Bailey/Coy Books, Broadway, Seattle, WA,
originally uploaded by djwudi.

UPDATE 12:10 PM:
I spoke with Bailey Coy owner Michael Wells this morning shortly after the shop opened for the first day of business since his big (and sad) announcement.

Wells said his decision to close for good after years of financial struggle came down to the fundamental question: What does an independent bookstore need to be in this era to survive?

Wells said he's been thinking of how to change for a long time. "I've considered so many permutations. Downsizing. Changing my stock. Events. The realities of book selling at this moment are such that I'm not even sure a change of retail model would even work," Wells said.

"I think a new bookstore has to look differently than in the past. I don't know that I can do that. I don't really understand what is needed. I don't know what e-books will do, how discounts will work, what it will take to do better."

So Wells said he has decided to do the prudent thing. Quit.

"Even if there was a huge groundswell of support from the community, the business model itself is so precarious," Wells said. "I wanted to end this with grace."

Not that the community hasn't tried to keep the story going. Wells confirmed that a prominent Capitol Hill business owner who is a longtime customer had been working with him to find a solution to keep Bailey Coy in business.

"A loan doesn't really help any more. The credit debt is too scary. We've gone through a couple of attempts to find financing and we end up in the same place. No," Wells said. "One of the pieces of this story is how hard it is for small businesses to get credit. At some point I stopped and said, 'I wouldn't even give us credit!'"

Wells said the financial condition of his shop wasn't dire -- in fact, he said he has never taken out a bank loan to keep the store afloat -- but that it had become clear that the struggle to survive was no longer worth the effort.

"This isn't the bookstore I want to be running. I only want to run a good bookstore. I cannot finance -- and the Cap Hill community -- cannot finance this store," Wells said.

Now, Wells said the best way for you to help him close Bailey Coy with 'grace' is to support the store as it sells off its remaining stock over the next four weeks. The prices will keep dropping, of course, but buying a book today will help Wells pay off remaining bills. He also said there will be a new 'Bailey Coy rummage' section of the store to sell off some of the memorabilia and etc. that has collected in the store over the years including a framed package wrapper from Feminist Press addressed to founder Barbara Bailey and some of the shop's classic window displays.

The best memorabilia will be part of an auction at a party Wells is planning to celebrate the store's history. Wells calls the party Bailey Coy's wake. "Barbara will be there," Wells said. "We'll auction off great memorabilia like a pair of underwear signed by David Sedaris."

The happy part of the whole thing, Wells said, is hearing from people about their love for the store. "I'm hearing so many stories. Stories about people coming here as a kid. We're connected to a variety of communities. A lot of people have different experiences. That's been great."

As for what comes next for Wells, he says he hasn't had time to think about it despite friends telling him for years that he should think about life after Bailey Coy.

"It's been a great 30 years," Wells said. "For 25 of those years, it was a profitable business. And then I bought it," he deadpans. Now that the struggle has ended, Wells can laugh.

UPDATE 9:25 AM:
Owner Michael Wells says thanks (and more!) in the comments below:

Thank You

Thanks to all of you for your kind words. We will remain open the rest of this month and book cards and gift certificates are still redeemable.

We're obviously very sad about this. We've been proud to be a part of your lives. 

I came to Bailey/Coy in 1989, so, while it's possible that I may be stuck in the 80's, it's far more likely that I'm stuck in the 90's. The 1890's, perhaps...

Original Post:
Michael Wells, owner of indie Capitol Hill bookstore Bailey Coy Books and a prominent member of the Hill business community, tonight announced that he is closing doors on the shop at the end of November. Publicola was the first to report on the closure in a report written by a Bailey Coy employee. The reporter included this press release from Wells about his decision:

Bailey/Coy Books, after serving the Capitol Hill community, the greater Seattle area and generations of book lovers everywhere for 26 years, will be closing its doors at the end of November....

(more)

At stake, the nearly one-third of Seattle voters who say they are still undecided, according to the Publicola poll linked to above.

Video highlights...

Miles of Aisles, originally uploaded by sea turtle.

It's rumor season on Capitol Hill. Last week, it was Elliott Bay Book Company pondering a Capitol Hill move.

