November 20, 2006

Letter to the Editor: At Yesler Terrace, all options still on the table

The headline of your article of Nov. 15 (“SHA looking at mix of housing, medical office on Yesler Terrace site”) may mislead your readers relative to the Seattle Housing Authority and to the Citizen's Review Committee that is considering the possibilities for this site.

A more accurate statement would be “SHA — in collaboration with a citizen committee — is looking at every possible use that might make the Yesler Terrace site a great neighborhood for its residents and the city.”

Might medical offices be a possibility? Certainly. But so would cafés, restaurants, retail shops, general office uses, schools, student housing, parks, playgrounds, public art, open spaces and service businesses, just to name a few. Most importantly, SHA is committed to creating at Yesler Terrace a vibrant and diverse neighborhood accessible to all regardless of economics or social standing.

The residents of Yesler Terrace, the Housing Authority, and the city need to spend the next year in conversation about Yesler Terrace. Please assist us in this effort by not reporting a “for instance” as a preference or a plan.

Virginia Felton

Seattle Housing Authority

The Daily Journal of Commerce welcomes your comments.

• E-mail: editor@djc.com
  
  

Previous columns:

• Opinion: Metronatural? You've got to be kidding me, 10-30-2006
• Letter to the Editor: PLAs cover labor, not products, 08-28-2006
• Letter to the Editor: Now we see reality of PLAs, 08-28-2006
• Letter to the Editor: Waterfront campaign misinforms the public, 08-28-2006
• Opinion: Strike raises PLA questions, 08-17-2006
• Opinion: Twelker was a teacher, too, 07-31-2006
• Letter to the Editor: Viaduct visionaries avoid messy details, 06-05-2006
• Letter to the editor: We need more data on a tunnel's cost and benefits, 05-30-2006