Readers send photos

New wading pool for the neighborhood?

Several MPB readers have sent us photos that we thought should be shared.  The one above was taken from his iPhone and forwarded to us by our neighbor, Scott Wilson.  It shows the lakeside park at E. Lynn St. and 43rd Ave. E. on Tuesday afternoon this week.  He notes that the parks department, with significant effort and presumably not a little cost, recently replaced a sand base for the swing-set area with a supposedly superior wood-chip base.  Perhaps, he says, the City's intention was to create a dual-use facility for the neighborhood, a combination swing set/wading pool.  "I'd call it a swool," he comments, "but others might call it a stupid use of money."

Does anyone remember seeing the area in this shape when the "inferior" sand base was still in place?

This must have happened on a weekend

Glenn Ader, director of the BRIGHT! Preschool here in the Park sent us this photo showing area preschool directors and teachers as they took a recent "time out."  Many of us are aware of the Madison Park Cooperative Preschool, operating out of the bathhouse, but who knew there were that so many private preschools operating in close proximity?  (We didn't, at least).  The purpose of this gathering, says Ader, was to share ideas and build relationships in order to improve programs for the children each preschool serves.

Pictured:  Sally Straight (Nanny's Annex), Frani Carlson (Frani's Preschool), Darlene Kenney (Frani's Preschool), Tea Carlson (Frani's Preschool), Megan Scott (Little Feet Preschool), Waleska Leiva (Mary Lane's Preschool), Jenny Cummins (Epiphany Pre-K), Andrea Losh (Harvard Avenue), Jackie Hubenet (Jackie's Pre-K), Christine Carlson (Little Feet Preschool), Glenn Ader (BRIGHT! Preschool), Mary Lane (Mary Lane's Preschool), Nora Wheat (Jackie's Pre-K), Nan Stephens (Nannies).

The Pavilion from a different view

From Madison Park resident and historian/author David Chapman comes this intriguing stereoview image of a prosperous-looking woman standing in front of the Park's then-famous Pavilion, sometime around the turn of the 20th Century.  Stereoscopic photographs (aka stereoview cards), which were apparently popular in the late 1800s, were composed of two nearly identical images mounted side-by-side on a cardboard backing.  These images were then viewed on a stereoviewer, providing an early form of 3-D effect. These cards were often sold as souvenirs, and Chapman speculates that this may have been one produced and sold around at time of the Alaska-Yukon Exhibition in 1909.

By the way, Chapman's latest book, just published, is "Venus With Biceps: A Pictorial History of Muscular Women."  Chapman will be giving a talk and a slideshow on  the subject at Elliot Bay Book Company (1521 Tenth Avenue) on Wednesday, March 30.

Chapman reports that the book, co-authored with Patricia Vertinsky, is getting good reviews, including this one in the New Yorker.  The Seattle Times also featured the book earlier this week.

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Another bakery soon to arrive

Almost simultaneously with the arrival of a new patisserie in the general vicinity (Madison Valley), comes word that Madison Park itself is about to land another bakery alternative. Signs went up this weekend on the old Island Video space (3109 E. Madison St.) announcing the appearance, at some unnamed future date, of Belle Epicurean, which bills itself as "Seattle's premier patisserie." Belle Epicurean's main location is in the Fairmont Olympic Hotel downtown, where it has occupied a choice Fourth Avenue storefront for the past six years.  Owner Carolyn Ferguson, who studied cuisine and pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, was profiled in a Seattle Weekly blog posting a year ago, and much earlier by Madison Park Conservatory's Maggie Savarino, back in the days when Maggie was a food writer for the Weekly.  But food writers are not the only ones to give BE high marks: the 95 reviewers of Yelp give the patisserie an average rating of four stars.

Belle Epicurean was famously (though not very) used in a scene for the ABC-TV show "The Bachelor" a couple of years ago, in which local (Kirkland) bachelor Jason Mesnick talked seriously to one of the show's contestants while they sipped hot chocolate. Or perhaps they were eating some of the patisserie's "signature" brioches during that pivotal scene (or is brioche also plural?).  Anyway, the place looked romantic, which may be tough to duplicate here in the new spot on Madison Street.  It seems that more than a bit of construction will be needed before the place is ready to turn out the croissants and spread the ambiance.

We've asked for the full story, and we'll keep you posted.

[Photo from the Belle Epicurean site.] 

