CHS wants to see one of the individual leaders of the Hill’s ‘transit oriented development’ process buy into the very area the process will transform. Sound Transit officials, Capitol Hill Housing reps, City of Seattle planners, 110 10th Ave E waits for you.
When CHS covers the ‘transit oriented development’ process related to Sound Transit’s construction of the Capitol Hill light rail station, we’re generally pretty positive. There is a huge opportunity to build something great. And there are plenty of signs that a community-driven process really will continue to emerge and define what gets built in the heart of Broadway and, to increase the import even further, the heart of Capitol Hill. That’s what transit oriented development should be about — TOD should be public transit focused, community minded and shaped by the people who live, work and ride in the area of development.
But there is another side to all of this. TOD is a euphemism for market driven development — except, in this case, the developer happens to be a gigantic public agency. Already the framework is in place for requiring any of the TOD to achieve ‘fair market value’ — you’d have to build condo towers to the moon to counterbalance the community and arts facilities some of the pinko commies (like me!) would rather see in the space.
All of this leads to a very real opportunity to put money where mouths are. On 10th Ave E, across the street from the expanse of blacktop currently capping the light rail station construction zone, one residential property has recently sold, one is sold but pending and another is for sale. To buy a home on 10th Ave E right now is to have deep faith in the TOD process. It is truly putting skin in the game.
110 !0th Ave E is a 3,000 sqft, 5-bedroom home built in 1908. It last sold in November 2002 for $410,000 — that would be a 50% appreciation if you offer full price. The gain would be about in line with other similar homes in the area for the period. It currently has a Walkscore of 97 — imagine what kind of score it will have once the trains start running and if TOD produces a great space.
The home directly to the south at 106 10th on the corner with Denny has an offer and is currently pending sale.
The house last sold in December 2006 for $500,000. Other homes in the 98102 ZIP code have fallen more than 10% in this period. This buyer is buying into TOD.
Meanwhile, this 10th Ave E condo sold back in January for less than it was paid for in September 2006.
For a transit official or community group leader with deeper pockets, there’s also this larger development project to consider — though the neighbors don’t seem very welcoming.
So there’s the opportunity. The lucky stakeholder who moves into the neighborhood has to put up with eight years of construction. When that works is complete, they’ll either live across the street from a development that is public transit focused, community minded and vibrant or they’ll be staring at a massive wall of expensive condos and a mall. And, yeah, they’ll probably actually look out on something in between. But knowing that one person has skin in the game and is truly part of the community directly affected by TOD would give us a whole new appreciation for the process.
As someone involved in the process, yourself and CHS could move into the house for now, move the house later and redevelop the site in a few years. Let’s get going on that one…
Get a few more local businesses to buy ads and we’re in. Though I’m kinda partial to the former Horizon Books as CHS HQ or maybe doing something like the sidewalk psychic and have a sidewalk-front kiosk type thing.
As another person who is involved in the stakeholder group, I would love to buy this property and if I had double my current household income, I could actually afford to do it. Even if TOD is a complete failure and we do actually get a mall with condos on top, the value of this property will double when Light Rail open. If TOD is successful, the value will increase even more. The problem is real estate developers know this too, and a such, they will outbid any regular person who might want to purchase this property.
Seriously, anyone have an extra $300 k they would be willing to loan me for a down payment?
I and a group of other live on the opposite side, at Harvard and Denny, where we rent a beautiful old 1902 property as a communal house. Currently, the two (lovely, lovely) houses directly south of us are sitting ducks on the market. I wish more than anything I was in a position to buy one of those properties, and ensure it stayed a beautiful old house in the shadow of – let’s just say it – fucking UGLY condos.
As excited as I am about real transit coming to Seattle, it’s also a harbinger for my housemates and I, who will be displaced as soon as the light rail rears its head on Capitol Hill. Our property will be sold, and the house razed for condos or something. I totally understand why our landlord, who’s a pretty okay guy, snatched up the property when he did (and when the station had an opening date of 2011), but it still depresses me to see some of the beautiful fingerprints of an older Seattle wiped away.
I’m writing this from Chicago, visiting family, where lovely old 1800 houses still flank the el stations. The kind of density that Seattle is striving for is, in most cases, a great thing. I just wish it didn’t have to be at such a high price.