This happy child plays at the Santos Rodriguez Memorial Park. Photo by Melissa Jonas in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool in Flickr.After extensive improvements to equipment and the addition of a covered picnic area, El Centro de la Raza opened the Santos Rodriguez Memorial Park playground to the public last summer. It’s been a hit with community members of all ages.
But wait, there’s more! Through the Parks and Green Spaces Opportunity Fund, the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department awarded El Centro an additional $350,000 to improve the park further.
To learn more and be part of the design process for the upcoming park improvements, attend the first public meeting about this project on November 15 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at El Centro de la Raza’s Salvador Allende room, Room 106. El Centro’s address is 2524 16th Ave. S. Find out more about the project at the project’s website, or read the meeting flyer.
Ofrenda artwork from last year's DÃa de los Muertos event at El Centro de la Raza. Photo by Leslie Seaton via Creative Commons.Tomorrow evening El Centro de la Raza presents their annual DÃa de los Muertos celebration and ofrenda (altar) exhibit. This year’s theme is “No Olvidado” (“Not Forgotten”), a tribute to those who have lost their lives crossing the Mexico/United States border.
The opening ceremony is tomorrow, November 1, with dinner at 5:30 and a reception ceremony at 6:30. Admission, dinner, and parking are free.
If you can’t attend the opening event, you can still visit the ofrenda exhibit from November 2-18 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and on Thursday from noon-8 p.m.
A sturdy tent is being constructed for fire trucks to park in during the seismic upgrades at Station 13. Photo by Melissa Jonas.There’s lots of construction happening on the hill right now. Work on Beacon Mountain has begun in Jefferson Park. Fire Station 13 is getting a fancy temporary parking structure for the fire trucks in preparation for construction work to make the building more stable during an earthquake. The temporary public pay lot at El Centro is being graded and drainage installed; the goal is for the lot to be completed within a month.
Each project is noteworthy in its own way, but all Beacon Hill toddlers and preschoolers need to know is: BIG TRUCKS! Lots of big trucks! Please allow extra time on your next outing to appreciate them. Construction of the Beacon Mountain Playground is underway. Photo by Melissa Jonas.
The last Beacon Rocks! of 2011 was yesterday at the newly dedicated Roberto Maestas Festival Street. Here are some images of the sunny Sunday event:
This tiny ukelele player stole the show as part of the Seattle Fandango Project. Photo by Wendi.Mayor Mike McGinn spoke during the dedication of Roberto Maestas Festival Street. Photo by Wendi.El Centro representatives with a display at Beacon Rocks! Photo by Wendi.Baby Sophie enjoys sidewalk chalk. Photo by Melissa Jonas.Continue reading Yesterday at Beacon Rocks!→
El Centro de la Raza is hosting their 6th Annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration next Thursday, May 5, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Activities will include children’s arts and crafts, traditional Mexican foods, arts and crafts from local vendors, a health and services fair, a desfile cultural/cultural dress fashion show, performances by the Seattle Fandango Project and Ameyaltonal Danza Azteca-Chichimeca, and more.
Admission to the celebration is free, but donations are welcomed.
Models are needed for the desfile cultural dress fashion show. If you’re interested in wearing a Mexican folkloric outfit for the celebration, contact Hilda Magaña at 206-957-4627 or at hmagana@elcentrodelaraza.org. No experience necessary.
Part of the Beacon Town Center concept plan as seen in the proposed Urban Design Framework.On Monday, April 11 the Seattle City Council approved Council Bill 117114. This bill moves the North Beacon Hill Neighborhood Plan Update “action plan and goals” into the Seattle Comprehensive Plan. (There’s other stuff in there, but this is only a summary of changes relating to Beacon Hill. Read it; it’s interesting. Really.)
Maintain the remainder of parcels and storefronts north and south of the immediate station area along Beacon Ave. S. for new and small businesses.
Rezone key opportunity sites to encourage redevelopment of parcels around the light rail station in a manner that incorporates housing, commercial services (such as a grocery store and small businesses) and amenities.
Evaluate a height increase within the Town Center for some but not all properties that have a current height limit of 40 feet, allowing up to 65 feet with required street and upper level setbacks.
Where land use changes are considered, give particular attention to zone transitions.
Change the land use and zoning to support the envisioned mixed use development on the El Centro site.
Develop neighborhood design guidelines and an urban design framework plan for the North Beacon Hill station area. Framework elements could include building height options, incentive features such as affordable housing, open space, and pedestrian connections.
El Centro de la Raza is one of the sites hosting the tenth annual Comcast Cares Day on Saturday, April 30. 300+ volunteers will come together for a variety of team projects to help improve El Centro’s facility and grounds. Projects will include active work such as landscaping, prepping and painting, installation of safety lights and cameras, and window washing, along with desk projects such as design, data entry, and more. Any amount of time you can volunteer is welcome.
