On behalf of the Washington State Public Stadium Authority (PSA) and the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District (PFD) we are pleased to share with you our proposal to amend the Seattle Comprehensive Plan to create a formal Stadium District.

Nearly ten years ago, the PSA and the PFD started a community dialogue about the future of our two major sports stadiums and event/entertainment venues and the relationship of this area with adjacent neighborhoods. In 2012 we created a Stadium District Concept Plan which was shared broadly and led to City-directed studies and recommendations for the area. Over the years, the area included in the proposed Stadium District has continued to evolve.

And today, we have an opportunity to work together to create here a new, unique destination neighborhood. As you know, there is literally no other place like it. The area is home to two major sports stadiums and an event center; adjacent to culturally rich, historic neighborhoods; lies next to downtown; is in a growing transportation hub; serves as the southern anchor to our recently reimagined waterfront; and stands at the gateway to the Duwamish industrial lands. Yet, a significant portion of the area still holds unrealized potential.

Building on ideas from cities around the country, but incorporating Seattle’s unique values and diversity of culture, we can create a strong sense of place with a vibrant mix of retail; open space; housing, with a workforce emphasis; safe, pedestrian friendly streets for residents, tourists and sports fans; entertainment venues; with room to expand small, new-concept industrial businesses that provide family wage job opportunities for those who have not yet benefited from Seattle’s economic boom.

Over the past decade, the Stadium District neighborhoods have seen incredible changes:

• The new Highway 99 tunnel is open and the Viaduct is coming down. As a result, the roughly 4 acre WOSCA property in the northwest portion of the Stadium Overlay area will likely no longer be needed by WSDOT for the Viaduct project in the relatively near future, making it available for redevelopment.
• The Waterfront is undergoing a metamorphosis to a new preeminent public space leading right to the doorstep of Century Link Field, and the Port is moving forward with plans to use portions of Terminal 46 for berthing cruise ships.
• Light rail has greatly expanded and Sound Transit has ambitious plans and funding for continuing to do so, including adjacent to the Stadiums.
• Seattle housing prices have spiked upwards, doubling since 2012.
• Half of Seattle’s population is now 35 years of age or younger, with many among this younger generation demonstrating their willingness to make more varied housing choices than older residents.
• New, proximate, residential and mixed use development has been constructed in Pioneer Square adjacent to CenturyLink Field, e.g., the NOLO apartments, Stadium Place condos, Gridiron Condos; two 240-foot tall, mixed-use developments, including residential, office, and hotel uses; and two new towers in planning.
• Almost no industrial uses remain in the existing Stadium Overlay area and what remains consists of small, new-concept industry or warehouse space. Much of the southern portion of the proposed Stadium District has already transformed to artisanal, retail, hospitality and service uses.

Recently, the PSA and PFD engaged a consultant to meet with dozens of public and private stakeholders to gauge their current interests and concerns about the establishment of a Stadium District. We have listened, and we believe that our proposal speaks to what we’ve heard, and would allow our community to capitalize on near-term opportunities that will produce a lifetime of public and private benefits. Our proposal will:

• Create a Stadium District as an independent land use classification, that would include the majority of land currently in the Stadium Overlay area, as well as all of the CenturyLink Field property, including the parking lot which is currently included in the Pioneer Square Preservation District and owned by the PSA. It is grounded in its location south of downtown, at the southern terminus of the waterfront, adjacent to two historic neighborhoods and at the gateway to the Duwamish job center, with large sports and entertainment venues, as a unique community that builds on the public investments already made in transportation, stadium infrastructure and waterfront redevelopment. The Stadium District will also serve as a transition area between the diverse neighborhoods that it abuts.
• Allow residential and lodging throughout the District with an emphasis on workforce housing to support existing and future employment opportunities in the District and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Recognize the Stadium District as a unique 24/7 neighborhood that provides an inviting and safe public realm guided by urban design principles that establish the overall building form, character, and scale in the District.
• Support the continued success of industrial operations in the Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Center, which borders the Stadium District to the south and west.

You can see examples of thriving neighborhoods that have been created around other stadiums, as well as neighborhoods that have successfully located housing next to light industry here. Our proposal was submitted to the Seattle City Council as of May 15.

