A coalition of community groups protested the grand opening of KODA Condominiums in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (CID) yesterday. The demonstration, organized by the CID Coalition (aka Humbows Not Hotels) and supported by Parisol (Pacific Rim Solidarity Network) and MPOP (Massage Parlor Outreach Project), was the latest of many actions over the years protesting the development including a protest at the groundbreaking in 2019.
“KODA was the first luxury high-rise approved in the CID after City Council’s controversial Mandatory Housing Affordability legislation, so it has serious implications for the future of the neighborhood,” wrote CID Coalition member Nina Wallace in an email.
Where there once stood a historic Seattle ballpark, land that’s now home to the Rainier Valley Lowe’s hardware store may soon be leveled once again to make way for an Amazon distribution facility.
Despite being re-zoned to accommodate dense, affordable housing and small businesses, concept documents filed with the City this week suggest that the Lowe’s property on Rainier Avenue South could soon host a 68,000 square-foot distribution center and a small ocean of parking spaces. The Pepsi plant north of Lowe’s is also part of the proposed reconstruction and it appears as though a deal with Amazon would involve the use of both properties.
On July 31, Seattle Councilmembers passed legislation approving a zoning change in Seattle’s Chinatown International District. The modification in the zoning code is the first step in kick-starting the city’s Mandatory Housing Affordability program in the neighborhood, a program that has been highly contested in the CID community.Continue reading Herbold: Mandatory Housing Affordability DEIS Has Room For Improvement→
Amplifying the Authentic Narratives of South Seattle
