From SouthEast Effective Development (SEED):
In 2005, SEED purchased the Chubby & Tubby department store on the corner of Rainier Avenue South and Walden Street. The site is currently being developed into a new, mixed use project. The project will consist of 68 units of housing affordable to families and individuals earning up to 80% of AMI ($55,000 for a family of 3), and includes 5,400 square feet of commercial space. Construction will begin in December 2009 and be completed in January 2011.
The $18 million project, just 4 blocks of the McClellan Link light rail station, was funded by the U.S. Bank National Association, City of Seattle Office of Housing/Housing Levy, City of Seattle Office of Economic Development/HUD Section 108, Washington State Housing Trust Fund, Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, WSHFC/Rapid Response, King County Housing Finance Program, King County Brownfield’s Program, Seattle Housing Authority, Washington State Department of Commerce/EPA, America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Seattle City Light/Built Smart, Master Builders Association/Built Green, Puget Sound Energy, Claremont Apartments and Clean up Grants.
In 2009, SEED received a stimulus funded grant from EPA through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to begin the cleanup of the Claremont Apartment site. The alternative clean up approaches considered include:
- Isolation of contaminants (concrete cap, such as building foundation) and implementation of institutional controls (deed restrictions, etc)
- Isolation of contaminants (concrete cap) and excavation of “hot spots” with concentrated contamination for disposal at regulated site. Implementation of institutional controls.
- Excavation of all contaminated soil with on-site treatment and reuse of the excavated soil.
- Excavation of all contaminated soil with off-site treatment disposal of excavated soil at a permitted facility.
Only petroleum contamination is found on the southeast corner of this site from an underground tank that was removed in 1995, but had leaked into the soil prior to removal. Specific contaminants include: from 4mg/kg to 810 mg/kg TPH as gasoline. This is not considered hazardous waste, but the site must be cleaned to current state standards. The clean up activity is being conducted under the regulations of Washington State Department of Ecology’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). The State establishes levels on soil contamination that are safe for humans and the soils and groundwater must be cleaned to that level with methods that are certified and supervised by the State.
Copies of the studies and analysis conducted for this site are available for public inspection at the SEED office (5117 Rainier Avenue South). Comments about the proposed clean up alternatives can be sent to pchemnick@seedseattle.org by December 30, 2009 and will be taken into consideration as we prepare our clean up activity at the site in January 2010.
Chubby & Tubby was founded in the Rainier Valley in 1947 by Irwin Frese (Chubby) and Woodrow Auge (Tubby) and eventually grew to include three locations: 3333 Rainier Ave. S. in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood (above); 7906 Aurora Ave. N. in Seattle and 410 N.E. Fourth St. in Renton. The stores sold a wide variety of items, including garden supplies, hardware, sports equipment, household items, clothing, shoes and bargain Christmas trees, which began selling for 97 cents in the late ’40s. Top photo/do communications, inc. Rendering below shows the future of the site/Courtesy of SEED
Related:
- Get Your Own Chubby & Tubby Tote, T-Shirt & More Exclusively at your RVP!
- Mayor Wants Money to Turn Chubby & Tubby Into Workforce Housing & Move Alpha Cine South of I-90 (8/31/09)
- Design Review Meeting: Chubby & Tubby’s Going Down (7/7/08)
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
{ 15 comments }
They don’t mention parking! The retail cry along light rail is that there
is no parking for their businesses. The residents must have off street parking and no on street overflow parking- the businesses across the street loose a lot of business due to the current lack of parking.
MQ
What is the parking requirement these days?
I know it has been reduced over the last few years or so, and I’m sure “Bike Mike” (sorry that just popped into my head) will probably relax it even more.
I used to attend the Citizens Review Committee meetings for Rainier Vista and I *believe* they are only obligated to provide parking for a fraction of their residents.
Developers say: we’re encouraging people to use public transit.
I say: they’re trying to squeeze the largest building possible onto the lot with little regard for what it will be like to live in or near these places.
(and it’s yet another ugly, monolithic brick of a building)
Who is the developer?
Yay! More low income housing along the Rainier corridor and retail space that will most likely remain vacant for many moons
I love how they say for families making up to 80% area median income. Look at the lineup of funders – translation – most units will be rented at 30% area median income and below with section 8 subsidies. More of the same.
And of course they’ll argue that there is no correlation to crime.
I found old meeting notes from the CRC in ’07 stating that the mixed-use building (currently under construction) at the corner of MLK and Alaska would have 82 residential units, and handful of retail storefronts and only 24 parking spaces total.
I remember at the time that we voiced concern about the lack of parking for such a high-traffic building and were told that they were essentially being generous by providing any parking at all.
?!!!
I’m all for it. It’s better than the vacant building currently there. New residents in the area will help local businesses, and there’s great access to bus and light rail connections. It’s a perfect spot for denser infill development. A little jostling over parking is a small price to pay for making affordable housing more available for in-city living. If anything, I wish the site (and all others near light rail stations) were drastically up-zoned to allow even more units. I’m a homeowner and long-time Mt. Baker resident and I welcome this.
Some people are never happy. The last thing the rainier valley needs is another parking lot. And why lay down extra asphalt when the site is down the block from the damn light rail station? And it’s workforce housing, not low income housing. This project will bring in new blood, eliminate an eyesore, and increase the density and walkability of our neighborhood. I’m starting to feel like I live in a real city.
The only question I have is why hasn’t the refurbished chubby and tubby sign has n0t been incorporated into the design???? It’s a neighborhood icon.
@cbo
At least you can still buy the t shirt, see border right…
Laurel, there’s a big difference between a slumlord using Section 8 subsidies to milk the last out of a building he doesn’t care about, and a responsible party using them to help good people live in a decent home.
My old landlord started to take Section 8, and I was very concerned. But there were no problems. I didn’t know who the Section 8 tenants were. By the time I moved out, the majority of the building was section 8, and it was as clean, peaceful, and well-maintained as the day I moved in.
Can we just get more apartments in the RV period? All the ones in the RV are super old.
Why should someone be confined to have to seek a job along the light rail route all because adequate parking was not provided when their housing was constructed? If I have a place to park my car, my work options are greatly increased. If I am not allowed a place to park my car, and am forced to take light rail, then my work options have been vastly reduced–I can’t help but think that this is worse both for the economy and for one’s freedom. Light rail is great, but it should be a choice, not an inevitable result.
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