Columbia Citizens

Here's a link to the gymnastics side of the development:

http://www.seattlegymnastics.com

We're building the gym now and will post progress as we go along. Soon we'll have open sessions available to ages five and under. Classes, teams, events, etc. in 2011.
:)
John

Awesome. Welcome to the neighborhood.

I'll go ahead and repost my response on RVP. I'm not in love with the space being used as it is, but the response from some in the community is ridiculous…

It astounds me every time I read these threads about the businesses coming to the community. How can one assume they have the right to determine the type of business that an entrepreneur opens in the neighborhood? Now there may be some legitimate discussion if it were a business that could be considered offensive or unsuited for the area, a strip club comes to mind; however, we’re talking about a sports training facility.

How is it not open to the community? If you sign up for their instruction or rent their space, you can use it. What? A business should be required to provide you open and/or free services because you live within some pre-determined geographical boundary?

Would I love to see open batting cages and a more family-oriented entertainment facility? Hell, yes. However, I’m not putting up money and time to create it. Someone is putting up their time and money to create a business, and we should be glad people are investing in the community.

And what’s this about residents of Mercer Island cutting off our community?! An investor lives in Mercer Island so his/her money is no good here? If we cut off investment dollars in the community that originate in Mercer Island, available capital would be severely curtailed.

If you don’t like it, start your own business. Otherwise, let those willing to invest in the community alone.

I do not assume that I can decide what businesses can come to the neighborhood. And entrepreneurs can do what ever the hell they want with their money by investing it as they see fit. But what I can do is let the people involved hear my opinion. That's why there is a process for these types of things. That's why the people who want to open this business need to file an application for a land use change, that's why the community is allowed to comment, and that's why I'm sounding off.

Don't hate the player, hate the game!

I completely agree with CBO. One of the greatest things about Columbia City is the sense of community that you get from living here. The businesses that are downtown try to promote that sense of community which is great because, even as the area becomes more popular, it still feels like a neighborhood. This facility does not foster community involvement, it actually suppresses it. There is absolutely no way that kids in our neighborhood are going to be able to afford the $120/hour that they are charging to use their field. I am all for growing the neighborhood and something like this would be great if it wasn't so blatantly built for the wealthy elite.

I completely agree, the comment period is open to all and designed to provide community input. By all means, comment. However, just knocking others' ideas down without providing solutions yourself seems relatively useless. Comments related to, "I don't want this because it's not what I want to see in the neighborhood" are useless. Not too mention, do you see anyone else stepping up to fill a space of that size in the neighborhood? Columbia Plaza doesn't look to be leased out anytime soon. That is a tricky space to fill, and we should be happy it's not left empty. The way I see it, you would be intentionally slowing down a project because it does not fit your worldview but not offering anything better as an alternative.

Halting projects in this neighborhood is going to hurt much worse having some less than ideal businesses enter the downtown core.

ok, perhaps I should have made myself a little bit more clear. My issue is that, from what i read, this is a completely private facility "available for rent to Member Teams, Clubs, and Qualified Trainers" (their words, not mine). It makes no mention of the people who actually live in the neighborhood. The fact that this property lies right in the middle of our neighborhood, it seems to me the locals should be able to get some use out of it (and certainly not for free). If it wasn't in the middle of our neighborhood, I wouldn't care.

As for the empty buildings, someone will come in and fill that space eventually. Myself and others i have talked to hope that new businesses will add to the community.

That's all I'm saying. Now if kids could use the facilities, I wouldn't say a word.

I'm going to email the contacts k-center and see if anyone would consider dedicating some time and a cage or two to the locals.

The way I see it is like this: people look at this business as bringing money to the community so it is a positive thing. However, just because a business brings money to the neighborhood doesn't mean that it is necessarily a plus. I am concerned about what this is going to do to all the kids in the neighborhood when they see this amazing facility that they cannot even touch just down the street from them. I agree that this might be me trying to see the world through rose colored glasses and the people with the money shouldn't be forced to do good by the community but I think the approval process should look at more than the dollars that will be spent.

What I would like to see is something similar to what is happening down on Rainier and I-90. A couple of really good guys are opening an amazing rock climbing gym in one of the warehouses off of Poplar st. They know that the rates that they will need to charge are kind of high, which is the nature of climbing gyms, but they also want to build a sense of community. They have been working with some groups around the neighborhood to open up the facility to people who otherwise could not afford to go there. If the k center did something like this I would be more than happy.

So yes, these people can build what they want and I can just express my opinion. I just wish people would stop thinking that outside money is the only way we can improve our neighborhood.

@ Chase

I get it, and I don't think this would be the optimal use for the facility. Yes, community building and enhancement should be the goal. My point is, what's the option? Have others expressed an interest in leasing the space to do something more community oriented in it? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

As it stands, investors are willing to take a chance on the neighborhood to do something they see as profitable. Maybe after operating their business for a while, they'll see an opportunity to make the business more accessible to the local community. Maybe it will be utilized by the RV community more than we expect as is. The best way to find out is to get to know the owners and the business and let them know they are missing an opportunity.

If we fight them because the business doesn't fit out ideals and we end up with nothing, how will this be helpful? Successful businesses increase the possibility of other, co-located businesses becoming or remaining successful.

I believe the office building on the NE corner would still be available if this K-center goes through. Maybe we should focus our efforts in attracting another business that would be a positive to that space instead of fighting a business whose impact (positive or negative) is unknown right now. A bird in hand is better than two in the bush.