Matt’s Rising Hood Review: A Reason to Love a Transitioning Neighborhood

Each time you see a “coming soon” sign in the neighborhood village, it’s like waiting for Christmas. What will that store be? When will it be open?

A few neighborhoods have seen this. Remember, it was so long ago that Capitol Hill was a grungy, dirty neighborhood, and Broadway Grill was one of the nicest restaurants on the Hill. Well, times have changed. Just look at Columbia City! Fantastic eateries, bakeries, and a butcher dot the village off Rainier Ave.

North Beacon Hill is on the verge of its renaissance currently, and I suspect Central District is working on a very similar process. In my view, Columbia City will likely continue to develop and appreciate for the next many years, but frankly with its distance to downtown such as it is, I feel it will start to slow it’s amazing growth in coming years.

North Beacon Hill has quite a bit of room to grow, especially considering NBH’s proximity to Downtown, First Hill, and Capitol Hill. NBH’s development really took hold in 2012 when the the city council approved measures to rezone the hood and introduce mid-rise and low-rise construction throughout most of North Beacon.

Next, I have my eye on Central and Judkins. Great and central location, but lacks an urban village. We are seeing signs of a new urban village developing around Yesler, James and Union but it is very early to say what will develop. Central also needs to work on a crime issue that plagues the neighborhood currently, which is the last piece of the puzzle before businesses really start to move in.

Want to chat? Contact Matt here!