Now, CHS has gathered rumors about a massive new Capitol Hill grocery store being planned that will likely dominate the Hill and command the lion's share of your Capitol Hill grocery dollars. A person in the real-estate industry with knowledge of the situation confirmed that a major player in the local grocery scene is considering a new Capitol Hill home and has a location picked out in the heart of the Hill.

If the project comes to fruition, it will be a significant development for Capitol Hill. The new store would join a crowded Capitol Hill grocery environment with no clear leader. The QFC inside the Broadway Market has been upgraded from its old Fred Meyer days. The produce section is expanded and the company hosts wine and beer tastings that you won't find in the typical QFC across the state. Broadway's second QFC down in Pike/Pine is more typical of the chain's offerings. Both stores are infamous for their near-daily reports of shoplifting. Meanwhile, there are Safeways at 15th and John and 23rd and Madison and Madison's Trader Joe's also keeps Capitol Hill pantries well stocked. As for Capitol Hill's indie markets, there is only one large player left. Madison Market celebrated its 30-year anniversary last October. 15th Ave's Rainbow Grocery went under in spring 2007.

The new store would likely eclipse all of these existing grocery providers when it opens in 2010. CHS is working to get more details before we reveal the rumored name and location. Please add anything you've heard in the comments or send e-mail to chs@capitolhillseattle.com

Front page story in today's Seattle Times: Starbucks on 15th is reopening soon as "15th Avenue Coffee and Tea". Didn't we hear that news around here on CHS, say back in June?

Somewhat ironic that the Seattle Times article also reports that Starbucks executives was snooping on (and emulating) local businesses:

Victrola Coffee Roasters saw the Starbucks people a lot more often.

"They spent the last 12 months in our store up on 15th [Avenue] with these obnoxious folders that said, 'Observation,' " said Victrola owner Dan Ollis.

He thinks it's interesting that they spent all that time in his shop, which serves wine and beer, then applied for a liquor license to sell wine and beer at 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea.

Can we expect the Seattle Times to start getting more like CHS soon?

Here we go again
Originally uploaded by ERIK98122

Clearly, this is just nature reminding you of Tuesday's city council session where they'll be discussing December's snow and ice craziness. If you're like many of the people living on Hill and can't make Tuesday morning's session, send an e-mail (click the council's little heads here to get their page with e-mail details and more) and tune in to watch online.

Update: 8:22p

A few pictures from my neck of the woods.

And a video of Broadway from cheesecake

Update 11:11p
Round-up from the comments:

o Report of tree down on bus wires along 15th Ave E at Volunteer Park. MvB on the scene says wires down for both north and south routes and that 15th Ave is CLOSED. Map

Photo: MvB

o City page with power outage listing and updates

o Power out in stretches across city so bring a few extra blankets and a flashlight to bed with you tonight. Sleep tight.

The Seattle City Council this afternoon unanimously approved a bill authorizing an agreement between the city and Sound Transit to construct and operate a street car running from Union Station, through First Hill to the Capitol Hill light rail station site on Broadway. CHS reported on the bill's passage from the council's transportation committee here.

Transportation chair Jan Drago said the line will be completed quickly -- likely before the Broadway station opens in 2016. "We will be fast-forwarding the money," Drago said.

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen voiced his opposition to the cost of streetcars but voted for the bill. Before voting, Rasmussen called the project "another camel under the tent" toward completing a streetcar system in the city.

In addition to structuring the working agreement with Sound Transit, the bill calls for the City Council to define the line's route and own the ongoing funding process to manage any costs overruns or renegotiation with Sound Transit.

By the agreement, Sound Transit will...

Authorities are forecasting 'excessive noise' events and an increase in showcases for the military industrial complex starting this morning. Be prepared for bursts of teeth rattling noise.

Thursday
9:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Friday
12:45 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.

Saturday
12:45 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.

Sunday
12:45 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.

To report an incident in your area, please contact:

• The Seafair board at (206) 728-0123
• The FAA regarding low flying aircraft at (425) 227-1389

UPDATE 1:50 PM:
Here's a look at what a lone Angel sounds like on a direct overhead pass. Below the Human Pain Threshold. Weak.

Just in from the scanner. Metro Tour bus with around 50 passengers on board has crashed off Melrose and is hanging about 10 feet over the lanes of I5 below. Accident involves two buses and there are reports of injuries. Heading out now for coverage and pictures.

