Reaching New Heights

Yesterday, Scott over at the Central District News blog, reported that the city council approved the rezone for  the corner of 23rd and Union–the maximum height is now 65 feet, instead of 40 feet. The rezone means that Jim Mueller, the site’s developer, can now build a six story building.

The rezone generated some amount of controversy among the neighbors. Writing as one of those neighbors, I’m fine with the rezone. It’s a major intersection well suited to a mixed-use property. I’ve lived in the neighborhood for over 12 years, and in all that time, the lot has been little more than a magnet for garbage and suspicious activity.

While I grapple with the arguments for and against gentrification, in this instance I’m all for development. In pragmatic terms, any development, whether it be 40 feet or 65 feet, will be an improvement. If we wait for a perfect solution and unanimous approval of all parties, the lot will remain vacant (and garbage-filled) for another 12 years.

My widlest dream: the revitalization of that corner, as well as the site of Deano’s on Madison, will attract a restaurant or two.  The explosive growth in the neighborhood’s density brought with it several stores (Safeway, Trader Joe’s, and Madison Market), but there still aren’t a lot of choices for those nights I don’t feel like cooking.