Interbay owners want to clean up

Standing near an intersection marked by fast food wrappers, towed cars, vacant buildings and potholes deep enough to endanger oil pans, David Bolin sizes up the No Man's Land that is Interbay.


		Karen Ducey / P-I
	Interbay property owners such as David Bolin, who remodeled this building at 3401 Thorndyke Ave. W., are pushing the city for zoning changes to replace an industrial wasteland with four- to 12-story mixed-used buildings. (Note: An incorrect address was originally published.) The business hub could serve monorail commuters if a station goes in on 15th Avenue West at West Dravus.

"We joke that it's the land that time forgot -- or the process forgot," said the developer, who has invested in several properties there.

Business and property owners, with the support of surrounding neighborhoods, have asked the city to change its comprehensive plan to allow taller, denser development that could revitalize a blighted valley between Queen Anne and Magnolia.

They envision a cluster of four- to 12-story buildings that would add shops and up to 1,500 apartments affordable to industrial workers. Interbay property owners would tax themselves to pay for much-needed street improvements.

Mayor Greg Nickels, normally a champion of dense housing development, has recommended that the City Council reject the group's initial proposal. The area around 15th Avenue West and West Dravus Street is too small to qualify as an "urban village" -- places where the city aims to concentrate growth.

Nickels also has opposed a comprehensive plan change that the Port of Seattle wants for its nearby North Bay development, which would turn a sea of asphalt into a biotech and industrial hub.

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The mayor's office thinks there are better ways to accommodate those development proposals, likely through more modest zoning changes.

Some proponents of an Interbay face-lift say they're frustrated that the Nickels administration is dragging its feet -- particularly given the zeal with which it has promoted development in other parts of the city, such as South Lake Union.

Even industrial groups, which have opposed other projects that would put housing close to manufacturing areas, support the proposal advanced by the Interbay Neighborhood Association.

"It's almost embarrassing when you drive down 15th Avenue between two beautiful neighborhoods and it looks like a Third World country," said Victor Barry, president of the Magnolia Community Club, a neighborhood group.

"I'm happy that someone is nuts enough to want to invest private funds to improve our area, and I can't imagine why the city would deny them a zoning change."

The mayor's office agrees that work needs to be done to encourage Interbay improvements. Officials are still evaluating a more recent development proposal submitted in June asking the city to establish special zoning rules there.

"We're definitely not ignoring them," Nickels spokesman Marty McOmber said. "We like the idea ... and we're moving as fast as the city bureaucracy can move."

So far, the planning process has been driven by the area's roughly two dozen property owners, who acknowledge the original urban village proposal rejected by the mayor was flawed. The city wants to broaden the discussion to make sure other community members are aware of the proposal, Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said.

"The new idea they've put forward is interesting, but it's so new that we haven't had a chance to work on it yet, so we're not ready to say, 'Yes, it's appropriate,' " he said.

Several City Council members, expecting to vote on the comprehensive plan requests this fall, say they're interested in working with property owners to make something happen sooner.

Tom Rasmussen, chairman of the council's housing committee, said Interbay could help fill the city's need for lower-cost housing. Encouraging development there makes sense, he said, provided concerns about traffic congestion and blocked views are addressed.

The original proposal envisioned a monorail station in the heart of the development. Even if that doesn't materialize, proponents say, the neighborhood is well served by buses.

Peter Steinbrueck, chairman of the council's urban planning committee, agrees the plan has merits -- particularly if the proponents can satisfy the area's industrial businesses, which make everything from automobile parts to cold water immersion suits to hardwood flooring.

"It's one that's deserving of the city's active support. It's economic development, and it may not be on the scale that the mayor is known for, a la South Lake Union, but these guys are civic-minded and I think they have a very good plan," he said.

Chuck Read, whose company makes pizza paddles and cutting boards, said industrial land such as his wouldn't change. The height increases would only apply to commercial properties in the 22-acre area.

But he would benefit from development that would add more shops and services, such as a copy shop, drug store or more restaurants. Without a cohesive vision for the future, he fears auto-oriented box stores will infiltrate the area.

The lucrative zoning changes also would enable property owners to fund street improvements from their own pockets -- adding sidewalks in some locations while providing for the truck traffic that businesses depend on.

"It'll improve the neighborhood and it won't cost the city anything," Read said. "To me, if you have a bunch of people who want to go pick up trash in the neighborhood, you let them go pick up trash."

In a neighborhood bounded by railroad tracks, no one envisions luxury condos. Apartments would likely be priced around $800 to $1,200 a month, proponents say.

Ray Mooers, who owns the Dusty Strings instrument store and who recently built a manufacturing shop at Interbay, welcomes plans to spruce up the rough-and-tumble area. His employees make harps and hammered dulcimers, with space leased to Zoka Coffee roasters.

Entry-level workers who might start at $10 an hour find it difficult to find housing in the city, he said.

"It's a struggle for single wage-earners in this industry," he said. "Hopefully, there's a possibility for lower-cost housing that would be very attractive to employees, which is the lifeblood of our business and any other manufacturer."

The proposal would keep building heights along West Dravus at 40 feet, rising to 125 feet and 65 feet elsewhere. Because the neighborhood lies in a sunken hole, proponents say taller buildings won't block views.

Bolin, a developer who renovated a soft-serve ice cream machine factory in Interbay, said the district is pursuing new ideas to protect traditional businesses and create a pedestrian-friendly residential community.

In the front of his 56,000-square-foot building, software and Web site designers work in a sleekly designed office space that's quiet as a church. With careful soundproofing, they coexist with small-scale cabinetmakers, tile designers and machine-part manufacturers who operate heavy machinery below.

That's the kind of creative mixed-use approach the neighborhood would pursue with zoning changes, Bolin said.

"It's so easy -- just let it happen and take credit for it," he said. "I think (city planners) just didn't have a box they could check that fit what we're trying to do. So they have to create a new box."

GET INVOLVED

The Seattle City Council will hold a public hearing Sept. 7 on potential changes to the city's comprehensive plan. The hearing starts at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave.

For information on the proposed amendments and the mayor's recommendations, visit seattle.gov/dpd/Planning/Comprehensive_Plan_Annual_Amendments/index.asp.

P-I reporter Jennifer Langston can be reached at 206-448-8130 or jenniferlangston@seattlepi.com.

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