mSeattle
May 31, 2008, 3:44 AM
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20080530/450sodo_development_1.JPG
New vision for South downtown
City wants to squeeze more homes, businesses into Pioneer Square, International District
By ANGELA GALLOWAY
P-I REPORTER
Seattle planners unveiled their strategy Thursday for squeezing more homes and employers into some of the city's oldest and most culturally significant neighborhoods, including Pioneer Square and Chinatown.
The sweeping proposal of land-use and other policy changes seeks to make room for 6,000 new housing units and enough office space to support 16,000 additional jobs by 2030 in an area bureaucrats have dubbed "South Downtown," which includes Little Saigon east of Interstate 5 and the northern tip of Sodo near Qwest Field.
"It's a good place for growth, but it needs to be managed very sensitively," said Alan Justad, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development. "We're working hard to make that the keynote of this.
"It's also next to a major transit hub. So it's going to be a great place to live, in terms of getting to work and services."
Officials said the plan, more than two years in the works, would protect historic buildings and districts while giving developers more leeway to build taller, denser buildings in some communities, especially if they include housing, open space or public amenities in their plans.
City planners had considered numerous alternatives, four of which are spelled out in a final environmental impact statement also released Thursday by the Department of Planning and Development. In the end, they settled on one vision as a preferred option, which was described in the other report.
Mayor Greg Nickels is expected to propose legislation based on the planners' recommendations early next year, Justad said. The City Council would consider those changes. In the meantime, officials plan to hold an open house on the package next week.
Continue: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/365170_southdowntown30.html
New vision for South downtown
City wants to squeeze more homes, businesses into Pioneer Square, International District
By ANGELA GALLOWAY
P-I REPORTER
Seattle planners unveiled their strategy Thursday for squeezing more homes and employers into some of the city's oldest and most culturally significant neighborhoods, including Pioneer Square and Chinatown.
The sweeping proposal of land-use and other policy changes seeks to make room for 6,000 new housing units and enough office space to support 16,000 additional jobs by 2030 in an area bureaucrats have dubbed "South Downtown," which includes Little Saigon east of Interstate 5 and the northern tip of Sodo near Qwest Field.
"It's a good place for growth, but it needs to be managed very sensitively," said Alan Justad, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development. "We're working hard to make that the keynote of this.
"It's also next to a major transit hub. So it's going to be a great place to live, in terms of getting to work and services."
Officials said the plan, more than two years in the works, would protect historic buildings and districts while giving developers more leeway to build taller, denser buildings in some communities, especially if they include housing, open space or public amenities in their plans.
City planners had considered numerous alternatives, four of which are spelled out in a final environmental impact statement also released Thursday by the Department of Planning and Development. In the end, they settled on one vision as a preferred option, which was described in the other report.
Mayor Greg Nickels is expected to propose legislation based on the planners' recommendations early next year, Justad said. The City Council would consider those changes. In the meantime, officials plan to hold an open house on the package next week.
Continue: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/365170_southdowntown30.html