View Parks Opportunity Fund application sites in a larger mapClick on each marker to identify the siteTwo projects in North Beacon Hill, the Walker Street Park and Orchard and the North Beacon Hill Central Park, have scored in the top ten citywide among applications submitted for 2010 Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund grants, with the Walker Street Park achieving the status of “Staff recommended.” Eight North Beacon Hill projects were submitted in April to be considered for the grants. They were among 95 applications submitted city-wide, competing for $7 million in this funding cycle.
The Walker Street proposal is one of only 12 applications chosen as “staff recommended,” with the comment “Staff preference for funding in this neighborhood.” This does not guarantee that the proposal will be funded, but it is a good sign. All the other North Beacon projects, including the North Beacon Hill Central Park, are listed as “Lowest staff-ranked projects.” The Central Park is the highest-scoring project to be ranked as “lowest staff-ranked,” but the comments about it indicate some reasons for this: “Possible conflicts with Neighborhood Plan and City Council desire for increased density here.” Additionally, this would be a high-cost project, as would the Walker Street Park, and both are located in the same sector.
On Monday, June 28, the applicants have the opportunity to present their projects at the Levy Oversight Committee meeting. In September, there will be a public hearing on project prioritization and funding recommendations, and in January 2011, project funding recommendations will be given to the Mayor and City Council. The Council is expected to approve the recommendations in March, and the projects can begin implementation shortly afterward.
This is the structure that we built on Saturday down at Jose Rizal Park. At its center is the pond, then a ring of concrete blocks, then a band of salmon berries, then the corral of wood. It stands 4-5 feet high, and measures about 25 feet across and 3 feet thick. It incorporates only objects from the site.
When I do work like this, I have Andy Goldsworthy in mind. This is a multigenerational piece. The corral will be taken by the elements. The band will fill in quickly, protecting the pool from those of the canine persuasion while providing berries for birds and neighborhood pies. The ring will stabilize the pool, and should the pool become a sustainable pond, it can be stocked with the lowland Pacific tree frog. The drainage should work to prevent mosquitoes and other blood suckers, though a woman did comment today that it made her wonder if it would be used for sacrifices. People will play with it—repairs should be easy. It will be interactive—might make a nice bonfire, too.
There’s a shortage of mid-level brush to host songbirds in Seattle Parks and woodlands generally, so this installation will likely draw them. Dogs can’t get all muddy there anymore.
Besides building the corral, we also repaired the fence just east of it. Most of the wood came from a pile that was near the view area of the lower meadow, so that area now looks more open, too. We also improved the drainage in the meadow – that is a much bigger task. We had over 40 Seattle Works volunteers, plus five neighbors. I divided them into three teams—one of the pix shows about a third of the group.
All in all, a darn fun project. Check it out if you have a moment—looks medieval!
Alleycat Acres, a volunteer-driven urban farming collective is hosting a fundraiser tonight from 6:00 – 10:00 pm at Grey Gallery, 1512 11th Avenue on Capitol Hill. The suggested donation is $5-20 at the door.
Music for the event will be provided by DJ Colby B. and Brett Law, and there will be a raffle with prizes from local businesses. See more details at the website.
Beacon Hill P-Patch. Photo by Bridget Christian, in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.Roadside gardening in North Beacon Hill. Photo by Wendi.Alleycat Acres' harvest party last weekend. (Stay tuned for an article about it soon!) Photo by e pants via Creative Commons.
L to R: City Council members Richard Conlin and Mike O'Brien. Photos courtesy of Seattle City Council.City Council members Mike O’Brien and Richard Conlin will visit our neighborhood for a Walking Tour of North Beacon Hill on Thursday, June 3. Anyone interested is welcome to participate. Here’s the schedule:
4:30-5:30pm Walking Tour: meet at Beacon Hill Station (Beacon Avenue South and South Lander Street) at 4:30pm. The walk will go south on Beacon Avenue to Jefferson Park and back. The Council members will stop in for brief visits with business owners and residents along the way.
The Station, a new coffee shop, opened yesterday at 2533 16th Avenue South, just across from El Centro de la Raza and just north of Beacon Hill Station. The opening was celebrated with barbecue and a live DJ. The shop is small but comfortable, and is currently displaying paintings by Vanessa K. Wilken on the walls. Along with coffee, tea, and chocolate, The Station will also be carrying pastries from A Touch of Sweden.
Neighbors enjoy the grand opening. Photo by Wendi.The interior of The Station. Photo by Wendi.
