Part 1: Why Plan for 35th Ave NE? Change is Inevitable.

This is the beginning of a mini series on the reasons for working towards a neighborhood plan.

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A comment we periodically hear from folks or read in our survey results goes something like this, "Don't change a thing. 35th is perfect just as is."  Unfortunately, freezing time is not in our means and change is inevitable.

The Theodora is being sold by the Volunteers of America.

Recently, this inevitable change became exemplified with the listing of a 3.7 acre property at 3300 NE 65th Street owned by the Children's Home Society of Washington, which isn't on 35th Ave NE but is within the limits of our draft planning boundary. Change cannot be stopped and it comes when we least expect it. Today, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association shared that the Theodora is being sold by the Volunteers of America. The Theodora property is approximately 1.49 acres in size and is located east of the CHSW of property. This means that nearly 5.2 acres of property is for sale and will likely be changing near the 35th/65th intersection.

According to our survey, 84% of respondents are comfortable with more development, 92% of respondents want more retail diversity, and 88% of respondents think that the business district is "underdeveloped." One way to interpret these particular results is that folks generally would like some type of change to occur to the 35th Ave NE business district. Our hope is that we can provide a community's vision for the 35th Ave NE Business District to help guide future changes for the benefit of both the community as well as business owners and developers.