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| South Lake Union: Yesterday and Tomorrow
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Current events timeline
 Only a mile from downtown Seattle and resting on the shores of a distinctive urban waterfront, the South Lake Union neighborhood seems an
obvious location for robust public and private investment. Yet, despite its natural assets, residential and job growth that has come to other
Seattle neighborhoods has often passed this one by.
 This isolation dates to the middle part of the 20th century, when highway 99 was expanded and I-5 was built, defining the western and eastern edges
of the South Lake Union neighborhood. In the late 1960s, the City acquired a number of properties between the two freeways with the intention of
constructing a "Bay Freeway" structure to provide high-speed connections between the two, and held the properties undeveloped long after such plans
were shelved. With these massive highway projects, this neighborhood, which once was a seamless extension of downtown Seattle's industrial, commercial
and housing base, became for many a place to drive through on the way to somewhere else.
 Yet it's a neighborhood full of historical interest. This is the place where pioneer David Denny opened his sawmill in 1892, followed by the arrival
of manufacturing at the turn of the century. This brought shipbuilding, Boeing seaplane fabrication and a regional Model T assembly plant in the
historic building now occupied by Shurgard Storage. With industrial and commercial growth, residential centers sprang up to house company employees
and other residents. The Cascade neighborhood grew as a mixed-use, working-class area of wood frame cottages and boarding houses, churches and schools.
Since the Depression South Lake Union has evolved into an area of small business, warehouses and auto-oriented services.
While the economic boom of the 1980s and 90s was bringing business and jobs to other nearby areas, South Lake Union commanded little City investment
in utility or transportation infrastructure. This furthered the neighborhood's isolation, and while many businesses and residents remained committed
to the neighborhood's future, they were fighting vacancy rates and little public investment.
Several City initiatives attempted to solve the neighborhood's isolation, but most found the challenges of the freeway fortress walls too imposing to
conquer. A number of transportation plans were launched and subsequently shelved. And a citizen effort to redevelop the entire neighborhood around
a central park, the Seattle Commons, was rejected twice by voters in the 1990s. The constant stream of plans cast a shadow of uncertainty over the
neighborhood, further restraining any development interest.
But starting in the 1990s a number of independent yet pivotal events occurred that would help position South Lake Unions? emergence into its new era.
1993: The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center opened its first facility here, choosing South Lake Union because of its proximity to the University of Washington Medical School, itself one of the premier medical teaching and research institutions, and to Seattle's downtown. "The Hutch"is steadily expanding its campus, growing to 3,700 jobs and becoming a magnet for other leading biotech companies such as ZymoGenetics, which restored City Light's steam plan at the southern edge of the lake.
1995, 1996: The Seattle Commons votes, though both were rejected, brought a new landowner to the neighborhood. Paul Allen's Vulcan purchased $20 million of property designated to be parkland in the event of a successful vote.
1998: The Neighborhood Plan developed a blueprint for future growth, calling for a continuation of mixed uses including expansion of industrial, commercial and residential growth. Also included were proposals to reconnect the neighborhood through transportation and pedestrian improvements.
2000: The City acquired the Naval Armory and its adjacent open space, to bring to a total of 12 park acres on the shores of Lake Union. The neighborhood now had a significant public asset to offer its local business and residents and to draw more people to discover the neighborhood.
2000: Passage of the City-wide Pro Parks Levy brought a $5 million investment to develop South Lake Union Park and other funds to improve Cascade Park.
2001: Properties that had been purchased by the City for the Bay Freeway in the late 1960s and left undeveloped were sold, creating an opportunity to develop a suitable front door to SLU Park.
2001: The Seattle Parks Foundation announced that South Lake Union Park would be its top priority for private fundraising.
2001: The February 28 Nisqually earthquake jolted the region and threatened the long-term stability of the Alaska Way Viaduct. The sliver lining of rebuilding this structure has been the opportunity for direct connections across Highway 99. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic may finally enjoy direct and safe connections to Seattle Center and beyond.
2002: Vulcan Inc. leased properties to other biotech firms such as Merck & Co, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Children's Orthopedic Hospital and the University of Washington, further cementing the neighborhood's prominence as a hub for biotechnology and medical research.
2002: The City set aside a $2.250 million reserve from the sale proceeds of the Bay Freeway sites to help develop low-income housing in the area.
2003: The University of Washington Medical Center announces plans to move into the Blue Flame Building as a part of a vision for a future campus.
These factors have combined to position South Lake Union to bring great gains to the neighborhood and to the City of Seattle.
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| From the
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