As Seattle grapples with a housing affordability disaster and watches small manufacturing companies flee as a consequence of lack of reasonably priced business house, now we have a chance earlier than us that addresses each challenges directly.
My legislation, quickly to be voted on by the Metropolis Council, will enable development of workforce housing and reasonably priced workspaces for Seattle’s small manufacturing companies, generate living-wage union jobs and enhance public security in a two-block stretch of the Stadium District simply south of T-Cellular Park. This proposal, backed by a broad coalition of reasonably priced housing suppliers; labor; native small companies; and neighborhood teams deserves public assist and council approval based mostly on info, not concern.
Identical to the brand new downtown waterfront park, this can be a once-in-a-lifetime alternative to rework an underutilized space right into a “Stadium Makers’ District” the place individuals can stay, work and go to year-round, all whereas guaranteeing our maritime industrial sector maintains Seattle as a global hub for commerce and financial vitality.
Opponents declare housing on this space would intrude with the Port of Seattle’s operations by means of elevated vehicular visitors. Some have even referred to the proposed housing as an “existential risk” to jobs. However let’s take a look at the info:
● When the Sodo space was rezoned in 2023, the Environmental Impression Assertion concluded that as much as 990 items of housing wouldn’t negatively affect freight mobility, which is why the Most popular Various beneficial housing within the Stadium District.
● The world already accommodates 5 million guests yearly for stadium occasions. The visitors from this modest housing improvement pales as compared.
● A resort is already deliberate for First Avenue South and Royal Brougham Approach with the Port’s settlement. Present zoning permits business and workplace improvement that generates extra visitors than housing, with out Port objection.
● The 2023 rezone permits 160-foot towers in Sodo’s new Trade and Innovation zone, bringing vital commuter journeys — with out Port objection. And the Port itself is courting a Terminal 46 operator for cargo and cruise ships that will add substantial vehicular and pedestrian visitors.
● Terminal 46 has seen minimal cargo exercise for 5 years. Most cargo accesses Terminal 5 through Spokane Avenue and West Marginal Approach — not First Avenue South or Occidental Avenue South, the place the housing can be.
● Agricultural merchandise from Jap Washington don’t journey down these streets both. They attain Terminal 5 through different routes, whereas grain heads north on Interstate 5 to Terminal 86.
● Infrastructure enhancements at Terminal 5 are anticipated to improve cargo volumes and assist extra Longshore jobs, not fewer.
The Port claims the proposed housing space charges lowest on the town’s Access to Opportunity Index. That is false. The Stadium District has a average score, whereas Georgetown — the place the Port agreed to housing on industrial land in 2023 — has a low score.
Concerning geological hazards: A lot of Sodo, Pioneer Sq. and elements of downtown are vulnerable to liquefaction in a significant earthquake. The EIS notes that new improvement is constructive, as new buildings can be constructed to trendy seismic requirements.
Given these info, the arguments in opposition to housing within the Stadium District don’t appear to carry water. If the issues about job loss had been legitimate, why would 22 union locals representing 173,000 members assist this proposal? Why would Seattle Made’s 700 small manufacturing companies again it?
If the Stadium District weren’t applicable for housing, why would over 200 reasonably priced housing suppliers advocate for this modification? And why would the Pioneer Sq. and Chinatown Worldwide District neighborhood associations and the 2 public stadium authorities clamor for the elevated activation and security housing would convey?
As Financial Growth chair and a longtime Port supporter, I’d not advance laws that will negatively affect our maritime industrial economic system. After thorough consideration, I discover the proof clear: The Stadium Makers’ District represents a wise path ahead.
This proposal will create privately developed workforce housing with a 75-year affordability requirement (at 60%-90% of space median revenue, which in Seattle is $121,000) and supply workspace for struggling small producers — constructed and maintained with 100% unionized labor — with out compromising Port operations or industrial jobs and without charge to the town.
The Stadium Makers’ District is the appropriate answer for Seattle’s employees, low-income residents, small companies and our metropolis’s evolving future. CB 120933 is scheduled for a full council vote at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. It deserves assist based mostly on these info, not unfounded fears.
