After a new inspection report indicated that the remaining south terrace of Pier 58 could spontaneously collapse, the city has closed the adjacent Pier 57.
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Understanding what happened to Pier 58
Late afternoon this past Sunday a portion of Pier 58, better known as Waterfront Park, collapsed as construction workers were beginning the work to carefully dismantle and remove it. Let’s look at what led to the collapse, where things stand now, and what happens next. UPDATE 9-18-20: The city has now closed the adjacent Pier 57, due to a “condition of imminent danger” from the potential collapse of the remainder of Pier 58.
Continue readingCity closes libraries, most community centers, parks buildings, and recreation programs
This afternoon Mayor Durkan announced the city’s latest move to combat the spread of COVID-19: effective at 6pm tomorrow, all Seattle Library locations will be closed. In addition, Seattle Parks and Recreation will “cancel all programming, rentals, and permitted events, and close all community centers, pools, environmental learning centers, and other recreation facilities,” with the exception of preschool programs and hygiene services.
Continue readingAppointment of Jesus Aguirre as Parks Superintendent moves forward
This afternoon, the Council advanced out of committee the appointment of Jesus Aguirre as Superintendent of the Department of Parks and Recreation. It will come up for final confirmation on Monday.
Continue readingCouncil approves Waterfront LID
This afternoon, the City Council voted to approve the long-debated Waterfront Local Improvement District (LID), along with companion legislation that approves an operations and management agreement for the resulting Waterfront Park and a “protest waiver” agreement with the owners of a majority of the property interests in the LID assessment area.
Continue readingWaterfront LID one step closer to reality
This morning, the City Council voted to move out of committee the legislation establishing a Waterfront Local Improvement District (aka LID).
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More details on the Waterfront LID Agreement
This afternoon the City Council got a briefing on the waterfront LID agreement that the city negotiated with property-holders in the proposed LID assessment area, as well as other updates on the Waterfront Park project. Here are some key new learnings beyond my writeup last week.
Continue readingA deep dive on the Waterfront LID agreement
Last week Mayor Durkan announced that the city had reached an agreement with a group of property owners in the proposed Waterfront LID area that would allow the LID to move forward and ensure that the Waterfront Park project is fully funded. The Mayor’s Office has made available a copy of that agreement, along with the accompanying legislation and other documents that have been transmitted to the City Council for its review and approval.
Continue readingCouncil gets a quarterly report on capital projects
In an attempt to get better transparency over the city’s large capital projects and provide early warning on those running behind schedule or over budget, the City Council worked with the executive branch to define a quarterly report that lists all the projects and provides additional detail on a handful that have been added to a “watch list.” The second-quarter report is in; here’s what it says.
Continue readingUnderstanding the Seattle Waterfront LID
Seattle’s waterfront is undergoing a massive $4.7 billion renovation, including rebuilding the seawall, tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct and replacing it with a deep-bore tunnel, rebuilding Colman Dock and the ferry terminal, remaking the Alaskan Way surface street, and improving park and streetscape elements as part of the city’s $688 million Waterfront Seattle initiative. $200 million of the funds to pay for Waterfront Seattle are proposed to come from a new Local Improvement District: a special assessment on downtown properties that are expected to increase in value because of the project. But some residents who will be subject to …
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