We welcome your comments and questions. Please email them to: comments@stadiumdistrict.org

On behalf of the Washington State Public Stadium Authority (PSA) and the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District (PFD) we are pleased to share with you our proposal to amend the Seattle Comprehensive Plan to create a formal Stadium District.

Nearly ten years ago, the PSA and the PFD started a community dialogue about the future of our two major sports stadiums and event/entertainment venues and the relationship of this area with adjacent neighborhoods. In 2012 we created a Stadium District Concept Plan which was shared broadly and led to City-directed studies and recommendations for the area. Over the years, the area included in the proposed Stadium District has continued to evolve.

And today, we have an opportunity to work together to create here a new, unique destination neighborhood. As you know, there is literally no other place like it. The area is home to two major sports stadiums and an event center; adjacent to culturally rich, historic neighborhoods; lies next to downtown; is in a growing transportation hub; serves as the southern anchor to our recently reimagined waterfront; and stands at the gateway to the Duwamish industrial lands. Yet, a significant portion of the area still holds unrealized potential.

Building on ideas from cities around the country, but incorporating Seattle’s unique values and diversity of culture, we can create a strong sense of place with a vibrant mix of retail; open space; housing, with a workforce emphasis; safe, pedestrian friendly streets for residents, tourists and sports fans; entertainment venues; with room to expand small, new-concept industrial businesses that provide family wage job opportunities for those who have not yet benefited from Seattle’s economic boom.

Over the past decade, the Stadium District neighborhoods have seen incredible changes:

• The new Highway 99 tunnel is open and the Viaduct is coming down. As a result, the roughly 4 acre WOSCA property in the northwest portion of the Stadium Overlay area will likely no longer be needed by WSDOT for the Viaduct project in the relatively near future, making it available for redevelopment.
• The Waterfront is undergoing a metamorphosis to a new preeminent public space leading right to the doorstep of Century Link Field, and the Port is moving forward with plans to use portions of Terminal 46 for berthing cruise ships.
• Light rail has greatly expanded and Sound Transit has ambitious plans and funding for continuing to do so, including adjacent to the Stadiums.
• Seattle housing prices have spiked upwards, doubling since 2012.
• Half of Seattle’s population is now 35 years of age or younger, with many among this younger generation demonstrating their willingness to make more varied housing choices than older residents.
• New, proximate, residential and mixed use development has been constructed in Pioneer Square adjacent to CenturyLink Field, e.g., the NOLO apartments, Stadium Place condos, Gridiron Condos; two 240-foot tall, mixed-use developments, including residential, office, and hotel uses; and two new towers in planning.
• Almost no industrial uses remain in the existing Stadium Overlay area and what remains consists of small, new-concept industry or warehouse space. Much of the southern portion of the proposed Stadium District has already transformed to artisanal, retail, hospitality and service uses.

Recently, the PSA and PFD engaged a consultant to meet with dozens of public and private stakeholders to gauge their current interests and concerns about the establishment of a Stadium District. We have listened, and we believe that our proposal speaks to what we’ve heard, and would allow our community to capitalize on near-term opportunities that will produce a lifetime of public and private benefits. Our proposal will:

• Create a Stadium District as an independent land use classification, that would include the majority of land currently in the Stadium Overlay area, as well as all of the CenturyLink Field property, including the parking lot which is currently included in the Pioneer Square Preservation District and owned by the PSA. It is grounded in its location south of downtown, at the southern terminus of the waterfront, adjacent to two historic neighborhoods and at the gateway to the Duwamish job center, with large sports and entertainment venues, as a unique community that builds on the public investments already made in transportation, stadium infrastructure and waterfront redevelopment. The Stadium District will also serve as a transition area between the diverse neighborhoods that it abuts.
• Allow residential and lodging throughout the District with an emphasis on workforce housing to support existing and future employment opportunities in the District and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Recognize the Stadium District as a unique 24/7 neighborhood that provides an inviting and safe public realm guided by urban design principles that establish the overall building form, character, and scale in the District.
• Support the continued success of industrial operations in the Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Center, which borders the Stadium District to the south and west.

You can see examples of thriving neighborhoods that have been created around other stadiums, as well as neighborhoods that have successfully located housing next to light industry here. Our proposal was submitted to the Seattle City Council as of May 15.

We welcome your comments and questions. Please email them to: comments@stadiumdistrict.org