Mayor praises Ave. facelift

Kayla Webley
2004-05-13
The Daily

Local business owners gathered yesterday outside The Woolly Mammoth on the Ave. to receive grants handed out by Mayor Greg Nickels as part of the city's facade improvement program in the U-District.

Twelve business owners received grants ranging from $145 to $10,000 for improvements on their storefronts. UW architecture students have been involved in the program by designing facades for merchants.

Architecture students have also been involved in facelift programs throughout Seattle designed to increase investment in lower-income neighborhoods and attract positive attention to businesses.

"We've been working hard for over two years now to renew the University District," said Nickels. "Part of it is just small little things like fixing up the storefronts, giving them a new look and a fresh feeling so that the merchants can reach out to customers."

The architecture students are approaching the work with the businesses as an on-site studio project.

"Students would meet with the owners, finding out what they wanted ... and then acting as design consultants for the changes that the owners want," said Jim Nicholls, architecture professor.

Cary Westerbeck, an architecture graduate student, participated in the program through the School of Architecture's studio program.

"The plan was to bring students together to do facade designs for merchants on the Ave. who needed new designs for their storefronts," he said. "It was a great opportunity for design students to get to do something that we hoped would get built and work with people who were real clients."

The city grants, which must be matched by the business, gave owners funds for various projects on their storefronts.

"We are going to put a new canopy ... at least over the one tenant space. We are going to have new signs and new storefront windows in a portion of it," said Brian Ives, owner of 4145 University Way, LLC.

The Woolly Mammoth's facade improvement has been completed and it has already noticed the effects.

"Our business last month is 20 percent higher than the year before. We don't say that it is the complete contribution of the facade building ... but we think that it was one of the things that actually helped it," said owner Kian Pornour.

According to Ives, his $10,000 city grant will hopefully elicit overall improvements in business once the project is completed.

"It will attract tenants who are interested in being in a good location and in a good spot ... we will be able to charge more rent for nicer spaces," he said.

In addition to the 12 businesses that received grants, the city is considering 10 other applicants, as the recently completed facade improvements have incited other businesses to undertake needed improvements.

"It is going to have a positive impact on other landlords around who will see that it is a nice space that will attract some nice tenants and they are going to say, 'Wow, it would be nice if we could repair and restore our buildings as well,'" said Ives.

Pornour views the facade improvements as having a beautifying effect on the street.

"It is going in the right direction,” he said. "It's helped dramatically in order to beautify the street."

According to Nickels, the facade improvements will revitalize the U-District community.

"What it is does ultimately, I think, is it creates a healthier community. If the business community does well and the University is a full partner in the neighborhood, then it is likely that this neighborhood is going to thrive," he said.