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Police Blotter 3/17/11

Well, it was inevitable that our local crime holiday would end. Unfortunately, criminal activity returned to normal levels in the neighborhood during the past month.  Where we had nothing to report in our last Police Blotter (2/16/11), we have plenty to report this time.

We’ll start with the five car prowls reported during the period: on 2/17 (the 2400 block of 42nd Ave. E.), on 2/22 (the 4000 block of E. Madison St.), on 2/24 (the 2000 block of 43rd Ave. E.), on 2/26, (the 1000 block of 34th Ave. E.), and on 3/5 (the 1100 block of 33rd). There was also a foiled attempt at a car prowl reported on the 800 block of McGilvra Blvd. E. on 2/23. In that case, the car owner heard the glass being smashed on the passenger window of his car, went out to investigate, and the perpetrator ran off.

There were also two thefts of “auto accessories” reported, one on the 1200 block of 41rd Ave. E on 3/10, and the other on the 3700 block of E. Blaine St. on 3/3.  In the latter incident, the BMW owner reported that just one tire had been removed from his vehicle sometime around 5:15 pm.  A bicycle, meanwhile, was reported stolen from the 4100 block of E. Blaine St. at about 9:00 am on 2/25.

There were a couple of misdemeanor arrests made in the neighborhood during the month.  One occurred on the 3200 block of E. Madison St. during the afternoon of 2/25.  The arrest followed an incident in which a homeowner discovered two men standing in his open garage on the alley behind his house.  Although they ran off, the suspects were later found by the police and questioned.  The one  with an outstanding warrant was arrested and the other suspect released.

The second arrest, on the 1800 block of McGilvra Blvd. E. on 2/28, was of a Madison Park resident who learned the hard way that losing her cool was not the best solution to the situation she (literally) ran into. The incident began when the woman tried to drive her car up an alley, discovering it was blocked by a truck that had deployed stabilizing jacks. According to the police report, the woman began honking her horn and screaming at the workers, who were installing an automated gate at a residence.  As the altercation escalated it caught the attention of a neighbor, who called the police. When the workers suggested that the woman back her car up and go around the other way, the driver reportedly accelerated her car in the direction of the workers before slamming on her breaks, causing some property damage.   She later drove off, but the workers wrote down her license plate number and the police confronted the driver at her residence. After she was interviewed she was arrested for harassment, reckless endangerment, property destruction, and reckless driving.   She was taken to the East Precinct Station, where she was booked and later released.  The police report has been forwarded to the City Attorney’s office for possible prosecution.   The incident occurred at about 5:08 in the evening, so it may well have been collateral fallout from a bad day at the office.

Several burglaries were also reported during the last month.  One occurred sometime during the night of 2/16 on the 2100 block of 38th Ave. E.  In that incident, forced entry occurred through the back door of the residence, the suspect(s) using a blunt object to shatter the door window and then reaching inside to unlock and open the door. While in the residence the perpetrator(s) stole a laptop from a kitchen counter and jewelry from the master bedroom closet, including a one carat diamond ring and platinum wedding band.  Latent finger prints were found, but the police report ends on this interesting note: “Due to the cost amount of the stolen items taken from the listed residence [estimated at $11,500], SPD detectives were contacted, but declined to respond.”

Another burglary occurred on 3/12 in an apartment building on the 1800 block of 43rd Ave. E.  In that incident a woman reported that she had been having dinner at a restaurant in Belltown when her purse was stolen containing the keys to her car and apartment.  She later discovered that her car had been stolen from the parking lot, so she decided to stay the night at her mother’s home.  Upon returning to her apartment the following day she noticed that her laptop was also missing.  She told police that the computer was not password protected an contained some important financial information that could be used fraudulently.

Finally, there was also a break-in at an unoccupied commercial building on the 3100 block of E. Madison St. on 3/7.  The police report states that the building owner noticed that the rear glass door had been shattered sometime during the night and entry may have been made, though nothing of value was in the store.

[Key to crime-map symbols: starbursts represent burglaries, solid cars represent car thefts, un-solid cars represent car prowls, spray-paint cans represent property damage, upraised hands represent shoplifting, dollar bills represent thefts, handcuffs represent arrests under warrants, guns represent weapons involved, red exclamation points represent cases of harassment, and gray cars represent traffic incidents. This map covers the period from February 16 through March 16.]

