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Federal Ave park acquisition process hits a wall, er, chain link fence

In the city’s negotiation to acquire the empty lot at the corner of Federal and Republican for Capitol Hill’s next park, the abrupt addition of a chain link fence surrounding the space doesn’t seem like a positive omen. According to CHS contributor tco, on Friday morning, neighbors found this odd reply to the city’s park acquisition efforts:

I woke up this morning to see workers putting in a fence around the vacant lot on Federal and Republican, the site of a proposed new park.  It’s quite an eyesore and makes the neighborhood look pretty trashy. I wonder if this suggests that the current owners are digging in their heels and planning to hold out until the real estate market recovers rather than selling the land to the city to make a park? 

In a move that has neighbors and the Seattle Parks Department scratching their heads, the landowners of the empty lot have installed a Honey Bucket logo-festooned fence surrounding the entire lot along Federal and Republican.

We talked with the person in charge of the acquisition process for parks about the fence. Donald Harris told CHS he wasn’t notified by the lot owners that the fence would be going up and Harris said he doesn’t know why the fence has been installed.

There are currently no construction permits on record for the property according to city planning records.

Harris declined further comment on the situation but did say his department is considering all legal options in acquiring the lot. As we reported last week, Seattle Parks can initiate a legal process that could force the company that owns the land to sell the property.

According to King County records, the lot is owned by a group called Fedrep Investors, LLC. We have not been able to reach anybody from the company and are waiting for a call left with a lawyer for the group to be returned. We previously wrote more about the group and the history of the lot’s failed townhome project here.

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steve
steve
14 years ago

this will surely be a positive for the development company in our neighborhood ????

mapsmith
mapsmith
14 years ago

Trashy OUTHOUSE fence and blocked access = lot overrun with trash and weeds = lower land values = better deal price-wise for parks dept.

So, er…

Thanks, tacit landowner!!

tco
tco
14 years ago

I fear that this fence will be here for years to come while the owners vainly wait for the real-estate market to rebound. Ironically, I think the city’s proposal to build a park may have backfired and led the owners to turn a neighborhood eyesore in a full-fledged blight

DanaB
DanaB
14 years ago

I’m not sure these developers have thought this through. If their plan is to avoid having this lot turned into a park so that they can develop it at some future point, this stunt is going to significantly impact their ability to sell on the hill. If their plan is to try to drive a higher price, this stunt only makes the land appear less valuable. What are they thinking?