Vanessa Ho over at the Seattle P-I ran a story yesterday about the Festering Pits of Seattle (not titled as such, but perhaps it ought to be). Seems Wallingford is not alone in its despair over abandoned construction projects, and the city is considering legislation to encourage developers with stalled projects, such as we have at the corner of 40th and Stone Way, to do something more constructive while they wait.
Should such an idea come to pass, we would like offer our list of suggestions for the developers on how they could put the space to use while they wait for the opportunity to Ballardize our neighborhood:
- Giant swimming pool
- Skate park
- P-Patch
- Farmer’s market
- Monorail station
- Tower, whose top may reach unto Heaven
- Pretty much anything except a Festering Pit
Other ideas?
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Picnic spot with some food carts and a beer garden.
yeah i agree w/anonymous…. we definitely need to catch up to portland in the food-cart arena!
I don’t think Vanessa’s thesis that these pits are each a “construction carcass that began as a developer’s dream and died in the recession” applies to OUR festering pit, which predated the current recession by several years.
Dog park! It’s already fenced and you don’t Have to have grass necessarily.
Let’s make it a midden! We can just throw all our trash there as a valuable find for future archeologists.
The Wallingford site is a hole because the neighborhood around it fought QFC to a standstill over it. The current recession has not helped, but it is a bit ironic.
Wait, the neighbors fought replacing that old skanky Safeway?
What part are you leaving out because that seems kind of dumb.
I have imagined looking down into a huge party with lights strung along the perimeter. From the top, I could look for my friends and scan the crowd for who I want to meet along the way.
i second ryans idea for a dog park!! preferably with tunnels and dirt to bury treasure in
How about allowing the mobile food trucks to park there? Make it a rotating one so we get diversity of food.
Let’s buy it and organize to fundraise and proudly donate and engage local talent to design and build a community center with a skateboard park and a P-Patch and a swimming pool and a dog playground and a weekly farmer’s market a sound stage and workshop space and affordable rentable living spaces all in green buildings in a forested, blooming park-like setting. Why not? Call me a dreamer but I’m not the only one . . .
It would help to put the #16 Metro bus back along Wallingford Avenue N on its way to there.
Declare it a lawless pit where the disgruntled and disenfranchised Wally residents can battle each other with no restrictions. Put up some cheap bleachers and we all have a new hobby by Wednesday.
Sounds like the developers want to hoard their festering pits until the credit fairy gives them more money. So annoying.
We live around the corner from the old Safeway pit. I’d love to see a p-patch, park, or farmer’s market, but I wonder if it’s too close to Stone Way for that to be viable. Really, even a parking lot would be preferable to its current state. Something.
And thanks for reminding me to be outraged about that empty lot in Ballard. They fought to tear down that cute, kitschy old Denny’s and now…nothing. So frustrating.
Well, Sparky has it right. There is enough room to havemore than one activity and also have parking. As it is it attracts garbage; intruders; becomes covered in graffiti and is an eyesore.
does anyone have a phone number we can begin calling?
I will say that someone is still paying upkeep as all the graffiti which covered the east wall has been carfeully removed.
Seems a little deep for a P-Patch (plus, you’d have to break up the foundation to allow for water to drain, wouldn’t you?)
Perhaps it could be the hanger for the Wallingford Blimp that was proposed in a separate Wallyhood post. (That, or go with Alex’s idea.)