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Alex on Mar 27th 2013 Uncategorized

Capitol Hill EcoDistrict Bike Tour

Wednesday, March 27th, 2013

How can the Capitol Hill Eco-District promote healthy living and active transportation? What better way to learn about the myriad efforts underway than from the saddle of your trusty metal steed. The Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, Cascadia Green Building Council, and Cascade Bicycle Club are partnering for the third ramp-up event to the Living Future UnConference ’13 with a bike tour of the district. Leaders from the Capitol Hill and Squire Park communities will highlight just a few of the great efforts underway to address healthy living, walking and biking as part of an integrated, district-scale environmental performance approach. 12th Avenue is the first stop featuring our own Ann Schuessler. Free registration and links to more information available here.

Tour Stops, Topics and Speakers
Start at 11th Ave and E Pike St – Sam’s Tavern

Stop 1: 12th Ave and Marion St
Topic: The importance of design and use for creating a great walking environment
Speaker: Ann Schuessler, Chair of the 12th Avenue Stewards

Stop 2: 18th Ave between Jefferson and Cherry Streets
Topic: Neighborhood Greenways, safe streets for people age 8 to 80 to walk and bike
Speaker: Merlin Rainwater, Central Seattle Greenways

Stop 3: Denny Way and 16th Ave
Topic: Group Health Capitol Hill Walk and Talk Program
Speaker: Daniel Nygaard, Group Health Cooperative

Stop 4: Denny Way and Broadway
Topic: Broadway Cycle Track
Speaker: Ethan Melone, Rail Transit Manager, SDOT

Stop 5: 11th Ave and Pike St
Topic: 11th Avenue Green Street and Pike Pine Conservation Overlay
Speaker: Lesley Bain, Principal, Weinstein Architects and Urban Designers

The bike tour will finish at a happy hour open to all. Dr. Howard Frumkin, dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health, will join the happy hour to lead a discussion about the relationships between design and health.

Registration (free) required for the bike tour. The bike tour meets at Sam’s Tavern at 4 PM and will tour until 5 PM. The tour will end at Sam’s Tavern.
Happy hour begins at 5 PM, no registration is required.

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Alex on Feb 27th 2013 Uncategorized

February 2013 Meeting Notes

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

12th Avenue Stewards: February 2013 Meeting Notes

DATE and TIME: Tuesday, February 12, 2012 – 5:30-7pm

Meeting notes:
Community Projects and Grant Updates 5:30 to 5:45
Cloud Art Grants:
• The public art for the 12th Avenue Sqaure park is $70,000 over budget due to needs for a crane and suspension cables.
• Application to a neighborhood funding grant to get some assistance.
• Also going to apply for another neighborhood matching grant.
• Seattle University gave $150,000 to the development of the park because of the vacation of alley adjacent to the property.
• Next meeting to be “trained” for receiving the grant is February 21st at 6pm at the Alijoya Senior Center in Northgate (address: ). Ann can attend.

Neighborhood Street Fund Application:
• Submitted grant request to neighborhood district council to paint crosswalks and create parklets
• Were rejected for next step
• Café Presse owners supportive of idea
• Questions were: who pays for the development, maintenance, and
• What is the process for getting a parklet? Need to talk to SDOT
• What about other locations? Further south or north of the 12th/Madison/Union/ intersection; What about a location not associated with a specific business
• For the business that has the Parklet in front of it, the parklet would draw customers and people
• Have a meeting to discuss further options

Changes to 12th Avenue websites
• Please check out the 12th Avenue website (and blog) and Facebook page
• Like us on Facebook if you haven’t yet!

Von Trapp Development and Sidewalks:
• Can same pedestrian scale lights and trees go in front of Von Trapps?
• Have not been successful yet in getting a response from owners
• Could a matching neighborhood grant be used to help with the planting and light costs?
• We want to approach the owners about this, but want to do it in a way that is constructive and doesn’t turn them off from wanting to work with us in the future
SAAS Campus Consolidation Communication 5:45 to 5:55
• Creating a list of questions to ask about the plans
• Ask for interested parties to attend a meeting to create a list of questions
• Bill will follow up with some individual residents, Alex will send out a general e-mail

