Wedgewouldn't You Lighten Up?
Wedgwood, the northeast Seattle neighborhood where I grew up, is an idyllic paradox, a neighborhood with an unlocked-door, woodsy, small-town feel—but located within the city limits, mere minutes from manifold urban accessories. Right around the time I left for St. Louis in 2002, the neighborhood began to change ever so slightly, with a Starbucks and Top Pot moving in near the View Ridge border. But to the north, around the sleepy intersection of 35th Ave. NE and NE 85th St., time still stood still, with single family homes and small independent businesses dominating the landscape.
Now comes word that an 86-unit condo complex is going to be built on a parcel of land at 35th & 86th long occupied by the Jewish Community Center (where I worked in college as a day care and summer camp supervisor), which is moving down the road. Predictably, this has many Wedgwoodians (Wedgwooders? Wedgwoodites?) up in arms, complaining about the size of the structure and lamenting the fact that they didn't have a neighborhood plan in place to prevent such supposed monstrosities.
Having grown up in the 'hood, I understand and appreciate this sort of response. Wedgwood is a special place for those who've been cast under its spell, and this is the sort of change that threatens to introduce Seattle's slice of Mayberry to, well, the rest of Seattle. To this end, let me remind my fellow Wedgwoodians of a few things. For starters, every neighborhood is grappling with density issues, not just Wedgwood. Secondly, the structure that stands to be razed isn't really suitable for anything but the old supermarket it used to house (the JCC started looking to move almost as soon as they moved in) and, judging from how dead QFC (Matthew's Red Apple, R.I.P.) usually is, the neighborhood doesn't need another supermarket.
But lastly—and most importantly—for young adults like me who grew up in the neighborhood and don't make silly money (or have trust funds), purchasing a home in Wedgwood is utterly unrealistic. I'm okay with this reality and feel grateful simply to have been able to buy a small place within the city limits (West Seattle). But if more affordable housing options such as the condos in question became available, Wedgwood natives like me would strongly consider moving back into the 'hood.
Wedgwood didn't become what it is because of wealthy people, but as it stands, only affluent people can afford to move into Wedgwood. If the neighborhood wants to accomplish the dual objectives of diversifying socioeconomically while effectively inviting some of its native sons and daughters to replant roots there, it should give the 86th Street project a pass -- and then set to planning a future that's long been taken for granted.
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