Sound Transit Scoping
From Ballard Link Extension CID additional study results and Downtown Hub Progress, System Expansion Committee, November 14, 2024. See pages 18 to 22 for more diagrams of the “Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative.”
For the West Seattle to Ballard Link Project, Sound Transit has shared its preferred alternative station, “The Dearborn Street Preferred Alternative,” NEXT TO INSCAPE with seven years of construction encompassing the city’s largest art studio building.
In this scoping period, ST wants to hear from you on what to study in their upcoming Environmental Impact Statement — how the project affects transportation, natural environment, and the built environment, and with the lens of environmental justice, equity, and inclusion. Specific concerns at Inscape and the future of cultural space are:
Loss of rare arts workspace, jobs, and economic development - More loss of regional cultural production. The creation of Inscape created new arts jobs and workspaces. With the likely noise, dust, and vibration from construction, these spaces might be no longer conducive to working, and we risk a community loss of 110 artist studios.
Since ST2 construction began behind the building, artists have experienced increase in noise and dust, coming through the single-paned, non-sealing, flap windows. We ask Sound Transit to look into mitigation and building improvements, and if that is not possible to support artist tenants in relocation.Increased property valuation from transit. The building is an investment for its owners and they have expressed their rights to change the use to redevelopment into a “higher use.” We are seeing how similar development in Los Angeles is affecting the affordability in Koreatown and Little Tokyo. We ask Sound Transit to look at ways to support the arts community and mitigate this potential.
Historic and Archaeological Resources — This former US immigration and detention center contains unprotected artifacts of Seattle immigration history, including the tar graffiti written by detainees on in the exercise yards. We ask Sound Transit to look at preserving these artifacts that likely fragile to dust and vibration.
Community-oriented Transit Development is proposed to the south of the building, which could potentially harm the historic Chinatown-International District community, which features affordable housing for seniors and families. We ask Sound Transit to raise their level of public engagement/decision making in this endeavor so that the neighborhood community determines the results of this development.
Please Comment here
https://ballardlink.participate.online/#commentand feel free to use the above bullet points.
Thank you for your support of the tenants and the future of the region’s cultural spaces!