DON Small & Simple Grant 5:55 to 6:10
Restarting the process of applying for a Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple grant:
• A review of what happened during the last round of funding
• A review of the timeline for the current round of funding
• Requests for those who wish to work on proposal for next round
• Possible projects for the upcoming grant to fund would be woonerf planning and 12th Ave Square Park art installation. However, it’s not too late to come up with an alternative project.
Board Elections 6:10 to 6:25
• Tom is willing to continue to be secretary
• Bill is willing to continue as Vice President
• Ann is willing to be President
• No others expressed interest in the officer positions
• Other audience members expressed interest in being regular board members
• Several 2012 board members could not attend the meeting, but are interested in continuing on the board
• The board roster will be finalized at the board retreat March 23
• Non-board members are also welcome to attend the retreat
Neighborhood Engagement Process for King County Redevelopment 6:25 to 7:00
• Presenting: Jim Burt
• Attending: Judge Michael Tricky,
• Working with public artist (whale fin sculpture) to determine what will happen with that piece of art and the space itself, whether it can be moved
• Need to get land use permits to determine zoning through either a contract rezone or text amendment
• One part of property is zoned to 65, but rest is L3, so greater height limits would be needed
• Courthouse itself may need to be higher than 65 feet
• The west side will generally be taller than the east side
• The County has safety concerns about sharing facility parking with residents, though they might be willing to share with customers of retail businesses
• Parking won’t be underground because the cost would be too high and the ability to expand the garage would be limited
• Ground floor would be residential on14th and retail on 12th
• Consultants for next phase will be KND Justice and Carter Global Lee
• County staff have met with Councilmember McDermott and will meet with Councilmember Gossett and the Executive’s Office to establish who will be on the neighborhood stakeholders group – this is different from previous comments, which asked for people interested in being on the neighborhood stakeholders group to step forward. They expect to include existing neighborhood organizations and residents adjacent to the facility.
• The County is open to having someone from the Stewards present on the history of neighborhood advocacy and community involvement around redevelopment at this facility. Lara volunteered to speak. Bill volunteered to help put together historical information.
• The project oversight committee is now chaired by Councilmember Lambert and includes superior court judges, Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett, the Budget Director, Prosecutor’s Office and Criminal Justice Department.
• First public meeting will be March 16, 10:30am to 1:30pm
• Tentative date for following public meeting is April 27
o 3 additional courthouses
o 154 detention center dorms
o 440 stalls of parking
o 400 to 500 units of housing
o Alder street will be opened
• See the website for more details

Other subjects (shared at end of meeting)
• 12th Ave Banners that advertise an event
• Broadcast the upcoming event on the Facebook page and website
• Seattle University sign in skyway (cited as a violation)
• A great Photo show currently up at Northwest Film Center

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Alex on Aug 7th 2012 12th Avenue Initiative,Small Business,Special Events

The 12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival Needs You!

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

The 3rd Annual 12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival is coming up this Sunday, August 12, from 11am to 5pm.  The Festival is a free street fair on 12th Ave between Pike and Union organized by Capitol Hill Housing with help from the local small business community.  The Festival includes 40 booths full of local businesses and nonprofits along with a small music stage and a variety of activities.  Last year we had about 3,000 people attend.

Neighbors, we need your help to make the Festival a success.  We need volunteers to help with set up and take down, to greet Festival attendees, and to keep a count of the crowd (look below for time and task specifics).  Each 2 hour shift earns you a free meal ticket to use with any festival food vendor, and you will also be automatically entered into our raffle to win gift certificates to local businesses (see list of food and other vendors here).  It’s also just a great opportunity to meet other people from the neighborhood and listen to the sweet bands, that Neumo’s lined up.

If you’re interested, please email me at abrennan(at)capitolhillhousing(dot)org with the shift(s) you’d like to work and any special needs or limitations you may have.  I hope you can join me and the rest of the 12th Ave Neighborhood Festival volunteer team!

