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| The 208-unit senior apartment complex opened in January 2005. |
By Marina Parr
Pat Chemnick knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But if you had told her
back in 1996 just how much time and energy her nonprofit community group would
eventually pour into a three-block stretch of urban blight, even Chemnick might
have been surprised. And a bit put off.
“It’s been very complex,” said Chemnick, economic development manager for SouthEast Effective Development (SEED). “It’s been a struggle and at times discouraging, so to have it happen is wonderful.”At the end of January 2005, Chemnick was on hand as Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, King County Executive Ron Sims and U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Seattle) officially opened a 208-unit senior apartment complex in the heart of southeast Seattle’s downtrodden Rainier Valley.
Named Courtland Place after an adjacent neighborhood, it is the first phase of a project spread across seven acres of contaminated urban land. Next door, The Dakota is now under construction, promising 176 units of affordable family apartments in a pair of four- and five-story towers. On the drawing table are plans for smaller apartments and one- and two-story townhouses that will integrate with the existing residential area that surrounds the property.
All of this fresh, new residential development sits atop what was once an urban eyesore. Rainier Court was (and in places still is) a mix of dilapidated buildings, oil drums, tires, old cars, fenced lots and overgrown weeds. It served as an informal garbage dump dating back to the 1930s. The ground was steeped in chemicals, from industrial solvents to metals, and underground storage tanks lie in wait.
But Chemnick and SEED knew this brownfield had the potential to be reclaimed and put to good use.
A Tough Sell
The Rainier Valley is one of Seattle’s poorest and most ethnically diverse
areas. Since 1975, SEED has tackled problems of inner-city blight, championing
low-income housing and an improved economic base for those who call the area
home. But Rainier Court was their biggest challenge. They faced reluctant landowners,
resistant investors and a complicated cleanup project. Only after partnering
with a wide range of community groups and agencies did they find the political
will — and money — to get the job done.
Persuading investors and developers to back the Rainier Court project was a tough sell, not only because the acreage sat on contaminated land, but also because of its location. No one wanted to invest in an area with low rents and high crime rates.
SEED also had to persuade 18 separate property owners to sell their land. The number of owners alone was daunting, but SEED also ran into difficulty because some owners believed they had valuable commercial real estate despite the contamination, and they wanted more money as a result. The process to acquire each property took time and patience.
Ultimately, SEED couldn’t convince two owners to sell, meaning the crucial street-front properties couldn’t be redeveloped. So in 1999, three years after beginning to buy property, the community group adjusted its goals. Instead of creating a commercial development as originally planned, SEED would spearhead a residential development and include a mix of first-floor retail shops.