Young, vibrant, hard to peg down

By RUTH SCHUBERT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

University of Washington junior Kate Reynolds uses one word to describe her neighborhood: "Young."

Reynolds, a California native who has lived in a dorm and in an apartment complex north of campus, is settling into her third U-District dwelling: a small house on Northeast 55th Street that she'll share with four other students.

"The buildings have been here for a while," says Reynolds, "but the people in them are constantly changing."

Her view is typical of how students see the U-District: a place to live, pick up CDs, catch movies. Most blow in for the four years or so it takes to get their degrees, then move on.

And she's right about the district being young: The median age is 22.2 years, with renters accounting for more than 90 percent of the residents.

But the neighborhood actually encompasses several related communities: the small city that is the University of Washington, the youth-oriented culture of "the Ave," or University Way, its official name, and the stately single-family homes and modest bungalows north of campus.

It is, in the words of one business owner, "like the blind man looking at the elephant."

What the U-District is depends on which part you're talking about.

Continued:

• Small city grew around a campus
• Around these parts, the family homeowner is in the minority
• Balance sought in future growth