- Alex Brennan, Sustainable Communities Manager
Capitol Hill Housing

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1st shift – 9am to 11am (6 volunteers)

  • Table and chair set up for 40 booths
  • Balloon and banner set up for both entrances
  • Electricity and handwashing station set up

2nd shift – 11am to 2pm (12 volunteers)

  • Keep fire lanes open and unoccupied by vehicles
  • Greet, hand out materials, and count attendees at welcoming tables
  • Stand by waste bins and educate attendees about composting and recycling

3rd shift – 2pm to 5pm (12 volunteers)

  • Keep fire lanes open and unoccupied by vehicles
  • Greet, hand out materials, and count attendees at welcoming tables
  • Stand by waste bins and educate attendees about composting and recycling

4th shift – 5pm to 7pm (10 volunteers)

  • Tables and chair take down for 40 booths
  • Balloon and banner take down for both entrances
  • Electricity and handwashing station takedown
  • Work with Cleanscapes to verify and sort waste from compost, recycling, and trash bins (these volunteers will get extra benefits – contact Alex for details)

We ask that all volunteers report in 15 minutes before their shift starts in order to facilitate easy shift changes and to guarantee time for a short volunteer orientation.  Volunteers will be provided with water and snacks (along with a free meal ticket) during their shift.

 

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Alex on Mar 23rd 2012 12th Avenue Initiative,Clean and Safe,Neighborhood Groups,Special Events

Help us clean up 12th Avenue!

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Capitol Hill Housing is working with the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce to plan cleanup work on 12th Avenue as part of The Clean Sweep. The Clean Sweep, a neighborhood street clean that covers Broadway and 12th Avenue, is on Saturday, May 12th from 10am to noon.  Volunteers (that means you!) are invited to gather at Cal Anderson Park at 10am for a pre-clean up breakfast and inspiring speeches from local elected officials.  Everyone will get equipped to clean, put together in teams (you’re welcome to create your own), and sent out to clean up areas. After a few hours hard work, volunteers will gather back at Cal Anderson Park for lunch and musical entertainment.

If you’d like to help us spruce up the 12th Avenue neighborhood, please RSVP with Jennifer Power, Sustainable Communities Assistant, at jpower(at)capitolhillhousing.org.

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Alex on Mar 3rd 2012 Uncategorized

The Rebirth of Sustainable Capitol Hill

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

After a year of hibernation, Sustainable Capitol Hill is back with a string of Spring meetings focusing on food and the environment.  At the first of these meetings Capitol Hill Housing will give an introduction to our organization and then plunge into a workshop on sustainability and the connections between food systems, stormwater infrastructure, and urban gardening.  The workshop comes thanks to research CHH has done as part of our EcoDistrict Initiative.  Stay tuned for announcements about the release of our EcoDistrict report later this Spring.

The March meeting is just around the corner (Monday).  Details and facebook sign up below.

—

We’ll start at 6:30pm with a potluck and continue with
the meeting at 7pm.

Hope to see you there!

Sustainable Capitol Hill March Meeting

Monday, March 5
6:30p Potluck

7:00p CHH & EcoDistrict Presentation

At Bluebird Microcreamery

1205 E Pike St., Suite 1A

Second Floor Meeting Room

RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/175327292582826/

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Alex on Dec 9th 2011 Seattle University,Small Business

SU’s Small Business Institute Offers Low & No-Cost Small Business & Non-Profit Analysis

Friday, December 9th, 2011

For the past 35 years, Seattle University’s Small Business Institute (SBI) program has provided free and low cost consulting services to over 2,000 small businesses and nonprofits.  This winter quarter, SU professor and SBI Director Dr. Harriet Stephenson will be teaching two undergraduate classes of students who will provide an overall analysis for businesses and nonprofits. This analysis consists of:

  1. defining the business and its mission
  2. establishing goals or where you want the business to be a year and five years from now including revenue and profit goals
  3. assessing where the business is now–strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats; which usually includes marketing research to help identify target market(s), develop an appropriate Internet strategy, and construct a rudimentary marketing plan
  4. performing cash flow projections and a pro forma P&L and balance sheet for one year
  5. recommendations for action to help achieve those projections and goals

The analysis is a ten-week project which coincides with the academic quarter. Each business is assigned a team of 2-5 students, who invest 70-120 hours each to the project of the course of the quarter. The owner or executive director of the organization receiving consulting services is expected to invest an average of 20 hours during the quarter meeting with their student team. Organizations with an annual income/sales/revenue of $300,000 or more and startups with a projected first year sales of $300,000 or more will be asked to pay a $500 administrative fee. Any business whose revenue falls under $300,000 will not be charged.

Organizations will be considered for the program if they 1) have 1-50 employees, 2) are willing to have their student consultant team review their prior financials (such as P&L statements and balance sheets), and 3) register online before the program begins on January 4th – the sooner the better.  If you think a comprehensive small business analysis would benefit your organization, sign up today!