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Happy Birthday, President Madison

Today marks the 260th anniversary of the birth of the man for whom, indirectly, Madison Park was named: James Madison, fourth President of the United States (1809-17).  Madison, known as “The Father of the Constitution,” served two terms in office, preceded by Thomas Jefferson and succeeded by James Monroe.  As President, Madison presided over the War of 1812, which resulted in the British setting fire to the White House, but which also culminated in future-president Andrew Jackson’s triumph at the Battle of New Orleans.

We say indirectly with regard to our community’s name, since the Madison Park neighborhood was actually named after the Park at the end of Madison Street, the street itself having been named in honor of the Fourth President.  We chronicled that story at this time last year (“We could be living in Monroe Park”).

An interesting historical fact:  President Madison had a different Vice President for each of his two terms, the second one being Elbridge Gerry, a Massachusetts politician for whom the term “Gerrymandering” is named.

[Graphic:  President Madison, Oil on Canvas, Bradley Stephens (after Charles Wilson Peale), courtesy of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.]

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Madison Park real estate by the numbers

When we last posted a monthly real estate report, one of our loyal readers wrote in to comment that all the charts and graphs were putting him to sleep.  Another reader, however, responded that his reaction to the post was quite the opposite:  he was having trouble getting to sleep.

Obviously, not everyone is into the local real estate scene to the extent that we are or necessarily wants to be confronted with the details, especially if the news is bad.  Madison Park Blogger covers real estate so extensively that at least two national blog-listing sites categorize us as a real estate blog, rather than hyperlocal one.  We intend to continue our intensive coverage of the Madison Park real estate market and to do so, when possible, in a quantitative manner.

So that said, here’s some data on how our real estate market looked over the past five years in terms of median housing values. The chart above (click to enlarge) shows that there has not been an overwhelming change in the price of sold houses and condos compared to the beginning of the period.  As was true for the rest of the Puget Sound region, Madison Park hit the high in 2007, with a median price of $1,100,000.  The Park rebounded in 2009 with a median price almost at that level: $1,060,000.  But the market declined in 2010 to $975,000, representing an 11% decline from the 2007 high.  For Seattle, it has been about a 28% decline since 2007.

Based on just these numbers, it appears that our neighborhood has done much better than others.   But this could be misleading.   The number of sales in Madison Park is just too small for these aggregate statistics to be as meaningful as they would be for a larger sample, such as West Seattle or Bellevue.  On the chart above (and on those below) the numbers appearing in the various columns represent the total number of sales for each year.  As you can see, Madison Park had only 128 sales in 2006, declining by 43% to 73 sales in 2009 before rebounding to 105 sales in 2010.   These are pretty small numbers, even for the highest-volume years.   The types of homes that actually sell in a given year can easily skew the data.  For example, we know that very few houses priced at $1 million or under have been for sale during the last two years.  Naturally, therefore, most the houses that are selling are in the upper market.  This may mask an overall lowering of housing values for the market as a whole.

Nevertheless, it’s interesting to compare the median selling prices, both by year and by neighborhood.  The charts below, unlike the one above, show only single-family homes that were sold each year.

Here’s the story for our most-exclusive enclave, Broadmoor, which took its big hit in 2009, with only six sales during the year and a 13% price decline from the previous year’s level.  Broadmoor saw three times the number of sales in 2010, but a further 11% price decline. Overall, Broadmoor’s median price for a house is down 26% from the 2007 high of almost $2 million.

Washington Park, meanwhile, suffered a 29% decline in the median house price between 2006 and 2010, though there was a one-year rebound in 2009.  With only 14 sales that year, however, it was probably a few outliers that skewed the numbers upward.  As was true for Madison Park as a whole, there was much greater sales volume in Washington Park during 2010 than had occurred in each of the previous three years.  But the median price could not hold at 2009 levels.

Finally, for the rest of Madison Park, principally the area north of Madison Street, things look pretty good.  The median sales price in 2010 was actually higher than the price in 2006: $960,000 versus $935,000. That’s a 3% increase!  But in this area of the Park the height of the market occurred in 2008, when the median price was $1,250,000. Since then, the median price has declined by 23%.

And that, for what it’s worth, is the five-year Madison Park real estate story in graphs. Whether this data will make you sleepy or sleepless may depend on when, exactly, you purchased your home.  Or perhaps the bigger issue is whether you plan to sell your house sometime soon or intend to be carried out of it feet first.  We suspect that that those who are bored by the numbers are in that latter category.

