The Kims want you to know All Seasons Cleaners, the E Olive Way drive-thru dry cleaners and home to on the Hill’s busiest little weekend flea markets, won’t be going away — not for a few more years, at least.
A manager from the dry cleaning shop tells CHS that the couple has opted not to sell their property and make way for new development.
HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.
CHS reported in March on plans for the Euclid Olive, a seven-story mixed-use development with 45 units, 3,200 square feet of ground floor commercial space, and a 16-vehicle underground parking garage on E Olive Way just west of Broadway across from Capitol Hill Station.
The decision pauses the demolition clock on the he old “drive thru”-style dry cleaners building that dates to 1932 according to county records.
All Seasons owners Mi and Young Kim acquired the property in 2007 for $1.8 million. The latest county tax bill’s assessed value for the property was $2.485 million. Many property owners on Capitol Hill like the Kims have found their investment values soaring — along with costs. A few CHS spoke with about a proposed expanded “business improvement area” that would levy additional assessments on property owners say the environment is ripe for a wave of selling by smaller property holders.
The All Seasons decision, for now, seems to counter that. But the Kims mostly just want you to know All Seasons remains open and ready for your business.
All Seasons Cleaners is located at 1800 E Olive Way. Hours are 7 AM to 7 PM, Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturdays and closed Sundays.
Developers would need to be vary wary of this property. Being a dry cleaning business for decades there is a substantial risk of soil contamination that is very expensive to mitigate. I have to wonder if a seven story building is too small to justify the expense of cleanup. (Of course the EPA may just ignore the issue and allow the soil to be dumped in a schoolyard or some such.)
I’m sure developers are intelligent enough to know the risks of the site. They’ve likely dealt with many contaminated sites all over Capitol Hill due it’s dirty past as an automotive service center hub of the city.
Dumping contaminated soil in a schoolyard? Are you serious or just trolling?
Little bit of both. I’m concerned with the environment with Scott Pruitt as the head of the EPA.
Yes, a developer would be aware, my point is that a seven story development may have to low of a financial return to amortize the cleanup costs. A 15 story building, yeah. Would need a zoning change.
I agree with you there. We do need a zoning change. This should be a mid rise tower of housing instead of a handful of apartments as originally planned.
Good to see small business owners standing up to greedy developers.
Do you have more information than is included in the article?
It sounds like the owners of All Seasons’ changed their mind. How is that taking a stand and how are those who wanted to develop this property greedy?
What’s going on with the graffiti covered building across from Dino’s? The one with the smoke shops
The place is a blight and in desperate need to redevelopment.
More likely you’re a blight to cap hill
Adam is right.
This article states that the property tax bill for this property is $2.485 million. Don’t you mean the “assessed value.”?
That does make more sense. I wasn’t too convinced of that tax bill.
Yes, should have said the tax bill’s assessed value. Fixed above.
Soil test are required before sale. Any contamination found is upon the owners to clean up. If contamination is found. The Kims will have to take care of it before any sale can happen. And may be forced to clean it up becuase it’s there and they caused it. I know this because I worked at a paint shop. The ownwers wanted to sell. Drill Core samples were taken. The report showed unacceptable levels. The prospective buyer backed out. And we move out of the building. Even though my shop caused it over many decaes. We weren’t the owners. Now the land is worth less than it was worth a week before the test was done.