations before Thanksgiving, and they said it’s all about turkeys. Frozen OR fresh. Bring one (or more) to the Food Bank tomorrow (Friday) 9 am to 3 pm, or Monday 11 am-3 pm. The Food Bank is in the West Seattle Community Resource Building at 35th & Morgan (map). See our most recent updates on who they help and how you can help here (with video) and here.
Paul Rimbey: Guilty. Sentencing is set for January 4. The other two suspects are set to return to court later this month.
Thanks to everybody who let us know about this – there’s been trouble the past couple hours in the vicinity of the West Seattle Bridge ramp to I-5 north – avoid it if you can – we’re checking on the status. 4:05 PM UPDATE: The ramp is still reported closed. Here is a link to the status updates at Traffic.com. 5:35 PM STATUS CHECK: All online sources still show this situation continuing; besides the Traffic.com link above, here’s the 710 AM radio “incidents” page. 7:40 PM STATUS CHECK: Not over yet. Click the comment link on this post to read, among other comments, more on exactly what and who one WSB reader saw while passing by. Meantime, here’s the image for the city traffic cam showing the area (refresh this page for the latest grab).
Crews are out fixing the pole in front of the ex-FSA HQ – the car that hit it (see post below) is gone.
We seem to have a geographically specific theme going so far today — North Delridge — so we’re adding this Reader Recommendation Request e-mailed the other day by WSB reader “Coffee Geek“:
We are pondering a move to the north Delridge neighborhood … somewhere between Delridge and Avalon. I’m curious what people in the area have to say about living in the neighborhood. How are the neighbors? How “safe” is it relative to the rest of West Seattle? I’d like to move and not be any more worried about break-ins, vandalism, or getting harassed while walking the dogs at night …. all of which happened in a sketchy ‘hood in Chicago. Having said that, we do appreciate and enjoy the diversity West Seattle offers. Thanks!
Post your thoughts in the comments. Also relevant to this topic – just heard this morning about neighborhood info on yet another real-estate website, neighborhoods.realtor.com — Grazing through its list of 400-plus Seattle neighborhoods, we found Delridge, North Delridge, and South Delridge, as well as Alki, Fairmount Park, Fauntleroy, Gatewood, High Point, North Admiral, Westwood Village, and the basic West Seattle. (Those links will take you to the “setting and lifestyle” info that the site lists for each neighborhood — with cutesy names to describe the demographics, such as, for North Delridge, “Home Sweet Home,” “Young Influentials,” and “Suburban Sprawl.”)
New low-low-low-price West Seattle real-estate listing: 4801 23rd Ave SW (map shows that’s a couple blocks off Delridge), 7 bedrooms/4 baths, described as “a serious fixer that needs a lot of work, not for the faint of heart,” $175,000. The listing agent’s page doesn’t have photos, but you can find them on search pages like this from other agents’ sites (from which we have pulled the photo @ left). County property records show its owner bought it for more than twice that two years ago. Googling the address shows an appliance-repair business there at some point, but nothing more nefarious, aside from a city stop-work order on some remodeling/rebuilding there earlier this year. Hmm.
Thanks to several people who e-mailed WSB to let us know about a car hitting a pole on Delridge — right by the famous flag — here’s the first photo, from Pete:
ADDED 10:15 AM: Another angle, from David:
Earlier “eyewitness account” removed – Steph notes, different accident. Sorry.
Lots going on in one of West Seattle’s most compact and eclectic business districts, SW Avalon heading uphill south from Harbor (map):
-At 2940 SW Avalon, Murphy’s Furniture Studio is presenting a “Girls’ Night Out” event tonight, 6-9 pm, promising food, wine, door prizes, mini-spa treatments from neighboring Ola (discussed in the comments on the recent WSB RRR for salons). Bring donations for the West Seattle Food Bank (which is now at peak time for collecting Thanksgiving food items).
-A bit further uphill, at 2992 Avalon, the Tillicum Village offices just announced something new in time for the holiday-shopping season: A Gift Gallery open to shoppers, with items including original Native American carvings, other art pieces, jewelry, drums, amd clothing. It’s open 9 am-5 pm Monday-Friday, 10 am-4 pm Saturday.
