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Library reconsiders site for controversial Beacon Hill branch
Thursday, April 27, 2000
By PHUONG LE
The Seattle Public Library is reconsidering where to put its controversial new Beacon Hill library, just two months after it settled on a nearby Wells Fargo bank property.
Fearing delays in acquiring the bank parcel, board trustees will now review two other options: building at the existing location, or buying the Beacon Market, a 16,000-square-foot property now for sale.
The site-selection process has been an emotional and contentious issue in the southeast Seattle neighborhood, which has been reviewing properties for a year.
After heated debate, trustees voted in March to build the new 10,000-square-foot library by acquiring the Wells Fargo branch at 2821 Beacon Ave. S. But the bank is fighting to stay in Beacon Hill, and has asked for help from the mayor and City Council members.
Library trustees will hold a special meeting Monday to review their options.
"We would like to make a siting decision as quick as possible," said library board Vice President Linda Larson, adding that the Wells Fargo site is still under consideration.
Library trustees have criticized Wells Fargo for not opposing the site selection earlier in the process.
Wells Fargo spokesman Tom Unger said bank officials made a mistake by not doing so. He added that the bank does not want to leave a community where it has been for more than 25 years and where it serves 2,300 customers.
Mayor Paul Schell has weighed in because he was concerned that condemning property of "an unwilling seller" would create more delays, said mayoral spokesman Dick Lilly.
The $4.7 million library was to open in late 2001 but now won't open until 2002 at the earliest. The branch is part of a citywide library system overhaul funded by $34 million in private donations and a $196.4 million bond issue approved by voters in 1998.
The centerpiece of the program is a $156 million downtown Central Library, scheduled to open 2003. New libraries in NewHolly and Wallingford have opened in the past six months, and several neighborhood branches are under way.
The location of libraries has been a hot issue in some neighborhoods.
Last summer, library trustees rejected a controversial plan to put the Capitol Hill branch in a private 65-foot-tall building at the Keystone site at Broadway and East Mercer Street. Instead, trustees selected the current site at 425 Harvard Ave. E.
In Beacon Hill, the Wells Fargo site was one of a dozen potential locations, including one that required condemning and razing several homes.
"Someone is going to have to make a hard decision," said Dina McDermott, a Beacon Hill resident. "I'd really like to see it move along. It's long overdue."
If the library chooses to build on the existing site, at 2519 15th Ave. S., it plans to acquire several adjacent businesses, including a bridal shop that also serves as a residence, library spokeswoman Andra Addison said. Parking may be underground or at-grade, depending on how the library is configured.
Several citizens and library officials have argued that major upgrades are needed for the busy intersection before it is safe and accessible.
If the smaller 16,000-square foot Beacon Market at 2500 Beacon Ave. S. is acquired, parking would need to be underground.
At one time, the library suggested swapping properties with Wells Fargo, but Unger said the current site is too small and the bank did not want to try to acquire surrounding properties.
Liz Walsh-Boyd, a member of Friends of Beacon Hill Library, criticized bank officials for gumming up the process.
"Wells Fargo is a huge corporation that opens and closes banks like you and I brush our teeth," said Walsh-Boyd, who also banks at Wells Fargo. "This is not a question of whether it can be done. It's a question of whether people can be good stewards and sit down and hammer this out."
But the bank also had strong support from residents who wanted to keep the public amenity. The next-closest Wells Fargo branch is in the Rainier Valley.
P-I reporter Phuong Le can be reached at 206-448-8336 or phuongle@seattle-pi.com
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