Former Tully's site languishes
It's been almost ten months since Tully's abandoned its Madison Park location in a downsizing move last October. And it's five months since the Madison Park Blogger reported that HomeStreet Bank would be opening a branch in the space. Yet to date, about the only thing that's happened to the building is the addition of some graffiti.
One of the most-asked questions we hear is, "What's up with that Tully's space anyway?" So we decided to see if we could get an answer from HomeStreet. Karen Brandvick-Baker of the Bank's corporate communications department responded as follows: "We do not announce potential new branch locations until we have received approval to open the branch. The location has not yet gone through that process."
In the meantime, presumably the Bank is paying rent on the lease, which was rumored to have been $10,000 per month or more when Tully's held the space. So it may be an expensive waiting game for HomeStreet, which recently announced it's buying small banks in Seattle and Yakima. Those purchases also require regulatory approval.
Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to contact Home Street Bank and Wallace Properties to express your enthusiasm or regret regarding another financial institution taking residency in the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteHomeStreet, Inc.
Terri Silver, VP, Investor Relations/Corporate Communications, 206-389-6303
terri.silver@homestreet.com
Wallace Properties
Robert C. Wallace, CEO
425 455-9976
rwallace@wallaceproperties.com
Lindy,
ReplyDeleteOnce again you've done Madison Park a real service. Next we need the contact info for Constance Gillespie so we in Madison Park can influence our building owners, not just complain about another bank or the lack of a book store!
It might even be time for all the building & store owners names to be listed for all to see...
"Influence" or bully? Building owners do not owe you or anyone else answers about their buildings, who they choose to lease them to or condition. Contact the city if you feel there is dereliction but bullying - cyber or in person is not OK.
DeleteFYI, it is the building owners responsibility to remove the graffiti based on city ordinance! This graffiti has been there for weeks, so who is "bullying" in this case?
DeleteGreat. Contact the city, report the infraction and let the process work. Acting as a one-person militia is not in the best interest of anyone. Once the Home Street folks move in with their mega-neon signage I'm sure you will spearhead the witch-hunt over that as well. If you don't like what they are doing then buy the building and see if ypu can find a crackpot to pay the ridiculous rent and be the arbitor of Madison Park taste.
DeleteIt now appears that you are bullying people who respond on this blog as well if they report graffiti!
DeleteThis raises the question of who YOU represent and WHO YOU ARE PROTECTING?
Report graffiti to the city. No one reading this blog has the authority to do anything about it. There is no double secret conspiracy to keep Madison Park out of the downward spiral it appears to be headed toward. It is important to remember that people have the right to maintain their property to their standards - not be dictated to by the stepford people of the neighborhood.
DeleteSo who is your beef with, the blog author, the Community Council, the Business Group, the City of Seattle ordinances or the Stepford people of the neighborhood? In other words, what is your problem?
DeleteNo beef at all with any folks who realize it is not their job to police the 'hood. It seems that the above mentioned people have no problem recognizing their role in the process. What is YOUR problem? I realize that it runs contrary to everything Madison Park stands for but it is OK to not have every building, resident and lightpost look exactly the same.
DeleteThank you for pursuing this - there are a number of (notably mostly former coffee shop) sites that I drive by regularly that have now been empty for months despite being situated in high traffic retail areas. Makes me wonder about the "recovery".
ReplyDeleteHome Street just opened a new branch on Broadway North of Roy. Lots of neon on the outside of the building. I assume when they put in the branch down in our neck of the woods there will be loads of complaining about that too. Can't win with this crowd.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify my earlier post: Having a strong business mix is vital to the success of a neighborhood. In Madison Valley we are trying very hard to work collaboratively with the businesses, community, and property owners regarding vacant spaces. We try to gauge what sorts of businesses residents want, what would enhance—not compete—with existing businesses, then we (residents, merchants, the councils) reach out to businesses that would be good additions to the neighborhood. For the property owners it reduces some of the marketing burden and helps place a tenant that is likely to be successful, and therefore able to pay his rent. It doesn't always work, but we've attracted some good businesses this way. My comment was not about bullying, but about being proactive. What specific businesses or types of amenities would you like to see in Madison Park? Do you know people who can help bring those businesses in?
ReplyDeleteDidn't Madison Valley have 4 French restaurants at one point? How is that not competition? It seems like the good folks from the neighborhood found a way to make it work - Bastille Day was awesome. Retailers will only move into a neighborhood if they can make money - hard to do with a $10K fixed nut.
DeleteInterestingly, the taggers are being proactive and have now hit the front of the Tully's building!
ReplyDelete