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Monday, December 1, 2008

City Save the Parking Lots!

Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 11:17 AM

TG asks in this comments thread...

Could you also inquire into how much longer we need a vacant lot parking lot where the cha cha/bimbos/bus stop/manray/kincoras used to be?

I would make inquiries if I were the inquiry-making type. I'm the ad-hominem-attack type. But all signs point to a long, long life for that vacant parking lot. We may not need that parking lot—we needed the Cha Cha, Bimbos, Bus Stop, Manray, Kincora's, and Pony. But we're going to be stuck with it. And by "all signs," I mean a flyer I got in the mail this weekend:

The Press Condos—formerly the Press Apartments—are across the street from that vacant parking lot. And they're apparently not selling too well, so the developers are auctioning them off. Bids start at $185,000 for condos that were originally priced above 400K. Seeing as there's not a lot of demand for condos across the street from that vacant parking lot, I don't think we're going to be seeing anything going up on that vacant parking lot anytime soon. There's more info about the auction over at Seattle Condo Blog.

Comments (14) RSS

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I will gladly pay 200K if I can make $500 monthly payments.

Posted by elswinger on December 1, 2008 at 11:41 AM

Man, those Press units were yuppie-and-guppie-full to the brim when they were apartments. None of the renters I knew were dumb enough to buy, though. Once the auction gavel falls, that sets an accurate but drastically lower market price on anybody who's got a mortgage there already. Ow ow ow.

Posted by tomasyalba on December 1, 2008 at 11:41 AM

parking lot indeed! and worse yet - i can barely look at the people all up and down Belmont Ave. with the signs pointing towards the *ahem* auction. the people always seem to look depressed and it just makes me give out a deep "ugh". hell, i miss rebelious jukebox!

Posted by k v z on December 1, 2008 at 11:42 AM

"luxury"!

bwaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahah

Posted by happy renter on December 1, 2008 at 11:50 AM

I for one welcome the looming economic depression and its gentrification-arresting superpowers.

Posted by kai on December 1, 2008 at 12:01 PM

On the Press "Neighborhood" page, they still list that the Bus Stop, Cha-Cha, Kincora, Manray are still in the neighborhood. How long have Aurafice and Green Papaya been gone? Coffee Messiah? And they forgot Club Seattle.

Posted by CommonKnowledge on December 1, 2008 at 12:01 PM

Wow, imagine getting a 900 square foot 2br for just $245k!

After you put your 50k down - you have got $50k handy, right? - that 30yr fixed mortgage payment should be about $1350... add in the $250/mo homeowners dues and you're at $1600.

Say, isn't that about what a new 2br apartment in Pike/Pine rents for?

No doubt that's how they determined the minimum bid amounts.

It'll be interesting to see what these places go for...

Posted by Eric Arrr on December 1, 2008 at 12:14 PM

Don't forget your taxes, Eric!

Posted by tomasyalba on December 1, 2008 at 12:31 PM

Build more bars, Seattle!

Posted by very bad homo on December 1, 2008 at 12:40 PM

Seattle needs more clean and safe places to live for under $1000 a month (for 1 bedroom). Those who work in Seattle for about $30k a year shouldn't be forced to ride the bus up to Everett or down to Federal Way where they can maybe afford to live.

Posted by elswinger on December 1, 2008 at 1:00 PM

Judging by the state of the economy, I'm guessing we have a minimum of two to three years to enjoy that parking lot...and here's hoping that the owner sells it to someone else and/or a new architect firm is hired to design a better suited and more attractive building that the piece of monolithic shit they were intending to put up...

Posted by michael strangeways on December 1, 2008 at 1:35 PM

Okay, Dan, then how's about applying your considerable "ad-hominem-attack skills" upon the heads of whomever would be responsible for the lack of any street lights whatsoever in that crosswalk at Pine & Summit. Since the former building went all flat and parking-lotty its been a black hole down there.

I've both almost hit a pedestrian and almost been hit (on foot) in that intersection many, many, MANY times since that building -- and its generous exterior lighting -- disappeared!

Posted by Timrrr on December 1, 2008 at 3:27 PM

I can see that parking lot from my apartment window. It's pretty nice. There's usually at least one or two cars parked there! Totally rad!

Posted by chrisf on December 1, 2008 at 3:40 PM

I just wanted to say that this:

"I would make inquiries if I were the inquiry-making type. I'm the ad-hominem-attack type."

Is a beautiful pair of sentences.

Posted by Jim on December 2, 2008 at 6:22 PM