Alliance for Pioneer Square – Page 81 – The Alliance for Pioneer Square works to help preserve what makes Pioneer Square the most authentic, engaging and dynamic neighborhood in Seattle.

Business & Community Update – January 2014

Between what’s new and what’s already happening in the neighborhood, we know it’s going to be a great New Year.

La Bodega, a Dominican eatery, is now open in the Prefontaine Building. The food is as amazing as everyone said it would be and the atmosphere is ever-so inviting. While chef/owner Manu Alfau welcomes phone orders for a quick pick up, you’re going to want to linger.
Mike Easton announced that he’ll be opening Pizzeria Gabbiano, a Roman-style pizzeria, in the gorgeous Pacific Commercial Building later this year. The news has created quite the buzz in Seattle’s food scene. If you’ve experienced Il Corvo, you know why.
Diva Espresso opened its doors in Smith Tower last month. The coffee, pastries, and elegant space are delightful. The baristas make visits a great experience. Stop by and say “hi”.
The Smeraldo family, owners of Pioneer Square’s fine dining anchor Il Terrazzo Carmine, announced plans to open a cicchetti bar serving “small bites” later this spring. Intermezzo is going to be a fabulous addition to the neighborhood. Their sidewalk café will be a popular destination next summer!
Got your gear for the next big game? (Go Seahawks!) Game Day Sports opened in one of the new retail spaces in Stadium Place. If you go to the game, be sure to stop by the neighborhood concession stand or the beer hall at CenturyLink Field to enjoy the food of Pioneer Square restaurants – Salumi, Rain Shadow Meats, and McCoy’s Firehouse. Or check out any of the neighborhood bars or restaurants before or after the game.
The Bicycle Alliance of Washington is now Washington Bikes. In addition to the name change, they’ve added a retail storefront with the coolest selection of products and resources. It might even inspire you to pull out your bike before spring.
In other two-wheel news, Seattle E Bike will open the doors of their new space at 570 1^st Ave S. this month, maybe even as early as Friday! We love it when growing Pioneer Square businesses stay in Pioneer Square.
Matt and the gang at Tarboo have been designing and creating gorgeous clothing in Pioneer Square for a long time. They took the big step and moved to a new space on 2^nd Ave between James & Cherry that includes a retail showroom. Now everyone can explore and experience one of the neighborhood’s best kept secrets.
We’re all watching and eagerly awaiting the opening of The London Plane in the old bank space on Occidental Mall. We all know it will be worth the wait. (By the way, have you heard about their “Larder Share” program?)
HUB Seattle is expanding into the Pacific Commercial Building. They’re celebrating their new space, 220 & Change, on January 30 and the neighborhood is invited. Community Sourced Capital, funders of projects around the neighborhood and a company that started in the original HUB space, is opening their own office in the new building as part of the expansion.
And who is that person on the cover of Seattle Met Magazine? Why, it’s Jessie Poole of E Smith Mercantile!

As always, there is more news than can fit in this space. Stay tuned for more. Let’s keep business moving in Pioneer Square. Resolve to eat, shop, and explore more right here in the ‘hood. Here’s to 2014 and, please, stay in touch!

Karen True

Director of Business Development

Update to the Neighborhood – January 2014

Happy New Year. Hope you had a lovely holiday season and are ready to get back to it.

The Alliance staff and boards are looking forward to a very busy year. In addition to our on-going work in neighborhood advocacy, marketing and promotion, and recruiting even more retail and restaurants we will be launching some additional initiatives.

We will be updating the neighborhood revitalization plan. The neighborhood has delivered on its revitalization commitments from the prior plan and an update will be a great way to take stock, inform and include more people in a vision and shared set of strategies for maintaining our momentum. We are committed to Pioneer Square being a fabulous neighborhood for everyone.

The newly expanded BIA has an interim board in place but that too will be expanding; ensuring inclusive and broad representation of our diverse businesses in Pioneer Square. We anticipate electing the permanent board during the 1^st quarter of 2014. Please let me know if you would like to participate.

We will be adding new staff positions: 1) a person to do B2B outreach, specifically focused on the subsidized parking program and managing our parking supply to ensure parking for shoppers, diners, and clients and 2) a person to coordinate and communicate across the various construction projects in the neighborhood and take on the work of improving the pedestrian realm.

We anticipate continuing our critical work to improve street disorder and safety with the new administration, working towards humane solutions that work are critical to the future of Pioneer Square and all of downtown.

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

Leslie Smith

Executive Director

Watch the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project on YouTube

The Washington State Department of Transportation has a YouTube channel dedicated to the big construction project that has dominated the Seattle Waterfront for the past couple of years. Here you’ll find animated videos of how Bertha the world’s largest tunnel boring machine works, loving goodbyes to the old viaduct which the new tunnel will replace, and milestones throughout the project. Above is a video showing Mario driving a go-cart through a simulation WSDOT originally posted of a temporary route for SR 99.

As we’re learning about what’s really blocking Bertha the Tunnel Boring Machine, you may want to get caught up on what Bertha is doing underneath Pioneer Square and why she’s digging a 2-mile tunnel underneath Downtown Seattle. Visit Milepost 31, the information center dedicated to the area’s history and the technology used in the tunnel boring machine. It’s located in Pioneer Square and tours of the nearby launch site are held regularly, as well as a Speaker Series on First Thursdays. There’s also a fabulous historical website called ViaductHistory.com through which visitors can explore the history of the SR 99 viaduct and surrounding neighborhoods. You can even follow Bertha on Twitter!