Seattlest Pix 09Nov21
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After a flurry of demonstrated community concern, the sale of the Capitol Hill OddFellows building to developer Ted Schroth was finalized in January of 2008, and his company seemed to want to put the whole uncomfortable matter behind them when touting the glorious financial potential of the space:
"The OddFellows Building presented us with an incredible opportunity to restore one of the neighborhood's most cherished icons," said Ted Schroth, the project's developer. "It has been an exciting and rewarding project to be a part of, and we are very excited about the tenants who have already chosen to make the building their home. We are looking forward to finding the right mix of remaining retail and office tenants to share in this remarkable piece of history."But while development projects are fizzling all over town, the OddFellows business venture seems to be humming along on track. Perky new businesses have been moving into the renovated spaces at a constant rate. OddFellows Café settled in last year and Molly Moon’s ice cream parlor opened this summer, along with a chi-chi children’s clothier this month. Century Ballroom Café introduced their Tin Table restaurant sister-business this year and welcomed The Academy of Burlesque to share their class studio space as of September 1.
The other side of the story is what happened to the arts organizations who could no longer afford to rent space in the building. Former longtime resident Velocity Dance Center doesn’t mince words when addressing the situation on their website: "Velocity's 13-year home in the Odd Fellows Building was sold to a developer in 2007, rent was raised 300 percent, and all non-profit tenants were priced out of their home." But without much other choice, Velocity set about finding a new home, and eventually secured the former Capitol Hill Arts Center space a few blocks away.
But the new space was uninhabitable in its current state, and at this point Velocity management received a crash course in fundraising. Costly renovation efforts on the space were delayed, and delayed. The Velocity Forever Capital Campaign was established to mitigate fundraising. And finally--triumphant trumpets!--Velocity will be hosting a long-awaited groundbreaking celebration tonight to mark the official demolition kick-off of the project. The party will include toasts, performances, and a walk-through of the space; possibly some kooky sledgehammer dancing and a hearty dose of fiddlin’.
On a related note, after the resounding success of September’s Single Ladies Dance Off fundraiser, Velocity and Century are teaming up again to present an open-call Michael Jackson Dance Off competition and party next month. To enter, send an email to office@centuryballroom.com that includes:
- Video (via YouTube), doesn't have to be great quality
- Name of the song you (or your group) will dance to
RULES:
Length of Routine: No more than 3 minutes
Folks can enter to be judged in any of the following categories.
1. Best actual representation of original choreography
2. Largest group
3. Best costuming/makeup
4. Most Original
Good luck!
Velocity Dance Center Groundbreaking // tonight, 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. // 1621 12th Avenue // Free
Michael Jackson Dance Off // Saturday, November 14th, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. // Velocity Main Space (West Hall) @ the OddFellows building // $17 advance, $20 day of. All proceeds benefit Velocity Dance Center and the Century Ballroom.
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