A pizza the Bar del Corso folks made this weekend. Photo courtesy of Gina Tolentino.Next year, it looks like you’ll finally be able to get pizza on Beacon Hill. Jerry Corso and Gina Tolentino have signed a lease to open Bar del Corso on North Beacon Hill in early 2011. The Bar del Corso blog says:
“While we can’t say the exact address, we can say that it is in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Take our word for it, the location is great, and very accessible—the pizzeria would be right on a bus line and just a couple blocks from the Light Rail station. Plus there will be lots of on-street, unmetered parking.”
“On a bus line and just a couple blocks from the Light Rail station”—let the site speculation begin!
According to the blog, the restaurant will be “a 48-seat pizzeria and wine bar with traditional Italian fare,” featuring a wood-burning pizza oven and regional Italian wines. There will be counter and table seating, as well as outdoor seating during the summer. Dinner will be served Tuesday through Saturday.
Corso and Tolentino are seeking investors to help raise the last 1/3 of the funds needed to open the restaurant, and holding fundraising events. For more information, see the blog or contact them at info@bardelcorso.com.
(Editor’s note—The previous photo was a generic pizza photo. Gina from Bar del Corso sent us a picture of their own pizza to use, so we replaced the photo on May 24.)
On Tuesday, May 25, Sound Transit’s contractor, Obayashi Corporation, will close 25th Avenue South between South McClellan Street and South Hanford Street for final paving work. The closure is temporary and will be in place between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm. No detour is necessary; local access will be granted at all times, and signage and flaggers will be on-site to help drivers through the work zone.
If you have any construction-related concerns, please call the construction hotline at 1-888-298-2395.
Volunteers are needed on Saturday afternoon to help improve the Dr. Jose Rizal Park off-leash area. Craig Thompson writes with the details:
Saturday, May 22, a Seattle Works team will help construct a barricade around the wet spot downhill from the spigot in the Dr. Jose Rizal Park off-leash area. This is the fourth year in a row that a team has celebrated Seattle Works Day at the park.
We chose this project as we learned from several people that they don’t bring dogs to the OLA because of the wet spot—dogs roll in the mud, have to be washed, etc.
The event Saturday starts at noon and lasts till 4:00 pm, with setup beginning around 11:00 am. We have all tools we need, but we could use more people, as we’ll be moving a brush pile from the bench/view area to the wet spot. We’ll also be planting salmon berries within the barrier, as they’ll provide a natural barrier to the site once the brush decomposes in a few years, plus salmon berries are heavenly. There’s a huge party after the event—details and location are at the Seattle Works website.
Could this empty lot next to Beacon Hill Station become a parking lot? Photo by Wendi.The next meeting of the North Beacon Hill Council is Thursday, June 3 at 6:30 pm in the Beacon Hill Library meeting room, 2821 Beacon Avenue South. The meeting is starting 30 minutes earlier than usual, and the Friends of Lewis Park are providing pizza and enchiladas. As always, all are welcome to attend; you are part of the council when you attend your first meeting, and you have voting privileges when you attend your second.
A representative from the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will be at the meeting to discuss the possibility of allowing temporary surface parking lots near Link light rail stations.
Additionally, the council is seeking four new board members and will be voting on these positions at the meeting. Council Chairperson Judith Edwards writes:
It takes the entire community to make North Beacon the neighborhood we want to live, grow and thrive in. Many of your fellow neighbors are, and have been, serving on the Board of Directors for the North Beacon Hill Council, working to further your visions for our neighborhood. The council has openings for four new Board members. These positions are being created in order to help expand the board and increase its ability to serve the neighborhood in the many areas that are important to you.
What does a Board member do? Board members contribute to the community and our Community Council by being involved in an area that interests them. One of our members monitors and coordinates with the police on issues of Public Safety. We have board members who maintain governmental relationships and another that acts as Treasurer. We have a web guru, and another is currently looking over our bylaws, with an eye to revising that which is outdated. And then there are city committees which originated with the Neighborhood Planning process. They include housing close to the light rail station, a strong neighborhood commercial district, a vibrant Town Center—with El Centro as part of it, and a neighborhood with parks and open spaces that serve its diverse community.
So the question we have for you is, what would you like to contribute to your community? What is it that you want to see happen in our neighborhood? What is the special expertise you might lend the Board? Grant writing? Acting as Secretary? Being involved in bike/pedestrian activities? Parks development? Mixed use housing? Developing a Town Center? Helping to establish a business association? Music and the arts? Whatever your interest might be we want you!
We request that those interested in running please prepare a one paragraph bio sharing with us what you’re interested in, and what you might bring to the Board. Please submit the bio to Matthew Stubbs via email (Matthew.T.Stubbs@gmail.com) These bios will be compiled and presented to the Members at our June meeting, at which time the greater membership of the North Beacon Hill Council will vote on these new board seats.