Update: 12:52pm - It's actually two big tour buses that made a really poor choice to go down the very steep Thomas towards I-5 and slipped the whole way.  The front tires and door of one bus is hanging over the travel lanes of I-5, but it doesn't appear to be in danger of falling.   It did a real number on the guardrail and concrete though.

Update: 1:09pm - First pics:

Witness saw 1st bus had hit rail and then saw 2nd race down behind down Thomas

Update 1:15pm: Justin is talking to people at the scene.  The buses were full of kids.  The first bus went down Thomas and slid into the guardrail.  Then the second bus followed the same route and slid "really fast" down the hill, clipped the first bus and...

From today's LGBT Equality March & Rally:

Photo by Jeff Romeo, special to CHS

Photo by Jeff Romeo, special to CHS

Photo by Jeff Romeo, special to CHS

Photo by Jeff Romeo, special to CHS

CHS will be covering the memorial procession to honor Seattle Police Department officer Timothy Brenton as it passes across Capitol Hill this morning. The more than 1,000 vehicles and thousands of police, fire and emergency personnel expected to participate in the procession leave the University of Washington's Husky Stadium parking lot starting at 9 AM. They are expected to begin passing through the Capitol Hill area after 10 AM on their way to Key Arena where the memorial will be held.

• A map of the route can be found here.
• There is no street parking along the route and bus service will be disrupted. Seattle Transit Blog has a list of planned re-routes. Metro says to expect delays.
• If you have a report from your morning's bus experience to share, leave a comment here or Tweet to #caphillbus

Watch this post for updates and pictures from the procession. Our news partner the Seattle Times is also updating an interactive map and timeline of today's events . You can watch live video coverage from KING-5 here .

UPDATE:

Photo: Scott Durham/Central District News

Central District News has coverage of the memorial ceremony at Key Arena . You can also check out photos of the procession's path through the CD here .

Preliminary loop route plan ( Download PDF)

12th Ave Streetcar Group (aka Group for the Loop) organizer Tri Nguyen writes in with an update regarding progress on an alternative route being proposed for the First Hill/Capitol Hill/Central District streetcar line. He also says stay tuned for a Cap Hill/Pike Pine community gathering on the streetcar soon, where Seattle Department of Transportation will present the latest thinking on the project. Here's Tri's update:

With the demolition just about to start around the empty buildings on Broadway, Capitol Hill's light rail era is a long way off. But by the end of this year, service will have started on the initial segment in the line -- carrying passengers from downtown to the airport. You will soon be able to say, hey, mom, dad, get on the train and I'll meet you downtown. You won't, however, be able to say -- make sure to get on the express train. There won't be one.

According to an e-mail from spokesperson Jeff Munnoch -- who does a great job keeping me and lots of other people on Capitol Hill informed about what's happening with Sound Transit -- Seattle's light rail tracks aren't configured for express service.

Given our current track configurations, it is not feasible to run “express trains” (limited stop) to SeaTac Airport.  Light rail vehicles will leave the stations every 6-10  minutes depending on the time of day,  "Regular service" trains will stop at each station, which means the express...

This upcoming Wednesday there will be an Early Design Guidance Meeting for the mixed-use apartment complex proposed for Thomas and Broadway (details below). The site includes the properties that house Cafe Septieme, Noah's Bagels, Pho 900, Bank of America, the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, and the Broadway Farmer's Market, among others and will have approximately 24,000 sqft of commercial space, 235 residential units, and about 250-275 parking spaces. The project is being developed by SRM Development and the Merrill Gardens Company, a family-owned, Seattle-based company behind the Merrill Gardens Retirement Communities throughout the United States (and most recently at U-Village).

The project is pretty standard in terms of new Capitol Hill development. Ground floor retail will front Broadway and wrap around Thomas St with upper floors consisting of mainly studios and one bedrooms, with a few 2 bedrooms interspersed. The building will drop from 65ft along Broadway to 40ft along 10th Ave and 7 Live/Work units will front the ground floor of 10th. Since it is early in the design process there are no official designs for the facade but the proposal does include a few sketches of possibilities. In talks, SRM Representative Andy Loos has repeatedly mentioned Brix as something similar in scope and design.

