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Old 06-20-2016, 06:46 PM
 
Location: Seattle
1,882 posts, read 2,065,083 times
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Lake City is starting to gentrify big time. Lake City Way won't win any beauty contests, but a couple of blocks off LCW and you're in very livable territory. For commuting to Bothell it's quite convenient. I'm inclined to say, however, that Bothell itself is rapidly gentrifying.
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Old 06-20-2016, 06:48 PM
fnh
 
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When I lived there I was a grad student and later junior faculty member at the UW. We bought our home from a fellow UW faculty member and later sold it to yet another UW faculty member, and our former friends and neighbors who live there are still UW faculty (and NOAA scientists, etc.). Maybe this qualifies as lower middle class, but not to my mind. It's definitely not a trendy area but a sensible one that appeals to staid university types.

Today, I wouldn't hesitate to live there and we are quite solidly beyond upper middle class even, but still very unflashy.
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Old 06-20-2016, 08:10 PM
 
Location: WA Desert, Seattle native
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I lived just south of Lake City from birth to age 30, then moved away for job reasons. My brother lived in Lake City in a split level west of LC-Way, then was able to buy a Lake Washington view home that he sold in 2013. I also graduated Lake City's only High School, Nathan Hale. So I have some degree of knowledge about the area.

It has changed. A lot. While it still might be an area that some are willing to live in, it is not what is once was, nor are many areas in and around Seattle. Gentrification? Well, I'm not sure where this is occuring. Yeah, the tree plantings of the early to mid 70's have made this area much more lush, that doesn't equal gentrification. Perhaps I am missing something here, but I see little gentrification. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.
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Old 06-20-2016, 09:06 PM
 
Location: Independent Republic of Ballard
8,062 posts, read 8,304,442 times
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My impression is that the kind of luxury apartment developments that are popping up like mushrooms in Ballard, for instance, are not being built in Lake City, which is a good thing, as far as I am concerned. At the same time, it has a good supply of relatively affordable "legacy" rental housing:

$2,100 3bd/1.5ba house:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/23...48777212_zpid/

Apts for under $1,300:

Rental Listings - 12 Rentals | Zillow
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Old 06-21-2016, 11:41 AM
 
Location: Seattle
1,882 posts, read 2,065,083 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pnwguy2 View Post
I lived just south of Lake City from birth to age 30, then moved away for job reasons. My brother lived in Lake City in a split level west of LC-Way, then was able to buy a Lake Washington view home that he sold in 2013. I also graduated Lake City's only High School, Nathan Hale. So I have some degree of knowledge about the area.

It has changed. A lot. While it still might be an area that some are willing to live in, it is not what is once was, nor are many areas in and around Seattle. Gentrification? Well, I'm not sure where this is occuring. Yeah, the tree plantings of the early to mid 70's have made this area much more lush, that doesn't equal gentrification. Perhaps I am missing something here, but I see little gentrification. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.
Well, check out the census tracts bracketing LCW, here: Seattle Gentrification Maps and Data , or visit the LC farmers market on a Thursday. (Note I don't necessarily agree with the definitions reflected in the map's gentrify/non-gentrify criteria, but the basic data is useful.)

I'm not saying Lake City is Ballard or Columbia City (although look at those census tracts too) but it's more than tree planting. I go through LC several time a week (and have done for 30 years) and I definitely feel it's moving up the ole' socioeconomic ladder. Of course it's also a hub urban village and thus has a target painted on its back for the development community's convenience.
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Old 06-21-2016, 12:31 PM
 
Location: Independent Republic of Ballard
8,062 posts, read 8,304,442 times
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If by "gentrify" one means getting richer, better educated, and whiter , that is certainly likely true. For 2013, Lake City was just over 50% white, compared to 67% for Seattle. Housing values and rents are being pulled up, as middle class/professional families are moving into the area to be closer to work and shorten commutes. Poorer residents, who haven't found a subsidized or income-restricted rental they can afford, are being pushed out of Lake City and Seattle. Lake City housing is still relatively affordable compared to areas further south.

As the light rail stations creep north, a combination of feeder buses and light rail could further shorten Lake City commutes to Downtown. I could see a RapidRide line (and eventually light rail) connecting Lake City to Northgate. Still, it is largely car-centric - not the prototypical Seattle "walkable" neighborhood.
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Old 06-21-2016, 04:26 PM
 
Location: WA Desert, Seattle native
9,398 posts, read 8,771,015 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey View Post
If by "gentrify" one means getting richer, better educated, and whiter , that is certainly likely true. For 2013, Lake City was just over 50% white, compared to 67% for Seattle. Housing values and rents are being pulled up, as middle class/professional families are moving into the area to be closer to work and shorten commutes. Poorer residents, who haven't found a subsidized or income-restricted rental they can afford, are being pushed out of Lake City and Seattle. Lake City housing is still relatively affordable compared to areas further south.

As the light rail stations creep north, a combination of feeder buses and light rail could further shorten Lake City commutes to Downtown. I could see a RapidRide line (and eventually light rail) connecting Lake City to Northgate. Still, it is largely car-centric - not the prototypical Seattle "walkable" neighborhood.
So, by your facts, Lake City is less white than the rest of the city. Again, unless I am missing something.

As for increasing values, the entire Seattle MSA has been growing more expensive (obviously), so why would Lake City not be part of this? However, as many here have pointed out the LC COL is below the city overall.

Gentrification in my mind is when an area becomes wealthier and low income residents are being forced out. I don't believe this is true in Lake City in any great economic shift. As for not your prototypical Seattle "walkable" neighborhood, you got that right...Most Lake City residential neighborhoods have no sidewalks! They were never built and never added in countless Lake City areas, even in the Lake Washington view areas.
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Old 06-21-2016, 08:39 PM
 
Location: Seattle
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There are no sidewalks in Hunts Point or The Highlands either.
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Old 06-21-2016, 08:59 PM
 
Location: WA Desert, Seattle native
9,398 posts, read 8,771,015 times
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But no sidewalks in Lake City are not the same as Hunts Point or The Highlands. In those two areas, it really doesn't matter. In Lake City it just adds to a tacky part of Seattle. Really to compare the two is quite ridiculous. Seriously.
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Old 06-21-2016, 11:24 PM
 
5,075 posts, read 11,022,119 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey View Post
My impression is that the kind of luxury apartment developments that are popping up like mushrooms in Ballard, for instance, are not being built in Lake City, which is a good thing, as far as I am concerned. At the same time, it has a good supply of relatively affordable "legacy" rental housing
Which is also part of the reason Lake City isn't overrun with drug camps and RVs. It will be once a development push moves in to replace the affordable housing with new builds. The middle class is allowed to live there until someone richer wants to build there, as with Ballard 10+ years ago
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