[Thanks to Laura Halliday of Windermere Real Estate for compiling the data for these charts, based on information supplied by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.]

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ML King School sale: done deal

The Seattle School District confirmed last month that the sale of the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School site in Madison Valley had been finalized and ownership transferred to the First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME), as approved by the School Board in a controversial decision late last year.  FAME was the lowest bidder for the site, and the District walked away from the millions of additional dollars it would have received if it had sold the property to neighboring Bush School.

Recently, there has been speculation by some opponents of the sale that the FAME purchase could be overturned.   The Seattle Weekly was the first of the media outlets to pick up the story, followed by KING-TV on its 11:00 broadcast last night.  The basis for the hope of re-opening the MLK school-sale decision is the fact that then-District official Fred Stephens, boss of the now-notorious Silas Potter, was heavily involved in FAME at the time the District agreed to sell MLK to the Church.  According to the Weekly, Stephens' father was a one-time pastor at FAME, and Stephens himself was active in the Church. This connection has led some to speculate that Stephens had an unfair role in getting the School District to accept a lower offer for the MLK property from FAME.

The School District, however, rejects these claims of possible conspiracy or, at minimum, conflict of interest in the MLK sale. School Board member Michael DeBell was interviewed on KING stating that Stephens had nothing whatsoever to do with the District's decision-making process.  However, Adrienne Bailey, leader of the Madison Valley residents who wanted to create a community center at MLK, was also interviewed, stating that she has evidence in the form of emails that show Stephens was, in fact, involved in the District's process.

Short of proving the sale of MLK was a fraudulent transaction, however, it is hard to see how the District could be forced to try to recover the Elementary School property, now that the deed has been transferred.   There's been no comment, apparently, from FAME on the supposed Stephens connection to the property sale.

Meanwhile, we have been asked whether FAME has the right to dispose of the MLK site and keep any profits the Church might realize from the sale.  We have read the MLK purchase and sale agreement and the related restrictive covenant agreement, and it appears that FAME is not prohibited from selling the property so long as certain community-use conditions continue to be met.  The draft documents are available here for those who want to look for themselves.  For some reason, the executed documents are not available online, but the School District has confirmed to us that "the draft was not significantly different from the final" documents.

As a practical matter, however, it seems unlikely that anyone would want to buy the property from FAME with the restrictive covenant in place.  If community use of the site does not continue at the level contemplated by the agreement, rent will have to be paid to the School District for the conversion to non-public purposes.  For example, $6,000 would due as an annual penalty for each classroom redeveloped for non-public use, and $20 per hour would be charged for each hour of contemplated public-use of the gym space that does not, in fact, occur.  These rents or "value-sharing payments" would continue for the 40-year life of the restrictive covenant.  After that point, the School District would apparently no longer have any control over the property's use.

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When one door closes, another opens

We've had a spate of stories over the last few weeks about businesses in the area closing their doors. So it's nice to be able to report on a new business that's filling a space recently vacated. Ines Patisserie in Madison Valley quietly opened its door at the end of last month, without advertising or fanfare.

Located in the space that was exited last year by Suess Chocolates (2909-B E. Madison St.), the patisserie features local and organic products wherever possible, according to owner Nohra Belaid, who says she's aiming for "small" and "quality" in her new establishment.

Until sometime in 2008, Belaid was the owner/chef of Bistro Mazaran, a well-regarded French restaurant in Madrona.  She reports that she gave up that business because of the hassle of trying to run a restaurant while raising two children.  The patisserie, she says, offers her the opportunity to do what she loves while still having time to devote to her family.  She spent two months on renovations to the space. The shop is open 8 am - 5:30 pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

Interestingly enough, there are two reviews of Ines Patisserie on Yelp. The first review is by someone named "Nohra b."  Her five-star review says "Simply an awesome place!!!"  The second reviewer gives the place only one star and ends her review with "expensive..not worth it."

[And while we're on the subject of doors opening and closing, we should note that it is not true that Park Place Deli has changed hands. Some may have seen the notice on the door late last month stating that there was "new management" and that the shop would be closed for a day.  We checked on the story and discovered that the ownership of PPD has not changed.  John McCormick, who bought the shop almost four years ago, has simply taken a step back from day-to-day management, turning that role over to manager Emelia Harris. The temporary closing was simply a re-tooling day, she tells us.  She adds that she's not expecting much in the way of changes, but new menu items will probably be on the board as we move into summer.]

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