City Letter to the Editor
Condo Haven, Hipster HellIt’s been brought to my attention that a good deal of the places on Capitol Hill that make it an interesting place to be (and for me Seattle has a hard time being interesting) are being demolished to build more condos.
Everyone keeps telling me that it’s Belltown all over again and that I shouldn’t be surprised or upset. But I’m sorry. Belltown is nothing to be proud of. And Capitol Hill is MY neighborhood. That’s where I moved and that’s where I live. I seldom find it necessary to leave it. Until now.
Already the Jade Pagoda has been disassembled and integrated in the Condo supersystem which is taking over every street corner imaginable. Next it is to be the block of Pine that contains everything from Kincora to The Cha Cha. Can’t we organize some kind of hipster/gay blockade??? Where are these people going to go to hangout anymore??? And who are these people moving in that are going to bore me to tears and brag about their money and block the streets with their expensive cars and bad manners?
I feel totally duped by this town. First they decide to ban smoking and now there’s the very distinct message that all “marginal” city-dwellers are unwelcome in their own home. Can’t we have at least protest?? Are we going to just let this happen and say it’s alright? My friends and I are already so distraught at the prospect, so I’m asking for some kind of help on the matter. At least write an article on these places and how they contribute to the culture of the town. And how the new condos with do NOTHING of the sort.
I’m so angry I can’t convey it in such a format. If we don’t pay attention to all the things we love here, they’ll be gone and replaced with nothing even close to similarly enriching.
Thanks in advance for your consideration. Help me out here. My whole neighborhood is at stake.
T. O. Y.
As a condo dweller (albeit one with a modest car and good manners) who values the socio-economic diversity of Capitol Hill, I wonder, can’t we have it both ways? Market-rate apartments and budget condos mixed with high-end housing? Dive bars and wine bars on the same block? Are the market forces such that the entirety of the central city will be characterless before long?
Devils advocate here:
1. Condos are environmentally friendly. We need more of them. 1 large condo can house the same number of people as many many acres of suburban mini-mansions carved out of forest or farmland. They also cut auto use and commuting (if the condo dwellers work in the city.)
2. Capitol Hill used to be a sleepy neighborhood inhabited by white-bread families. They must have moaned and complained about what was happening to the neighborhood as the hipsters moved in.