Such a charming row of Victorian cottages — but wait, what’s that big brown box down at the end? Why, that big brown box at 812 23rd Ave in the Central District is a brand new home designed by Pb Elemental, that just so happens to be located at one end of a highly unique […]
[ Justin Carder, Michael McGinn, Denny Onslow, Michael Patten, Tony To, and Knute Berger ] It happened yesterday at a CityClub lunchtime forum on “Tough Times in the Livable City.” A recurring theme in the discussion was the question of how, in a time of declining tax revenues, can we maintain the public services that […]
As you may have heard, the transit-oriented communities bill is dead. All I can say is that if, given all we know about climate change, we can’t manage to pass a relatively mild bill like HB1490, then the prospects for my kids’ future are so grim that I expect I’ll soon be seeking a sympathetic […]
Today brings yet another in the endless progression of reports on how climate change is now projected to be more severe than originally thought: Scientists at a climate change summit in Copenhagen said earlier UN estimates were too low and that sea levels could rise by a metre or more by 2100. The projections did […]
No, it’s not finished yet, but enough is already known about Escala to easily justify its nomination for Seattle’s Most Embarrassing Condo Project. The array of qualifications is deep, but let’s start with the base of the building shown above. It has all the grotesque faux-classical decoration that you’d expect to find on the new strip […]
Mark Morford, telling it: Do you allow yourself, even now, to feel any sort of ongoing, relieved, merciful joy that Barack Obama actually is sitting in the Big Chair in the White House? That this elegant, articulate, Zen-like man whose integrity is rock-solid and whose ideas, while certainly not in perfect alignment with every ultra-lefty […]
Have mercy Been waitin’ for the bus all day… Have mercy Oh the bus be packed up tight… Well, Ill be ridin’ on the bus till I cadillac* An unprecedented funding gap could force King County Metro Transit to cut bus service by as much as 20 percent next year, leaving thousands of people without service […]
Sadder than sad You’re the only light This empty room has ever had Life without you is gonna be Bluer than blue* For me, all that deep, pure blue with the crisp white trim brings back fond memories of childhood sports team uniforms. How do you admire Fifteen Twenty One? Because, as the web site […]
Mystery commenter Max says people would take this blog more seriously if I didn’t act like it was a joke 3/4 of the time. Could be true. Many friends advised me against going with the name hugeasscity, but I made a marketing decision. After all, Horse’s Ass started out as a joke, but that didn’t […]
The wonky urban planning acronym “TOD” has been flowing across an uncannily wide spectrum of local interwebs as of late. The debate over sister TOD bills HB1490 and SB5687 has percolated up from the lowliest of blogs to grace the pages of the esteemed Crosscut, and has even felt the love from the PI’s star opinion […]
At its former location at 22nd and Madison, the Twilight Exit was a pioneer in the gentrifying Miller Park neighborhood on the northern fringes of the Central District. But as often happens, the pioneer became a victim of the neighborhood evolution that it helped to bring about: imminent redevelopment forced a move. The Twilight’s new […]
This view got me to thinking that if I was going to develop a highrise luxury condo/hotel, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t give the thumbs up to a site that had a hulking, 479 foot tall concrete bunker directly across the alley to the southwest. It’s not like that was the last available infill site […]
I recently subscribed to Crosscut in the hope that I’d have daily access to thoughtful views to the right of my own. There’s value in stretching your thinking, right? Well, imagine my dismay this morning when I read the stinking pile of doo doo that one Kent Kammerer put out in his piece, “Beware greens […]
[ Proposed mixed-used infill project at 1424 11th Ave; rendering: Weinstein A|U ] Pike/Pine has more examples of small-scale urban infill done right than any other neighborhood in Seattle, and Liz Dunn’s latest, shown above, promises to continue that trend. Designed by Weinstein A|U — the same firm that designed Dunn’s Agnes Lofts just around […]
…burns half as long. Almost a year ago I wrote, “Pb Elemental is on fire. But will they go down in flames?” The candle may not be out, but it appears to be flickering: the newly renovated Pb Elemental HQ is up for sale. There are those for whom the downfall of Pb is food […]
Publicola has the scoop. UPDATE: As I should have added (and was noted in the Publicola post), the fact that the bill didn’t make it out of committee does not mean it’s dead for good.  Proponents of the bill will continue to work with legislators toward a mutually agreeable solution. UPDATE 2: The house bill made it out of committee […]
Not that I condone such behavior… But here’s the deal: Â Tonight Sally Clark is holding a community workshop on the proposed “Creating Transit Oriented Communities” Bill that has been discussed on this blog here, here, and here, and also on SLOG here, and Sightline here. There have been several recent community meetings on this […]
[ PV panels being installed on the Salveo townhouses in Magnolia; image: Parsons Public Relations ] It’s an inspiring scene, and one we’ll no doubt be seeing played out more and more. Though at the same time, I can’t keep myself from wringing my hands over how long it has taken us, and how much […]
“It’s bad planetary management to build large, singular and brittle projects when small, multiple and resilient answers exist and will suffice if employed.” In the piece quoted above, Alex Steffan is referring to “geoengineering megaprojects” that have been gaining traction as potential solutions for climate change. It’s an excellent read, and provides much needed guidance […]
