Massive New Drug Presence At Broadway & Pine
No longer do harried Capitol Hill denizens have to brave the typically non-working escalator to get to Bartell's above the QFC, a block south. A Walgreens is the "Now Open" tenant of the first-floor retail space in the 44-unit apartment complex Broadway Crossing at Broadway and Pine, across the street from Seattle Central Community College.
Yes, apartments, not condominiums. Broadway Crossing is a Capitol Hill Housing project, a tax credit-financed property for renters earning from 30% to 60% of local median income. (Fine print: Full-time students are not eligible. Section 8 vouchers are welcome.) What that amounts to is studio apartments (420 sq. ft.) for about $475, one bedrooms (580 sq. ft.) for $620 - $660, and two bedrooms (785 sq. ft.) up to $740. Plus, you get the free internet. No digital divide for CHHIP!
Why is CHHIP so crazy? Well, they're a nonprofit. It's their mission to help make sure that people earning half the local median income have somewhere to live. (Which is not easy. During the first quarter of 2007, over 500 Seattle apartments were okayed for conversion to condos.) The lesson here is that development doesn't have to equal displacement. There's a lot of throwing up of hands when it comes to development -- You can't fight the future! That kind of thing. But CHHIP has just built a Walgreens' anchored counter-example. We'd love to hear the city and Mayor Nickels unveil a plan for a CHHIP in every neighborhood. And maybe let Rainbow in on some of the action.
