Report Explores Future of Seattle Interbay Armory Site

The 25-acre site will be vacant after the National Guard relocates, and a new report says a public development authority should manage the property.

1 minute read

January 17, 2020, 8:00 AM PST

By Camille Fink


Interbay Seattle

Nonsequiturlass / Flickr

Ray Dubicki writes about the future of the Interbay Armory in Seattle and the possibilities to transform the military facility site. A new report from the Washington Department of Commerce proposes good ideas, he says, but it does not go far enough.

"It sees the potential at this crux of infrastructure, development, and a booming population. It recognizes what could be there. Then it stops short of making bold proposals," says Dubicki.

He points out that the report does not adequately consider all the stakeholders involved and coordination around various infrastructure projects. He is also critical of how public comments were incorporated into the analysis and the report’s focus on current conditions instead of future challenges.

Dubicki discusses what he thinks are a slew of better ideas being developed for the Interbay Armory site. He does, however, support the report’s proposal to establish a public development authority. "It gets us closer to having a functional relationship between the city and the land it owns. It gets us closer to recognizing the City can be an investor in its own future," he says.

Thursday, December 12, 2019 in The Urbanist

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