Yes, we know the West Water condo-conversion marketers are likely laughing all the way to the bank, while observers grumble and gripe and gnash teeth over the unprecedented overkill of their over-the-top campaign. Nonetheless … it’s the gaudiest thing to hit this side of West Seattle in a long time, so we’re all over it. Earlier today, we discussed the spotlights that are the latest bling in this blitz. After dark, we couldn’t resist heading down the hill with our video camera:
In today’s earlier post, and its comments, readers shared info about how to complain about aspects of this condo campaign that appear to break city rules, such as the sandwich-board signs along roads and highways. One more to add — this one from Jill:
Please add the Seattle Dept of Planning and Development number 206-615-0808, so that citizens can complain. Or file one online at
seattle.gov/dpd/enforcement/code_compliance/filing_a_complaint
The marketers have laughed off the city’s attempts to assess 500-dollar/day fines. Apparently that’s less than the cost of renting throw pillows. Maybe a lawsuit over light pollution, the windsail signs, or a traffic accident in front of Ladro will be needed to do the trick.
First, some good news: the Fauntleroy Community Association website has this Fauntleroy Creek update reporting five spawners were spotted heading upstream earlier this week. Meantime, WSB reader Luckie suggests goodnaturedly that there’s probably a “raccoon feast tonight” along Longfellow Creek because of the scene below that she and her family photographed this afternoon “downstream from the fishbone bridge near SW Yancy.”
It was on our Events calendar, but not here on the main page — yesterday was the 156th anniversary of the Denny Party landing on Alki. Every year since 2001, WSB reader Margelyn reports, the “Swag Lady,” Natalie “Penny” Earnest, has decorated the Founders’ Monument as shown above. Margelyn says Penny’s swag of cedar with bird feathers and cones gathered from the beach is “her way of paying tribute both to the Denny Party who landed here on Nov 13, 1851 and to the Native Americans who helped them survive their first winter.” Closeup photo, also courtesy of Margelyn:
Margelyn adds: “Penny and her husband Mike, who passed away this year, have lived on the water at Alki Point since the early 1990’s and have been active in the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Working with Pat Filer of the society’s Log House Museum, Penny was instrumental in getting Department of Neighborhoods funding to add plaques on the Founders Monument at the 2001 sesquicentennial naming the individual women of the Denny Party and acknowledging the role of the Duwamish and Suquamish people.” Here’s a closeup of her note on the Alki monument for yesterday’s anniversary:
Margelyn concludes, “Living right on the water at Alki Point and walking daily along the beach, Penny says she often thinks of the words attributed to Chief Seattle:”
And when the last Red Man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the White Men, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your children’s children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. In all the earth there is no place dedicated to solitude. At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone.
Exactly 4 months after its opening, the Junction pie shop is featured in The Stranger today. We haven’t been there in a while. You?
Townhouses and mixed-use megaprojects aren’t the only construction projects under way in West Seattle right now, and here’s the proof. This photo is just in, showing work now under way at the Ercolini Park site on Alaska west of The Junction, courtesy of Friends of Ercolini Park volunteer (and WSB sponsor) Bill Barna:
On the day that Gee is auctioning off what’s left (minus vehicles) of the ex-Huling dealership contents (see post below; here’s what’s on the block for day 2 tomorrow) … the man prosecutors say was victimized by ex-Huling employees is testifying in court.
A few new comments and e-mails have come in about the latest marketing tactic deployed by the heavily marketed West Water condo complex, ex-Watermark(e) Apartments, south of Morgan Junction — a light show (equipment at right of above photo, taken late yesterday). The latest e-mail, from WSB reader Kerri, begs the question, how much marketing is TOO much marketing?
Is anyone other than me tired of West Water condominiums’ overzealous and trashy marketing campaign? I thought I would share the contact information for the person who takes credit for the sandwich boards every 200 feet going both directions on the viaduct, the posters staked every 15-20 feet up and down Fauntleroy and California, the dozen giant flags, used-car lot style balloons and now giant spotlight laser show that pollute the front of the building, etc….
Her name is Judy Gamel, office phone: (206) 216-7200.
I went in to complain tonight and she seemed pretty pleased with how successful their trashy marketing campaign has been so far. It sounds like they plan to keep it up full force until the building sells out.
Today and tomorrow, as we have mentioned, are auction days for parts, furnishings, equipment (even plants!) at the ex-Gee/ex-Huling dealerships along Fauntleroy, which Gee has promised to clear out of by the end of this month. WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli just checked it out – here are his photos:
After going offline for a short while – we opened the inbox and some wonderful folks from WSB-land have sent photos of the amazing sights from early this morning; thank you all SO much! We start with this sunrise sky shot from WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli:
Two more from Christopher – first, a boater getting ready to leave Seacrest during the spectacular sunrise; the second one, of course, needs no caption:
ADDED 9:25 AM: From Joe Murray, the sunrise with Rainier in the distance:
ADDED 9:45 AM: One final photo – this one from Patricia, near Alki Point:
We appreciate all photos of interesting sights/happenings/people around West Seattle – send them to us any time at westseattleblog@yahoo.com!
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