Update to the Neighborhood December 2014

Happy December Everyone. Let the Festivities Begin!

Tis the season. Shopping for the holidays? Shopping for yourself? Support your neighborhoods old and new.

First Thursday! Visit your favorite venues, see art, buy art, enjoy.

Shop the Square! Visit the participating stores, shop local, support the neighborhood. More information here.

Annual BIA Meeting! Save the Date.

The annual BIA meeting, open to all ratepayers in good standing is Friday, December 12th from 4-5:30 at Altstadt. Please join us in a celebration of all we have accomplished, look forward to 2015, and raise a glass of holiday cheer. RSVP here.

And Pioneer Square Howlidays! Back by popular demand. People. Dogs. Fun. More information here.

Have a lovely month and see you in the neighborhood.
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Leslie Smith

Executive Director, Alliance for Pioneer Square

Update to the Neighborhood – November 2014

Kevin Daniels and Karen True. Photo credit Andrew Vanasse, courtesy of Seattle Magazine.
Kevin Daniels and Karen True. Photo credit Andrew Vanasse, courtesy of Seattle Magazine.

Staff

Hats off to Seattle Magazine for recognizing what we have long known. We are delighted with their selection of our very own Karen True and Kevin Daniels as two of Seattle’s most influential people of 2014 for their work in Pioneer Square. See the full article here. Many congratulations for a well-deserved recognition.

We also welcome a new office manager to the Alliance, Carly Fromdahl joined us last week taking on all things office administration. Please join us in welcoming her to the neighborhood and the Alliance, great things ahead!

Street Civility

Our work on street civility and public safety continues apace of neighborhood need. Lisa has been attending both LEAD and the Multidisciplinary Team meetings focused on people in the neighborhood who are engaged in low level criminal behavior and are in need of services. I am serving on the Mayor’s Task Force about unsheltered people. We are working towards a set of strategies to assist people in need and address the large numbers of unhoused people across Seattle. The Pioneer Square BIA has been funding increased emphasis patrols of Seattle Police officers. Additional folks assigned to walk our neighborhood, meet with businesses and residents, and engage with folks. These emphasis patrols will continue at least through the end of the year when we will evaluate its continuation. And we added public safety to marketing dollars and expanded neighborhood lighting, we all feel better when it is lighter and brighter.

Save the Date: Mark your Calendar

The annual BIA meeting, open to all ratepayers in good standing is scheduled for Friday, December 12th from 4-5:30 at Altstadt. Please join us in a celebration of all we have accomplished, look forward to 2015, and raise a glass of holiday cheer.

Stay tuned, there will be many opportunities to become informed and involved. Thanks for your support and see you in the neighborhood.

Business & Community Update – November 2014

FullSizeRenderJust a quick post this month to make absolutely-certain you know what’s happening in the neighborhood.

  • Sprout is open in the Florence Building, right next to Smith Tower on 2nd Ave. Healthy eating never tasted so good. Owners, Mike and Jen Kelly, are also Pioneer Square residents.
  • Though they aren’t open quite yet, we can get our first peek at what’s coming at Good Bar at 2nd Ave S & S Main St now that the paper is off the windows. It’s jaw-dropping gorgeous. It won’t be long now.
  • Che Sara Sara opened this past weekend in the Grand Central Building at the corner of 1st Ave S and S Main Street. This is the third neighborhood business for Luigi DeNunzio, owner of Al Boccolino and Café Bengodi. Stop by to check out their menu and say “hi”.
  • Two new businesses are opening on Yesler Way, just west of 1st Ave S, and they’re going to be fabulous additions to the neighborhood.
    • Calisea, a home gift store, plans to be open in time for holiday shopping. Check out their website to get a sense of what owner, Alden Alvarado, has in mind for her Pioneer Square storefront.
    • Una Kim is bringing her seafood café, Ferry Queen, to the street level space in the Post Hotel at 90 Yesler Way, just upstairs from Little Uncle. (Think lobster rolls!) She’s working round-the-clock to get her doors open before the end of the year.
  • Construction continues around the neighborhood. We should be drinking coffee at Brendan Mullally’s Elm Coffee before the end of December. Casco Antiguo, Girin, and the Sounders Fan Experience Center will be highlights during the first part of 2015.
  • Congratulations to Tango Zulu for being named a national finalist in the Green America People & Planet award. Cast your vote and learn more here.

 

Holiday shopping in Pioneer Square will be the best it’s been in years. We’re making the most of all of our retail with fabulous holiday promotions three Saturdays this year: November 29, December 6, and December 13. This is the year to Shop the Square. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for details.

 

Follow us on Twitter @PioneerSquare to hear news as it breaks. I’m also going to try to do more with Twitter myself @k_true. (We’ll see how that goes.)