Tell Me About the International District (Seattle, Renton: apartments, leases, condos)

[RunTheDistance476]

I've always kind of wondered...

Is it possible for a city to reach a limit and say "sorry, we are all full" for living spaces.

You think that would happen in a lot of major cities. They have those zoning laws for a reason (that reason depends a lot upon the area), but I agree to an extent. There are a lot of old run-down unused buildings in SODO/downtown that could be bought out, destroyed and built into 500ft tall apartment complexes. Seattle is definitely out-growing itself, though. Eventually it will be connected with Everett.

But, I don't have a problem with more living spaces downtown. Hopefully with enough addition, prices could be competitive.

[civic94]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

No doubt SODO, ID, and the southern towns have a bad rep. They are older neighborhoods with a lot of deteriorating homes/buildings that people don't seem to want to fix up.

The city has a lot of cleaning up to do before people decide to move back there.

In my personal opinion...I would rather live in a small one bedroom/studio, than a large one bedroom in a bad area.

the bad thing about the ID is that many of the buildings are historic, they cant touch the outside of it. they can only renovate the inside, but many of those buildings are about 6 stories tall, and to spend millions just to renovate it and it can only produce x amount of rent-able apartments, its not worth it unless they charge a extreme amount for rent.

the Milwaukee apartments and the alps hotel in the ID has converted to apartments a few years ago, its a start. the rest, its really too costly.

[RunTheDistance476]

Could you imagine the market potential if that area was clean and new complexes were built? It is within walking distance of both (and soon to be three) arenas, super-close to the interstate, walking distance to Pike Place Market, and the waterfront isn't far away (taller buildings would allow for great views).

Now, I wouldn't want the whole place to be apartments, but a couple of taller buildings with 500-1000 rooms of good quality, would eject a nice inflow of people to that area. Maybe they should stick a couple more SPD offices in that area. so much potential, it is sad.

[civic94]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

I've always kind of wondered...

Is it possible for a city to reach a limit and say "sorry, we are all full" for living spaces.

You think that would happen in a lot of major cities. They have those zoning laws for a reason (that reason depends a lot upon the area), but I agree to an extent. There are a lot of old run-down unused buildings in SODO/downtown that could be bought out, destroyed and built into 500ft tall apartment complexes. Seattle is definitely out-growing itself, though. Eventually it will be connected with Everett.

But, I don't have a problem with more living spaces downtown. Hopefully with enough addition, prices could be competitive.

wont happen in america. if manhattan/san fran/boston do what asian cities do, and tear down short buildings and build 50 story apartment complexes, and pretty much add tens of thousands of apartments, landlords of the other buildings would cry foul.

if manhattan build 1 million apartments, and the average rent of a nyc 2 bedroom unit can drop to $800, people will love it, while other property owners will loose so much money on rent. heck, i would get pissed if the city tap into my bread and butter.

[RunTheDistance476]

Well, I don't know about "capping" I think the market should take care of itself. No one suffered from a nice injection of young, educated professionals looking for a "hip" or urban place to live either.

If I had $1 billion, I think I would get a couple of friends to invest with me and go after the ID and Pioneer square.

[civic94]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

Well, I don't know about "capping" I think the market should take care of itself. No one suffered from a nice injection of young, educated professionals looking for a "hip" or urban place to live either.

If I had $1 billion, I think I would get a couple of friends to invest with me and go after the ID and Pioneer square.

you might need another billion to bribe to city officials and donate to the public so folks can agree on your proposed up zones. the new upzones are up to 150 stories high, which is great but not too great. some of the developers wanted even higher. real estate horizontally costs money to acquire land, while vertically is free. the higher you go, the more you make. there are lots of folks here that oppose to upzones and in the ID area. it does make parking harder for people, and some folks might get priced out. and also, more people per sq. feet might make that area more dangerous if you have the wrong type of people living there.

just a few years back they were going to build a target in the goodwill area right nextdoor to the ID, and build 300 apartments there also. many businesses in the ID furiously opposed to it. the way i see it, its 300 renters that's going to maybe drive less, our traffic situation might be better.

[RunTheDistance476]

True, but I would hope brand new apartments would be marketed/priced so that you have to earn a decent living to live there (plus background checks). That would drive the criminals/thugs out. But, there would have to be much more police patrol during the day and at night to show thugs that they don't have a place there.

[civic94]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

True, but I would hope brand new apartments would be marketed/priced so that you have to earn a decent living to live there (plus background checks). That would drive the criminals/thugs out. But, there would have to be much more police patrol during the day and at night to show thugs that they don't have a place there.

we all have to see. if it costs too much the lower class will cry foul. if its too cheap then its going to be dangerous. so far i think the city did the upzones in south downtown, i think they can build up to 85 feet, and up to 150 if they include affordable housing, so i think that satisfies both sides. heck, if I was them I would sleep there also and break into cars for money and things to sell. a mans gotta eat.


to the OP, I think it will take about 5-10 years for the ID to change, it will take a while for the druggies/homeless to leave, since there is dearborn st, king st, and jackson st where homeless folks can sleep under the I-5 bridge. its still very sketchy as of right now. at midnight I still wouldnt walk around alone there.

[RunTheDistance476]

Civic did you ever go to any Seahawks/Mariners games by walking?


Were those walks bad at night or did the people from the games help with safety?


Also, are there any good tailgating places near ID? I think it would be fun to grab a drink or two somewhere near the stadium before heading in (I don't like paying $9 for bud light, yuck).

[civic94]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

Civic did you ever go to any Seahawks/Mariners games by walking?


Were those walks bad at night or did the people from the games help with safety?


Also, are there any good tailgating places near ID? I think it would be fun to grab a drink or two somewhere near the stadium before heading in (I don't like paying $9 for bud light, yuck).

its pretty safe on game nights where tons of fans are walking to their cars. if something happens someone will see something. in a normal night, no. I forgot to mention that I got robbed once (before i lived in the ID) so its not a place to be at night. I dont mean to scare anyone but it is what it is. I hope taller buildings come and they hire security guards to clean up the place Just like SLU, from my earlier post i said that I was a security guard before, and my supervisor told me the homeless left the area because every other building they are getting kicked out of the property, so they moved along.

I dont know any tailgating places in the ID, there are resturaunts that serve alochol and a bar on king st and 5th st. I think it might be a sports bar, im less than 50% sure about that.