The Isthmus Is Not The Thing
I think there are certainly some valid reasons to question the development of high end condos in our downtown right now. Personally, I don’t think the conditions are set for them to be successful. I think we’ve got work to do yet on creating a downtown worth caring about. I’m not saying we don’t have a downtown worth caring about now, I love downtown, I see it’s present beauty AND it’s future potential. More housing is going to create a need for community, and that could be as artificial as the mall food court, or as real as an open air market on closed-to-traffic downtown city streets.
The thing is, whether or not the conditions are right for these condos isn’t my problem. That’s the developer’s problem, that’s their risk, not mine. If this development were to go through and fizzle because no one bought in, then not much would be different than it is now. If it doesn’t do as well as Tri Vo hopes and they have to auction some of them off, then somebody is going to get a really good deal on fancy downtown housing. If it’s a raging success, then great, we have new neighbors and an expanded sales tax base just in time for the Downtown Tax District.
I’ve stayed away from this whole debate, honestly, because I don’t really care one way or the other. None of the arguments for or against either the rezone or the condos in general sway me from the fence. As far as views go, I like to live in a city because there are lots of people around and because that’s more sustainable than living in the burbs. That said, as cities grow, in exchange for sustainable housing density, you have to sacrifice things. Cars might be one, a view of the water might be another.
Another side of this is gentrification. The theory is that this condo development is one step in the gentrification of Olympia. Well, I don’t think condo developments equal gentrification. I think disengaged citizens and a lack of civic pride bring gentrification. If we want to see our values reflected in the kinds programs that are created, projects that are started, and developments that are built, then We have to invest our sweat. Instead of latching on to the divisive issues of the day and choosing sides, we should embrace the things we like and work hard to maintain them, grow them, and start other things we like.
This is about sweat equity. We invest our sweat in downtown expecting no immediate returns, knowing that in the future there will be a huge return in the form of our values being manifested. The more people investing their sweat in downtown today, the less chance there is that our downtown will become a gentrified SoCal strip mall or a soulless civic center with a ‘Promenade’ and private security (unless that’s what we want, and if that’s the case, then all we have to do is sit back and watch).
We have to get active, we have to be willing to sweat, but more importantly, we have stop arguing and start working together. One thing we know for sure is that everybody involved loves Olympia, and that’s a hell of a starting point.
jwb
Rob, I’m happy to say we agree that high end condos probably won’t be successful. But I do think Olympia will suffer if the rezone goes through and the project fizzles. There are no guarantees that the developer can get the financing for this high end project — it could be derailed even before ground is broken. The minute the rezone goes through, however, the value of the real estate parcels on the isthmus will go up immediately. As you probably know, many Olympians are pushing to have Heritage Park expanded to include the unoccupied parcels on the isthmus. If the rezone is approved and the land values jump, public acquisition of the land will become much more expensive. Olympia may end up with expensive rezoned land that no one can afford to do anything with.
I have been sweating lately gathering signatures on a city initiative to study the feasibility of turning most of the isthmus into a park. It’s one of the least divisive things I’ve ever worked on — almost everyone I talk to is enthusiastic about the idea of tearing down the ugly Capitol Center Building and putting a park on the isthmus. This feasibility study is a necessary first step to arranging the financing for such an endeavor. A wide range of Olympians, from former elected city officials to current SDS members have been working together to make this happen. It’s really exciting to see such a diversity of people pulling together and utilizing the democratic process in the face of an influential self-interested developer, an unresponsive city government, and a biased local newspaper.
I’m curious as to what sort of sweaty projects you think people who care about the future of Olympia SHOULD be working on, if not this?
September 14th, 2008 at 6:24 pm