Site Report #4: Past, Present, and Future by Loren Pickard
When analyzing what the future of my block might look like, I looked at the 2015 University District Parks Plan, and the 2013 University District Residential Market Analysis. It was interesting to look at the documents to see what the actual plan is for my block and what is set to happen, and then the analysis of why Heartland, a real estate analysis firm, thinks these plans are a bad idea. Today, my block is in an industrial zone, which is seen as hardly any of my block has residential housing on it. According to the Parks Plan, which was written in part by Seattle Parks and Recreation (meaning there is a bias toward keeping parks), says there is no land slated toward recreational use in the new U District plan that just got passed (University District Partnership, 4). The plan is geared toward development instead of preservation, and that is due to its stake holders. The Residential Market Analysis makes the point that most of U District residents are students or young professionals, who tend not to care much about parks.
I find this interesting when looking at my block because on the north west corner of my block there is an empty parking lot. That empty parking lot could easily be turned into a park, but none of the residents are pushing for this, so it is unlikely to happen. The priorities for this new plan are geared to development and industrializing the area as compared to preserving it and keeping nature intact, which is interesting since "connection to nature" is one of the U Districts community values, as seen with the image on the left.
The plan that just got passed, is to allow buildings up to 320 feet below 50th street, in the U District area. This has a direct effect on my block as it is just below that 50th street boundary, in this new area that has been upzoned. The hope is to absorb more residents and jobs, but critics are not so pleased with the idea. The Residential Market Analysis makes the point that "Changing zoning to add high rise development opportunities is not likely to be an effective near steategy to attract a wider demographic range of residents or unit sizes to the U District” (Heartland, 8). Granted, this concern was voiced in 2013, but the Seattle Times said in 2017 as the plan was approved, that there will be a requirement for developers to include affordable housing as well (Beekman). Although, no matter how much they try to include affordable housing, the rent in the area will continue to go up, as seen with the chart to the left, so eventually they will be priced out of the area anyways.
Another thing that came to mind when looking at the development of my block, was Professor O'Maras article on tech, and how that might apply to the greater urban trend that is tech. While her article talked about campus life as it applies to tech, I think her point about what makes tech succesful can apply to my block and another reason besides UW, that it got developed so quickly. O'Mara stated that what makes tech successful "is that it has consistently drawn so many people with different skill sets into a geographically concentrated area" (O'Mara, 12). It is impossible to ignore the fact that Seattle is a hub for tech and it truly is an area with many different people of different skill sets. Since tech is so successful, people are drawn to the area and we need to make room for them. This being said, I understand why this upzoning got approved.
When looking at the history of my block, I think it is clear that my block gets beaten up and used for whatever is needed at the moment without much regard for the impact it might have on my block. An example of this is the changing of retail, the abandoned shops not taken care of, empty abandoned parking lots, etc. Unfortunately, the integrity of my block does not seem to be kept in tact and I see that pattern continuing with this new up-zone. When the loggers needed the land, they just blew over it and developed it as need be. The same thing happened when UW and the World’s Fair came into the area. There are not enough parks in the area and too much development and that trend will likely continue. It would be nice if developers could take into account the fact that this is a beautiful area with a lot of natural beauty to offer. Im sure all of these students and young professionals couldn't care less about having a park near by right now, but once all of the parks are gone and they are surrounded by concrete, they will miss the grass and the trees.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel in the fact that this is no ordinary university and UW studetns are no ordinary students. UW is a very environmentally conscious campus as is the Pacific Northwest in general. I hope that an ideally student-centered U District will mean the students will fight for more green spaces, as well as space for public transportation and green buildings. I hope developers take into account that we are students and if they are creating a place tailored to its major stakeholders (us: students), they should have lower priced income and more natural aspects to the area. Now all thats left is to wait and see what happens to my block, and to the U District in general.