First Floor Plan

While all the existing buildings will be demolished, Loos said that current commercial tenants have been contacted and offered space when construction was complete. Bank of America has already agreed to return to the new building and are currently looking for a temporary location in the vicinity. No others have confirmed. Loos also said that the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce would "certainly be welcome" when construction was completed but the Chamber's Jack Hilovsky said that they are looking for a new location for when their lease is up next Fall and don't have plans to return at this time.

The most intriguing part of the proposal is a community space that would be available to tenants as well as community groups and organizations. While nothing has been confirmed (entrance location, square footage, included equipment, etc.) I am told that Merrill Gardens incorporated a similar space in their U-Village development.

Idea for 10th Ave Entrance

The least intriguing part is the parking. Even though the site will be less than one block from the new light rail station, the First Hill Streetcar, and bus routes 8,9,43,49, and 60 and is zoned with no parking requirements, the developers are still proposing more than 250 parking spots. I asked Loos if there was any chance that the parking could be reduced. His reply:

We have discussed the parking spaces and will do further review to determine how many we will provide.  We certainly don’t want to be under-parked since finding spaces on the street in Capitol Hill is virtually impossible today and if our residents were to have to find street parking in order to park their cars we’d be adding to an already significant parking problem.  There could be a segment of the residents that have cars but choose to use public transportation anyway.  They will still need a parking space even though they don’t use their car every day…we want to be able to accommodate them.  We certainly don’t want to build parking spaces that

I guess you can't win them all.

Project: 230 Broadway E  map

Review Meeting:	November 18, 6:30 pm
	SU Alumni Relations & Admissions Building
	824 12th Ave  map
	Meeting Room
Review Phase:	EDG--Early Design Guidance past reviews
Project Number:	3009249 permit status | notice
Planner: Lisa Rutzik

Don't shoot the messenger. The Seattle Department of Transportation has released a draft plan for parking changes for the Broadway area of Capitol Hill. Some of the proposals will not be popular (with me!). Proposals include:

• Extended paid parking hours past 6 PM on Broadway between John and Roy
• Replacing free 3-hour parking along Cal Anderson Park with paid 4-hour parking
• A stick in your eye

Kidding. No sticks. Not all of the proposals will make you sad -- one proposal that could be cool is the addition of parking on both sides of the street on Mercer, Republican, Harrison and Thomas west of Broadway. More on that and the rest of the draft plan below. And, thinking of the greater good, better managed parking can be really healthy for local businesses and encourage better decisions for the environment by drivers. But, yeah, paying to park after 6 PM on Broadway is going to suck. And, don't even talk to me about the Cal Anderson change -- I consider that stretch official CHS motorpool parking when I'm chasing breaking news.

Here's the proposal map and details from SDOT:

Download PDF

SDOT Broadway parking proposals

• Increase residential parking availability by adding paid parking with restricted parking zone (RPZ) signs to
• mixed-use blocks just north of E Pine St (valid RPZ permit holders would be exempt from paid parking rates)
• Improve predictability for customers and visitors by converting 1-hour time limits to more standard 2-hour
• time limits
• Alleviate congested parking conditions at Cal Anderson Park and expand park access by changing 3-hour
• time limit spaces to 4-hour paid parking on 11th Ave directly adjacent to the park
• Create consistency and increased parking opportunities for residents east of Broadway by installing
• Zone 4 RPZ signs where there are currently gaps
• Increase parking availability and calm traffic by adding unrestricted parking on the north sides of streets
• where it can be done safely. All eligible blocks are shown in purple—which ones work best for you?
• Create more customer parking for restaurants and businesses by extending paid parking hours on Broadway after 6pm

SDOT is collecting feedback on the plan here through November 23. 

We wrote about the planning process and told you about some of this early planning here, by the way.

Ballots have arrived, and if you're like most people around Seattle, it's still sitting on your kitchen table. Meghan Stobbe is one of those Seattleites, but her mind is already made up for proposition 1.

Stobbe is a Capitol Hill resident living in one of over 10,000 apartments funded by the affordable housing levy; a funding source up for renewal in November. Stobbe moved to Seattle 3 years ago with her then 1-year-old son to live in a large house rooming with some friends. But when the landlord forced them out of the home, Stobbe was left without a place to live, and a child to raise on a minimal income. After a difficult few weeks with essentially no home, a friend referred her to an affordable housing program through Capitol Hill Housing that helps disadvantaged families find a place to live.

