SeaTac downtown plan is smart move

December 16, 2009

While attending the City of SeaTac Open House showcasing plans for downtown development last evening at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, I was impressed with the vision of our City Council and the Planning and Public Works departments.

It was easy to see past the paid minions along the street with picket signs protesting the impending use of "Eminent Domain" and the self-interested representation of those who own the commercial property along International Boulevard.

Where certainly the commercial property owners need to have a voice in the process, the fact that they alone would know what is best for the community of SeaTac is short-sighted and entirely self serving.

If any time and place would be a candidate for eminent domain action, the area proposed for a concerted SeaTac Downtown development plan should be the place and now is the time.

The plans displayed by the existing commercial property owners may have merit if only their individual properties where included in a more expansive plan.

Instead, they looked more like a manipulative means to insist their property is worth much more than the existing "Fair Market Value."

If their individual plans were such a good idea, I ask why they waited until now to propose building them, instead of allowing many of their parcels to look like blight along the "strip" for so many years.

Those properties that have been developed well, often times were not of the property owners doing, as they were more interested in leasing revenue than in having a hand in the development.

There is no plan that will please everyone, but having a vision is better than what the commercial property owners of this relatively small parcel of land have given us to date.

Starting with a parking garage near the SeaTac/Airport Link Light Rail station makes sense and anchors the proposed area development to attract investors for additional expansion phases.

The City of SeaTac proposing a comprehensive city downtown plan shows vision and is exactly why we have elected and hired them to represent us, the citizens that live and work here.

Anything less and we could just be settling for the next strip club or failed fly-by-night venture to come and go, leaving empty car lots, closed restaurant ventures, and the sprawling patchwork of parking lots.

A central Downtown Plan for SeaTac is a smart move forward.

David S. Olson
SeaTac

Guest wrote 37 weeks 17 hours ago

Is the City of SeaTac a Developer?

There are significant issues to be considered before taxpayer money is spent on land acquisition for this city center project:

1. The City of SeaTac plans to borrow $30 million dollars and have payments of $1.8 million dollars a year on these bonds.
2. The city will spend over $100 million of taxpayer money on this plan that will deplete much of the city's cash reserves.
3. The city plans to take private property by eminent domain.
4. The public use is highly questionable for this taking.
5. The city plans to put roads right through the middle of some property which will greatly reduce the value and building potential of the property.
6. With eminent domain, the city will not compensate property owners for their existing business. It is a huge loss for property owners.
6. The project is right next to a large King Co. low income apartment complex. Lenders and investors may be very cautious about investing in this area.
7. The city would like to take private property from the existing property owners and then sell it to a large national developer - taking property from one private party to benefit another private party.
8. Taxpayers will have to make the payments on this project even if it is never constructed. The taxpayers are taking the risk for this private development.
9. The city plans on building a parking garage but they have stated that it is not for airport or light rail use even though it is at the base of the pedestrian bridge to the light rail and airport.
10. The highest and best use of property next to an international airport would be for airport related uses. The city wants to force development of mixed use and retail even though that would be a lower use. The retail space, if built, may end up being vacant. Look at all of the vacancy in Burien, Normandy Park and the Landing at Renton.
11. Does the SeaTac city council and city manager have the experience and ability to be developers and spend millions of taxpayer money? If they are not right they lose nothing, but the taxpayers have to pay the bills with higher taxes and lost opportunity for other high priority projects in the city.

Earl wrote 37 weeks 14 hours ago

SeaTac Downtown-dumb move

Are we just getting dumber? A little reading might help every one considerably.

Even the expensive study done by Heartland LLC (paid for by taxpayers of SeaTac) says this is a bad idea if you take the time to read it and sift through the BS. The density of our area does not support the massive taking of property by the City nor can the income level of SeaTac property owners sustain that size of development (~30 acres). The study did not use any Cities that had an airport in it (they couldn’t seem to find any) and did not use or mention failed projects in similar situations.

This proposed downtown project will bankrupt the City but our planners do not seem to care (they don’t reside here, either). What is actually odd is that we have private property owners willing to take the risk of re-developing the area without taxpayer money and three projects on the board. The City has now slapped a moratorium on them and a condemnation on someone who invested wisely. What am I missing here? What business wants to come to SeaTac, invest wisely, and then have their property taken because the City planners have been playing with video games versus doing solid research?

This may look nice but we cannot afford it. I want/need a new car but my bank account says no.

Earl Gipson

Guest wrote 36 weeks 2 days ago

Opinion

I really enjoyed reading Mr. Olson's opinion on a new Seatac city center. It flowed very well and made for a good read. While I agree that a new city center might be nice for the city of Seatac, I disagree with his conclusion because it's not based on fact.

He states, "now is the time and this is the place" but he doesn't give one fact or shrewd of evidence to back this up. Therefore, I have to conclude this is his personal opinion.

He talks about, "fair market value". What are his qualifications to discuss this complex issue for commercial property located in the City of Seatac?

He mentions "blight". I don't see any blight. I do see a couple of businesses that didn't survive our current economic downturn but they are few and far between.

He blasts Seatac landowners but does he realize that the top two landowners are most likely the Port of Seattle and then the City itself.

He talks about a light rail parking garage but the fact of the matter is that a new garage was never planned for the Seatac station or it would have opened on Dec. 19th with the rest of the project. It is a terminal destination at the end of a what, 1.9 mile line spur?

I respect Mr. Olson's opinion and again, I did enjoy his letter. Unfortunately, business decisions should be made based on the facts, not emotions.

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