Kent, We Have Liftoff!

"Bezos brings space race to Kent as he plans a passenger rocket"

You read this headline in the Sunday Seattle Times and think, "this guy has finally lost it." But, mark my words: In 20 years or so, this will be as normal as flying from Seattle to New York City. If you don't read the link, the sum of its parts is this: Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos bought a 25-acre piece of commercial property in Kent for $13 million (photo above) to begin his flirtation with space, which means giving regular 'ol folks like you and me take trips to the edge of space.

Crazy stuff. But then again, who knew people would have to pay for TV?

Merry Christmas, Seattle!

I saw this huge, blowup Santa on the front of this Magnolia house, which actually looks like it's sending holiday cheer toward Seattle.

I Got The Tree, Honey!

No house, but there's a tree near the entrance. Hey! These are the sacrifices we make when we do teardowns!

Cute, Little GEM

OK, I'm a little off-topic here today, but I needed to share a sighting of this GEM car (Global Electric Motorcar) I saw last weekend at Discovery Park. (NOT me in the photo). It was the oddest-looking contraption, but I imagine it could catch on in smaller cities or communities where you don't have to go 90 MPH to keep up with the flow of traffic. According to the GEM site, this model goes for about 9 grand. Better buy lots of Windex to keep these windows clean!

No Tomorrow for Morrow Cranes

The Seattle Times reported last week that cranes -- those big, oversize erector sets that fill the sky in Seattle to build one project after another -- are in short supply. It seems that Portland, Ore., crane supplier, Morrow Equipment, is one of the nation's largest suppliers and is booked solid for the next year. They have 500 at their disposal, even shipping them overseas if the demand is there.

So what's the punchline on this article? That just when you think the economy and commercial expansion is slowing down around here, just look up in the sky and you'll see otherwise. The Morrow crane above is branded with the 2200 sign, which is Paul Allen's 2200 Westlake project, which will open next fall.

Queen Anne Bargain at $1.295M

On 8th Ave W, which is part of the Crown of Queen Anne route popular with joggers, baby joggers, and walkers and their dogs, is a house is for sale. It's not often you see a home along this stretch for sale, but the other reason why I'm bringing it to light is because for the location and Puget Sound views, this house is a bargain at $1,295,000. Not that I could afford it, but when you compare other homes and their asking price, this seems like a good deal. And in this slowing real estate economy, someone with some money can have a nice little house on their hands....

Hey! You Blocked My View!

As I was walking along 8th Ave W in Queen Anne, I spotted a newbie rising up tall and proud with a steeply pitched roof and as I got closer, I see it's actually some sort of outbuilding and not someone's main home. Of course, being a former reporter, I asked someone nearby, "What up?" -- meaning, that's a heck of a building to plunk there. She said it was built as a guesthouse for the main house and that all the neighbors are a little irritated with the height. The biggest gripe is about the roof, which is fairly high and has a steep pitch. Our wonder was the usefulness of that room, which looks like it would be hard to stand it. Which leads everyone to wonder, what was the point to build something so high and block everyone's view? Courtesy, people, let's have some courtesy.

Eviction Notice

If you have a holiday party at Alexandria's Restaurant at 2020 2nd Ave., you'd better find another spot. The King County Sheriff's Department slapped an eviction notice on the windows of the place on Dec. 12, 2005. It wasn't revealed why, but this Seattle CitySearch review could be the tip of the iceberg.

Thriftway --> Metropolitan --> QFC???

There's a big brouhaha taking shape atop Queen Anne these days and it's not going to be pretty. First, QA's beloved Thriftway on Queen Anne Avenue changed hands and switched to Metropolitan Market. Now it looks like Metropolitan will give way to QFC. Where's the love, man?

According to the Seattle P-I , the owners of the property (check out this cool Pictometry link) already have signed an agreement with QFC. Designs call for a new two-story development to include a 38,000-square-foot grocery and 15,000 square feet of specialty retailing space. (it's about 15,000-square feet right now). Other details include: a glass storefront on street level, 90 parking spaces below grade and 40 on the second floor, an indoor-outdoor fireplace on the first floor and a "grand escalator."

The best quote about the neighborhood's attachment to the Met comes from Ellen Monrad, chairwoman of the Queen Anne Community Council:

"QFC will be surprised at how deeply held the sentiments of this community are towards Metropolitan Market. People have met their wives in its produce section."

Ouch. QFC never be able to compete with that kind of history. Never. This is the end of Queen Anne as we know it. Sell your properties now, people!

Seeing Circles

It's true, folks, there's a traffic circle ("calming circle?") going into Queen Anne's north side, on 4th and Halladay. Or, maybe not. It appears half the neighbors signed a petition FOR the circle and half signed AGAINST it. Evidently, there was confusion over what they were signing and now all the folks who signed AGAINST it, want the circle.

However, the city and the Queen Anne Community Center want to re-do the process and throw a bigger net and get feedback from a larger community audience. So, pretty much everyone will weigh in and that should really s-l-0-0-w-w-w the process down.

Whew, that was tiring.

Remodeling With a Vengeance

Remodels aren't always neat 'n tidy. For example, my girlfriend likes to "see what's under there" by slowly pulling up a corner of the carpet or linoleum because in her mind, what's under this has to be better than what is showing. This house above on 6th Ave W and W. Crockett in Queen Anne -- just across from Targy's Tavern -- reminds me of what my girlfriend would do: Just start ripping things off and throwing it out the window. We actually did do something like this to our basement just a few months ago: Ripping up old linoleum. It never occurred to us that we might be inviting mesothelioma.


