A conversation with Seattle
Conlin, who studied history as an undergraduate, sounds like a history major still when he argues that, “Only since World War II has it become customary for local governments to be primary funders–and the current trend may be away from public finance.” That “only” refers to about 70 years. Continue reading City Council’s Two “No” Votes on Arena Justify Their Lack of Love
God bless Chris Hansen. After proposing one of the most generous arena investment deals in the history of American professional sports, he absorbed insults from anti-everything idiots, endured a misinformation campaign by the city’s newspaper, survived a blindside hit by the myopic Seattle Mariners and finally swallowed his privacy just so City Council members don’t have to explain capitalism to old ladies. Continue reading City Council Covers Ass, Fans Get Free Beer in Seattle Arena Win-Win
Berger is right to call for due diligence in inspecting funding assumptions, and he’s half-right about using Seattle Center as a cautionary tale–it may be called “Seattle Center” but when it comes to funding maintenance and improvements, the City of Seattle generally runs the other way.
But to call what James Corner Field Operations is designing a “park” is like calling a space shuttle a “thermal tiling system.” Continue reading What’s a Working Waterfront Worth, Anyway?
Seattle Bubble, not easily impressed, is impressed: “the spring bounce in 2012 has shot the median list price per square foot to its highest point since November 2010.” Sale price, at about $175 per square foot, is lagging list price, which is north of $195 per square foot, but catching up as sellers latch on to their leverage: very low inventory. King County has the fewest single-family homes on the spring market in over a decade. Continue reading In Seattle Real Estate, a Big Spring Bounce for a Happy Few
That impulse, simply to speed things along, is largely what the new non-profit Seattle Subway (over 1,600 fans on Facebook) is about, their catchy, “envisionary” full-system graphic aside. (Ballard! West Seattle! It’s like someone’s planning to reattach Seattle’s arms.) Underground, aboveground, they don’t really care, so long as the net result is speed. Continue reading Seattle Subway: “We want it all, and we want it now”
Three cement pours will be necessary, says KING 5, with the cement trucks “piping” the slurry out to the end of the pier, which otherwise couldn’t support their weight. You’ll begin seeing the 175-foot diameter wheel going up in April, with construction finishing in time for summer, by June. HG&A are determined to have it up and running for the July 4 weekend. Continue reading Pier 57 Gets Concrete Shoes in Prep for New Ferris Wheel
These two findings are not necessarily contradictory. It’s possible that restaurants, lacking volume, have passed on higher prices to fewer customers, and gross receipts are up. It’s possible that the changes have created distinct winners and losers among restaurants. Many things are possible. But what we can be sure of is that gross receipts are up, which you wouldn’t assume was a bad thing, at first glance. Continue reading In Seattle, Parking is the Best of Times & Worst of Times