"Hole Foods" update

I first wrote about this West Seattle project back on June 27, 2009.  For years now the abandoned construction site sat idle as bankruptcy proceedings and a legal fight ground through the courts.  It was fondly referred to as "Hole Foods" because the original development plan called for a new Whole Foods store.  As the saga continued, Whole Foods pulled out of the development plan in 2010, and announced they would look for another site in West Seattle.

"The Hole" is now an active construction site again, called Spruce West Seattle. I stopped the other day to take a picture of the massive crane.  The development will supposedly contain hundreds of apartments, retail stores, and a new L.A Fitness club. It will look something like this.

And what about Whole Foods?  Well, they're building right across the street from Spruce and plan to open in 2015. Apparently they're part of a mega project that will make Spruce West Seattle look small. 

So within a two block radius, grocery shoppers will be able to choose between Trader Joes, Whole Foods, QFC and Safeway. This gives you an idea of just how densely populated West Seattle has become.  It will be nice for people like me, who can't seem to let a day go by without shopping for food.

Have I mentioned our traffic lately?  One bridge-- and a few hundred thousand of us all trying to get to the same place at the same time. 

"Hole" Foods

This enormous hole is near the Junction and I drive by several times a week. This view has not changed in almost a year. All active work on the site stopped last fall, even though the developers repeatedly said the project was simply “between phases." Since then the declining economy and numerous lawsuits gave the situation a different slant.

A Whole Foods store was scheduled to be completed in a few months, but we know that isn't going to happen! Too bad because all cooks enjoy window shopping at Whole Foods. Sometimes I even buy things there, but I have to drive way across town, so it is out of temptation's way.
However, after years of dismal grocery store choices in our neighborhood (Safeway or Safeway) we now have the upscale Metropolitan Market and soon a new QFC (basically a fancy Krogers) will open just a block from here. So good luck to Whole Foods-- or I should say, "Hole" Foods! Frankly everyone in West Seattle hopes for a Trader Joes instead, and rumors continue to fly about that.

http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=17039

Certainly the look and feel of West Seattle has changed over the years and not all for the best. Dozens of identical (think tall and skinny) new condo and townhouse buildings lining the streets, with "for sale" signs out in front of each and every one.

Lights in the dark

We're entering The Big Dark in the Pacific Northwest, that long gloomy period between October and March when it feels like grey clouds are always overhead. In a less dramatic word, Winter.

At our latitude, Seattle has one of darkest winter seasons in the continental U.S. with less than 8 hours of daylight on the shortest days in December. And most of that is cloud covered. December is still over two months away, but the nights are "drawing in," as old folks say in England.  And with the dark and cold, our attention also draws inward to the simple comforts of home.

For most people food shopping is just a chore, but going to the grocery store is one of my sad little hobbies.  I just love looking at food and planning meals in my head.  Now I have even more choices for recreational grocery shopping. This month, two new stores opened in West Seattle, including the splendid but wildly expensive PCC (above) just a few blocks from home.

And finally, after many years of delays, Whole Foods opened near The Junction, across from their original building site, nicknamed "Hole Foods" during the great recession. I first wrote a blog about it 10 years ago! We didn't even have a Trader Joe's back then. My how things have changed.

Anyway, here it is, in all its Whole Foods glory, or I should say Amazon glory. They don't have a free "club card" like Safeway or QFC.  If you don't want to get ripped off, you need to purchase an annual Amazon Prime membership.

Welcome aboard. I get other benefits with my Prime, like video and music streaming and free 2-day shipping. So I guess it's a pretty good deal, if you use it.  I was justifying all this to John, and he said there's a reason why Jeff Bezos is worth 138 billion dollars.

Have a nice weekend, wherever you are.  We have a symphony on Sunday, Mozart's heavy duty Requiem, to set a perfect mood for the season. 

Boom times

Last Sunday we actually left the house to brave the neighborhood traffic. We drove 8 blocks to have lunch near The Junction, the "hub" of West Seattle. This trip took much longer than you might imagine.

Afterwards we walked through the weekly farmer's market.  It's not the type of market our parents remember, with bargain prices for bulk seasonal produce.

Rainier cherries were $6 a pound ($3.99 on special at QFC  this week.)  Of course at the grocery store, you don't have elbowing crowds, unmannerly dogs and all that outdoor, chatty meet-the-supplier experience that people like at farmer's markets.

 I know, I know...this looks like fun.  Sorry to sound so cynical.

A block of California Ave. is closed off to traffic now for the weekly market.  There are dozens of "stalls" and I expect it will only get bigger.

Here's a photo of the West Seattle market I took back in January 2010.  A few organic winter vegetables for sale on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Kind of pathetic, but sweet. For years the market was set up in a parking lot behind the bank at the Junction. No parking issues, no traffic detours. And now that seems like such a long time ago.

For longtime residents, the overnight changes to our quiet community are pretty overwhelming. Seattle is in the middle of $50 billion construction boom that is having profound impacts on old neighborhoods.  Within a few blocks of our house, there are at least 10 large residential construction projects in progress.

Do you remember this  "Hole Foods" construction hole?  All through the recession, it was an abandoned construction site and a local joke.

And now it looks like this.  An eight story apartment building with a health club.  And this is just one of thousands all over Seattle and the suburbs.  Most look pretty much the same- big blocks of expensive apartments and condo units without garages or parking spaces for residents.  That's because we all take the bus or ride bikes in Seattle. (ha ha)

But there's a bright side.  We have a Trader Joe's!  And Whole Foods will open on the ground level of yet another giant residential complex, right across from L.A. Fitness.
Oh boy. I think. 

Trader Joe's

After years of wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin' we're finally going to get a Trader Joe's store in our part of Seattle. No more driving across town for our favorite goodies!

The photo above shows the sad, empty car dealership where the new store will open in 2011. It's next to the "Hole Foods" hole I wrote about last year. Now it seems even more unlikely a fancy supermarket will ever be built there. But who cares?

If you don't know much about Trader Joe's, this cute little video says it all. We never get tired of watching it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdB7GDZY3Pk

And here's the artist's conception of our beautiful new store: