As Families Move Downtown Seattle, Toddlers Tune in to the City
By Heidi Dietrich, Staff Writer
Puget Sound Business Journal
February 8, 2008
Most people see the Pacific Place atrium and the Barnes & Noble bookstore in downtown Seattle as places to eat, rest and shop. Apollo Jones, age 2, sees a playground.
Thanks to his parents' decision to live downtown, Apollo has become a well-known presence in the business district. When Apollo walks through Pike Place Market, street musicians sometimes break into renditions of "Sesame Street" and other children's tunes.
"He's kind of like a little rock star downtown," said Mark Jones, Apollo's father and president of Jones Advertising.
Jones and his wife, Jones Advertising producer Kimberly Lukens, are among a growing number of couples raising their children in downtown Seattle apartments and condominiums, a trend that is gradually altering the business district's social fabric.
The number of children younger than 17 in Seattle's central city has jumped 23 percent in seven years, from 2,279 in 2000 to 2,814 in 2007, according to market research company Claritas Inc.
And the number of children is growing faster than the downtown population overall. During the same time period, the total population in downtown Seattle increased 15 percent, from 47,459 to 54,773, according to Claritas.
More families are gravitating downtown to take advantage of the lively urban culture and walkability of Seattle's streets. But at the same time, parents and their children must cope with downtown's lack of family-friendly amenities, such as parks, playgrounds, schools and safe streets.
As a result, the city of Seattle has formed a team that wants to establish a new downtown elementary school. Some parents, in turn, are lobbying for new parks and open spaces where their children can play.
Some families, like Jones and Lukens, are temporary downtown residents. The couple and their son are living in a downtown apartment while they build a home in Queen Anne. Other parents see downtown as a residential destination.
Architect Blaine Weber moved his family from Madison Park to a downtown condo seven years ago, when his children were 12 and 17 years old. He bought a two-bedroom condo and a studio unit next door, tore down a wall, and gave his teenage daughter her own semi-private studio.
"I've always been a city kid at heart, and I was very excited to introduce my children to the idea of urban life," Weber said.
Downtown families are discovering both the assets and challenges of residing in Seattle's urban core. Most say the lively culture and walkability make the move downtown worthwhile.
"People who live in the suburbs don't appreciate how exciting it is to live in the middle of culture and the arts," Weber said.
But downtown also lacks the parks, schools and sense of safety found in Seattle's other neighborhoods.
"European cities have urban parks that feel very family friendly," said Cary Moon, who lives with her two children in a condo near the Pike Place Market. "We don't seem to have that."
The city's urban planners are aware of downtown's changing demographics and are beginning to make the neighborhood more family friendly. Former Seattle City Council member Peter Steinbrueck, who has been active in urban planning, said he believes Seattle needs to be proactive.
"Unless you plan for it, it's not going to happen," Steinbrueck said.
Two and a half years ago, the city created the new position of Center City Strategy Coordinator. Gary Johnson, who took on the role, said that his goal is to encourage urban growth rather than suburban sprawl. To accomplish that, the city needs to draw all age groups downtown, including families and children, Johnson said.
Johnson and his two-person team are now strategizing how to bring a public elementary school to downtown Seattle, even though the Seattle School District has said the idea is not a priority. The city has spoken with Antioch University, which has a teacher training program, about the possibility of a school at its Belltown campus. Antioch owns the building and could expand, Johnson said.
The city has also talked to Cornish College of the Arts, the Pacific Science Center and the Seattle Center about collaborating on an elementary school. Johnson even sees opportunity in the 12 acres in the Denny Triangle put up for sale by Clise Properties.
"I see exciting possibilities for a nontraditional Seattle school," Johnson said.
Johnson and his team met with new Seattle School Board members and the district superintendent to discuss the issue, Johnson said.
Seattle Public Schools' spokesman David Tucker said the district has no immediate plans to open a downtown elementary school, although the district has hired a demographer to examine student population trends.
To lure families downtown, the city will also have to address the issue of park space. Moon, who lives near Pike Place Market with her 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, believes most new condominiums have gardens or decks but not large open spaces for children to play. She and her children are regulars at her building's courtyard, where the kids play soccer and ride bikes.
"We need shared open space downtown," said Moon, a landscape architect and president of the People's Waterfront Coalition.
Johnson's team is advocating for pocket parks on blocks with new developments. Weber said his firm, Weber+Thompson, has designed condo projects with small parks. "It's a comfortable place to sit and enjoy a patch of green and get a respite from the asphalt," Weber said.
Steinbrueck still holds out hope that the city will develop a major, new downtown park. With police enforcement, a park could draw families and office workers, Steinbrueck said. "Other neighborhoods have parks, but for some reason downtown has been treated differently," Steinbrueck said.
Weber believes changes will come because downtown's population is reaching the point where the city has to pay attention.
"We're at critical mass now," Weber said. "The infrastructure starts to make more sense."
For now, downtown families must contend with the business district's shortcomings. Jones laments that he and his wife must drive if they need to buy a lot of groceries or visit a playground. Even so, families who opt for the urban lifestyle say the benefits outweigh the struggles. They list cultural opportunities as the No. 1 reason to live in the city center. Jones and Lukens have a family membership to the Children's Museum and Seattle Aquarium. Weber calls Seattle Center "our Central Park."
Contact: hrdietrich@bizjournals.com • 206-876-5421