Work can start as early as 7 a.m. on the 30th, and Comcast will provide lunch. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please contact Kendehl Corley by email at volunteer@elcentrodelaraza.org, or at 206-957-4602. Please RSVP by April 15.
The El Centro de la Raza parking lot is a step closer to existence. On March 21, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that allows parking lots of up to 100 spaces as interim uses on sites “occupied or owned by established institutions within a quarter mile of a light rail station, including the North Beacon Hill light rail station.” Earlier proposed versions of the ordinance limited all lots to 40 spaces.
“Parking, especially at places like El Centro de la Raza on Beacon Hill, will serve as a handy resource for game day fans.”
El Centro has expressed an intent to put 80 parking spaces on the lot directly south of their building, which is located across South Lander Street from Beacon Hill Station.
The ordinance also allows parking lots of up to 40 spaces on other properties within Southeast Seattle station areas, however, this part of the ordinance excludes the Beacon Hill station area.
The City Council’s press release on the ordinance quotes Councilmember Sally J. Clark: “We want to see these lifeless, empty parking spaces serve a use, at least until the economy rebounds. Allowing longer-term parking, particularly at places like El Centro de la Raza on Beacon Hill, will serve as a handy resource for game-day fans hoping to avoid parking around Safeco Field or Qwest Field.”
The ordinance will not allow permanent parking lots; permits for the lots will expire after three years.
It’s been a while since we posted Beacon Bits, so we’ve got some catching up to do. With no further ado, here goes!
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Beacon Hill International Elementary School will have a new principal in the fall of 2011. The current principal, Dr. Susie Murphy, is retiring and will be replaced by Kelly Aramaki, currently the principal at John Stanford International School (JSIS). While at JSIS last year, Aramaki won the $25,000 Milken Educator Award, given to promising young educators. (See this article by BHB news partners The Seattle Times for more information.) For the last two years, JSIS was named as a “School of Distinction” by the State Office of the Superintendent, an honor to mark schools that score in the top five percent on standardized math and reading tests.
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Bounce your way down to Jefferson Community Center on Friday, April 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for Bounce Fest! The event promises a family fun event with bounce toys, jumping games, double dutch and more. Admission is $2 per child. Jefferson Community Center is located at 3801 Beacon Avenue South.
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Speaking of festivals, plan ahead for El Centro de la Raza’s Sixth Annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration, to be held on Thursday, May 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at El Centro, 2524 16th Avenue South. The event will include traditional Mexican foods for sale, children’s activities, arts and crafts from local vendors, a health and services fair, and dance and musical performances. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. For more information, call 206-957-4649 or email events@elcentrodelaraza.org.
Beacon Hill artists are among those participating in Artists For Japan, an art sale to benefit relief efforts in Japan. The sale is on Saturday, March 26 from 12 noon to 8 p.m., and again on Sunday, March 27 from 12 noon until 5 p.m. All artwork has been donated, no commissions are being paid, and all event costs are donated. All funds raised will be donated directly to the International Red Cross.
For more information including a list of participating artists, see the website. (Thanks to Beacon Hill artist Elizabeth Jameson for sending us the heads-up on this one, and for helping to organize the event.)
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Your opinions are wanted! Seattle Parks and Recreation is planning for the future by updating the Parks and Recreation Development Plan. Part of this process is identifying what should be prioritized, with the input of park users. To do this, the department is holding meetings, and hosting an online survey to get your opinions.
Mea culpa, we missed that there was a meeting right here on Beacon Hill on Wednesday. But there is another, in the North End, next Wednesday evening at Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Avenue North. For more information about the meeting and an overview of the process, see the website.
El Centro de la Raza is offering Spanish classes again from April 12 until June 9. Classes are taught by professional native Spanish speakers in an
interactive community-based setting. Class fee is $300, and class sessions will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. For information, call 206-957-4605 or email execasst@elcentrodelaraza.org.
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Last, a nice and neighborly story from Jessica De Barros we’ve been meaning to post since last month:
Just wanted to share a good BH neighbor story—this morning I accidentally left my bank card in the BofA cash machine on Beacon Ave, and returned from a long day of skiing to a Facebook message from John at Kabayan Karinderya (the Filipino restaurant across from Valero) that he’d found my card. I was able to walk just a few blocks to get it from a good neighbor! Kudos to John and Kabayan Karinderya for being such great BH neighbors.
The Beaconettes prepare to board Link for the Light Rail/Dark Rail performance on Saturday, March 5. Photo by Dan Bennett in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Earlier this week the City Council approvedOpportunity Fund grants for two Beacon Hill parks, Lewis Park and the Santos Rodriguez Memorial Park (El Centro de la Raza Play Area). The grants were awarded for the amounts recommended earlier by the Levy Citizens Oversight Committee: Lewis Park was awarded $260,000 for reforestation, and Santos Rodriguez Memorial Park was awarded $350,000 for improvements to revitalize the park and increase public awareness and access to the park space.
Previous BHB posts about this round of Opportunity Fund applications are here.