 

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Alex on Aug 12th 2011 12th Avenue Initiative,Small Business,Special Events

12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival returns to Capitol Hill this Sunday!

Friday, August 12th, 2011

WHEN: August 14, 2011 from Noon – 6:00 p.m (This Sunday!)

WHERE: 12th Avenue, between E. Madison & E. Pike on Seattle’s Capitol Hill

COST: Free.  All food priced at $5.00 or less

CAPITOL HILL, SEATTLE –   Bring the family and experience Pike/Pine’s 12thAvenue in its second annual neighborhood street festival.  Enjoy performances from local artists and taste small plates from Seattle’s most eclectic mix of local restaurants – priced at $5 and under!  Building on last year’s successful debut, the 12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival returns on Sunday, August 14th.  Closing 12th Avenue to vehicles between E. Pike and E. Madison Streets, the pedestrian-friendly celebration showcases the best of the neighborhood.

Stroll down restaurant row and discover favorite dishes from 12th Avenue and nearby eateries such as Poquitos, Lark, Plum, Café Presse, Osteria La Spiga, Caffe Vita, Barrio, Zobel Ethiopian Restaurant, High 5 Pie, Caffe Pettirosso, Bluebird Microcreamery, Molly Moon Ice Cream, Poquitos, Ambassel Ethiopian Restaurant, Skillet, The Local Vine, Tavern Law, Kokeb, Via Tribunali, and Boom Noodle.

Shop local by visiting neighborhood retailers at the festival such as Sweatbox Yoga, Health First Chiropractic, Retail Therapy, Porchlight Records, Doghouse Leathers, 14th Avenue Hair, Bootyland, Barre3, Zipcar, Broadway Veterinary Hospital, Oola Distillery, Acupuncture Associates and Wellness Group, Golden Fish Bodyworks, Anchor Bodyworks, Swedish Medical Center, and Gilt City.

Find out more about 12th Avenue nonprofits and community organizations at the info booths of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, Capitol Hill Community Council, Washington Bus, the Greater Seattle Business Association, GLSEN Washington State, 3 Dollar Bill Cinema, Seattle Out and Proud, Lifelong AIDS Alliance and Capitol Hill Housing.

“In the spirit of the Italian holiday Ferragosto, 12th Avenue restaurants and retailers will showcase their goods and services in a celebration of community, friendship and entertainment,” stated Sabrina Tinsley, co-owner of Osteria La Spiga.

The festival is the signature event of the 12th Avenue Initiative, a neighborhood plan working with businesses, residents and local institutions to strengthen the 12th Avenue Community.

For more information, or to get involved with the festival, contact Alex Brennan at (206) 204-3832 or abrennan@capitolhillhousing.org.  The 12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival is produced by the Capitol Hill Housing Foundation.

12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival Sponsors: Seattle University, Swedish Medical Center, Capitol Hill Housing Foundation, Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, DEI Creative, Cleanscapes, Dunn & Hobbes, The Douglas Building at Seattle University, Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, CapitolHillSeattle.com, Central District News.com, Seattle Gay News, Caffe Vita, La Spiga, Via Tribunali, & Zipcar.

Contact: Alex Brennan

Phone: (206) 204-3832
abrennan@capitolhillhousing.org
www.12thaveseattle.com

ABOUT CAPITOL HILL HOUSING: Capitol Hill Housing provides affordable housing and leads community development efforts— helping families, immigrants and the recently homeless.  Based in Capitol Hill, we have properties in nine Seattle neighborhoods.  Since 1976, we have served low and moderate income residents and worked to improve the Capitol Hill neighborhood for all.

CHH helps people of limited means have a home. We provide a secure, affordable home to more than 1,600 people each night, including hundreds of children.  We place a special focus on affordable housing for families.  In neighborhoods where two and three bedroom homes are rare, CHH works to develop new large apartments.

Our Community Development work focuses on transit oriented development, preservation of historic buildings, creating walkable neighborhood, running the 12th Avenue Initiative and  supporting a thriving commerical district on Capitol Hill.  We strive to impact specific households we serve as well as the entire community.

CHH currently owns and operates 42 buildings across Seattle, including historic Seattle apartments and new, award-winning projects.  We are proud to develop buildings in a community context and provide affordable homes that strengthen the neighborhoods we live in.

 

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