"It's a critical service" said Stobbe, who now lives in the Villa Apartments, an apartment building acquired through the levy's Rental Production and Preservation program. "I wouldn't be able to work at the job that I...

Here are the results of the Brix Auction that happened earlier today at the Grand Hyatt.  I estimated the crowd size to be between 450 and 500 people.  Urbnlivn estimates that there were about 200 registered bidders, and the rest of the crowd were guests.  According to Zillow, the average sales price per square foot of a condo in the 98102 zipcode (where Brix is located) was $378 in July 09.  I have highlighted (in yellow) the units where the bidders were able to secure the condo for below this market valuation - click to enlarge the table.  Units (or Homes) are listed by the order they were sold at auction.

For an opinion on Sunday's auction, check out patgrimm's write-up.

(Photo:Lucas Anderson/Neighborlogs.com)

Another mystery nightclub is for sale on Capitol Hill. Which one do you think this is?

Established Capitol Hill Nightclub  $800,000 2 bars; Special amenities; Great lease; turnkey Gross $1.12M.

Clues indicate it is a currently open, high volume establishment. Let's start with eliminating contenders: not Neumos (3 bars, right?) not King Cobra (they were only asking $500K earlier this year).

Which "nightclub" with "special amenities" do you think this is? The Garage? The War Room? Chop Suey?

That price is a real stunner, innit? Here's a brief rundown of other Capitol Hill area businesses currently for sale, all with lower price tags:

Rosebud  $295,000; India Express  $190,000; and Swoon  $65,000.  Slightly off-Hill listings include: Quiznos (Madison)  $179,000;  and Plaza Select Foods (Madison) $60,000.

And now for the bonus round:
 There's a handful of  no-name-please businesses for sale who have self-identified as being in the Capitol HIll neighborhood....

There's an empty storefront on Broadway. The stuffed-to-the-gills convenience store at the corner of Harrison and Broadway is out of business as of September 13 according to a paper sign hanging from its glass door. Broadway Grocery didn't carry a lot of things you might include in the 'grocery' category but it was a pretty typical convenience store. Anybody going to miss it?

Broadway retail had another hole poked in the middle of it tonight as, under the cover of darkness, employees scrambled to gut the Hollywood Video next to Dick's Burgers and directly across the street from the empty lot where Sound Transit's light rail station construction is soon to begin.

A sign on the door said the location is permanently closing and directed customers to the next closest Hollywood Video in Magnolia. Despite the sign, a customer tried the locked door before dropping his movie in the return slot. He said he had just joined Hollywood's monthly movie plan.

UPDATE: Adding some information about the building itself, the $2.8 million, three-story brick building was built in 1929 and is owned by Ron and Edel Amundson, according to King County records. It is also home to online provider of phonics-based spelling lessons, Headsprout and a company called Antique Cycle Northwest. From the Department of Neighborhoods:

Historic Name:      Del-Teet Furniture     &...

Bus Plow Originally uploaded by AdonisPhotos

Many will say that Seattle's incumbent mayor Greg Nickels failed to make it through the city's primary and into the fall general election because of snow.

As much fun as we had playing on the streets, Capitol Hill also got tired of slipping on sidewalks. And some dangerous stuff happened.

But the weather wasn't really the problem. The problem was information. Seattle was hit with a situation that required systems of communication and information distribution that it did not have. The city's dying newspapers couldn't keep up and City Hall's various departments were too busy trying to dig out from underneath the snow and ice to turn to their antiquated systems of information distribution. They couldn't connect information to the neighborhoods and streets where it was needed. The County's Metro bus system fared no better despite its established Web site. There was no planned information core to power Seattle. And so it slipped on the icy sidewalks and tried to make...

Signs went up recently in the windows of the pie slice-shaped corner of The Pearl apartment building on the corner of 15th and Madison.  JSeattle asks on Twitter, "Heard there's a new biz license posted on the Madison-side retail space in the Pearl. Anybody know what's joining Anchovies & Olives?"

The answer:  Planning to open in Spring 2009 is Healeo, "your neighborhood nutrition bar." Ok, so it's not another pizza joint.  Rather, Healeo will offer "organic ingredients in delicious drinks, foods, vitamins, and supplements." I'm skeptical vitamins and supplements can ever be delicious, but the color scheme sure is cheery.