26 Aug Pioneer Square is more than just a Parking Lot for the Stadiums

The Seattle Times has an article out this morning talking about a dispute over parking that may stall the North Lot project:

The problem: Developer Daniels Real Estate and the owner of the stadium, known until recently as Qwest Field, haven’t reached agreement on replacing 491 premium parking stalls the development would displace.

King County owns the property, nearly 4 acres covering the northern half of the parking lot. The sale to Daniels is to close Sept. 12. Work on the first phase — 444 apartments in 10- and 25-story towers, plus retail — is expected to start days later.

But one of Daniels’ prospective construction lenders put a hold on the loan last week, citing the dispute over replacement parking.

The trigger: a resolution that the board of the state Public Stadium Authority (PSA), CenturyLink Field’s quasi-public owner, adopted Aug. 11, threatening to pursue ownership of the 4 acres itself if the parking flap isn’t settled.

At a time when small businesses are struggling to keep the doors open and the state unemployment is higher than the national average, we don’t need the Public Stadium Authority (PSA) putting at risk a project that has significant long-term pubic benefit and tax revenues.   For over twenty-years, the Pioneer Square community has been lobbying for the urban renewal and development of the North Lot.   Construction alone will place a total of $671 million into the state economy at a time when such activity is critical to our economic recovery – and the PSA will still get the same tax revenues and replacement parking.

Given the positive impact that the project represents, now is the time for the PSA to truly serve the public interest, and recognize the benefits this project brings to our neighborhood.