BTW, there's another house just like this three doors away. Eerily similar: Big house, big mess all around. I smell the same owner involved in that one, too.

Fireworks Central

I remember for so many years we would watch the 4th of July and New Year's Eve fireworks from Queen Anne's Kerry Park, where so many movies were filmed. As we did watch the fireworks, I would turn and look at the houses behind me that had such a prime view of the Sound, the joggers, the bi-yearly festivities. I always wondered if these owners despised having such a prime location, where everyone gathers.

It's been awhile since I've been back to Kerry Park, but now I see one of the prime homes along West Highland has been reduced to a footprint, literally, and a real estate board touting a new arrival is fully in place.

A onetime grand home is now being replaced by "four luxury residences," and is being developed by Six Degrees Capital. The Web site says, "Warm shell pricing starting at $1.95 million." Warm shell pricing? When I Google it, I get results for Shell gas, tropical candles and outerwear. So can someone please tell me what warm shell pricing is?

Magnolia Bridge Nightmare

In my morning Magnolia News , I read there are four options being considered for the Magnolia Bridge rehab project, which -- ahem -- is the bridge closest to my house and the one we use the most. The real bad news is that whatever project wins out, the bridge will be out of commission for at least nine months, but probably much longer. Which means the remaining two bridges --Dravus and Emerson -- will be a nightmare. Can't we just recruit some of the ferries to come down to Maggie Bluffs and pick us up and bring us downtown? Also, I'm wondering how this will affect homes up for sale or people who anticipate selling around the time the project begins. This has to be a real turnoff for potential buyers. Or maybe they can find great deals... Hmmmm.

Last note: A must-read in the Mag News and Queen Anne News is the tawdry stuff in the Police Blotter by Russ Zabel. He has a talent for making mayhem sound humorous.

Well, There WAS a VIEW...

Speaking of tall skinnies, there's one on 25th Ave W in Magnolia that better sell fast or that "VIEW" it advertises will be blocked by the new, tall skinny that is going up right across from it. OK, maybe they're not tall skinnies, but I like saying that phrase. Tall skinny, tall skinny, tall skinny. Ah, that feels good.

The one on sale is going for $1.395,000 and includes a master suite, top 'o line kitchen, and a four-car tandem garage. I'm not quite sure what that means. I know what four cars are, I know what tandem means, but it all doesn't really make sense. Besides, who in the world needs to have four cars?

Name This Park!

I love these naming contests. They draw the usual riff-raff and vulgarities that are not ready-for-prime-time, but titillate the contest committee members for a split-second. At least, it would me. There is a derelict playfield (City of Seattle's words, not mine) behind Magnolia's Elementary School that has knockout views of downtown Seattle and Mt. Rainier. And I'm sure developers were drooling at the thought of getting their hands on this 2.4 acre beauty. So, here's my suggestion for the name of the park:

Cry Your Eyes Out, Developers, Park!

On the other side of Magnolia is an abandoned site where the Briarcliff School used to sit. This property has been the center of dispute between the developer and the neighborhood. It looks like a ruling came down Nov. 7 in favor of the developer, which means they do not have to reduce the number of homes planned for the site. Don't look now, but here come some tall skinnies, and I'm not talking about coffee.

Oh yeah, the Name the Park Contest Info:
Seattle Parks and Recreation
Attn: Paula Hoff
100 Dexter Ave N
98109
OR:
paula.hoff@seattle.gov
(206) 615-0568

Where There's a Honey Bucket, There's a Teardown

This weekend I saw several homes in sleepy, dreamy Magnolia that were taken down to the foundation, including the one above, which is on 29th and W. Blaine. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am not opposed to teardowns, as long as they're not too outrageously out-of-balance with the house next door. I'll keep tabs on this one, since it's right near my home. With a high enough structure, Elliott Bay and both mountain ranges (Cascades and Olympics) should be in full view.

Colorful Seattle

Picking color for walls is never as easy as it seems. You see a house with vivid, bright colors and if it looks good, you think, "very nice," but you never really feel the agony that probably went into it because it looks right. When we moved into our house in Magnolia this past fall, we painted our bedroom twice, including priming it twice, so I guess that makes four times. I always wanted a pink room. Not PINK, but, pink. You know, kinda like a light, coral color that would match this Oriental rug that I've been lugging around for 20 years. That is the last time I will ever consider pink. It turned out looking like a big, pink eraser. Like something my daughter has in her pencil box. UG-ly. We settled for light blue, which is not my first choice, but hey, it's not the big pink eraser anymore..

So, what am I getting at? I stumbled upon the Seattle Dream Homes Web site that has fun, whimsical Seattle houses with great colors. Enjoy.

P.S. The pix above is one I took of a home in Magnolia. Maybe not as pretty as the painted ladies in SF and Seattle, but a big departure from the usual stuff.

Easy Way Out Today

I'm jammed at work, so I'll do the easy thing: a photo blog. Above, a sidewalk square I walk across nearly every day in downtown Seattle.

Staged Homes -- Before and After

What is it about seeing "before and after" photos? Whether it's a weight-loss program, an extreme makeover (human or house), there is this anticipation that sets in as you wait... wait... and wait for the "after" photo to appear. So, to whet your appetite for some before and afters, we give you the Home Stager Photo Gallery.