11/7/2008 3:05:00 PM Sound Transit to
offer businesses
help during
station construction
By Russ Zabel
Sound Transit has already helped relocate numerous businesses to make room for an underground light rail station on Broadway, which was a struggle in some cases.
But the agency also has joined forces with the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Broadway Business Improvement Association to help companies along the entire Broadway corridor survive more than six years of construction, according to Jack Hilovsky, executive director of the chamber. "We're very happy with the package," he said.
The $610,000 package - passed unanimously Sept. 25 by the Sound Transit Board- includes an additional contingency fee not to exceed $60,000, and the money will be used to market and promote the neighborhood businesses to offset the hassles of construction, Hilovsky said. "And it's when-the-rubber-meets-the-road kind of stuff," he explained.
The chamber and the business-improvement association have also teamed up with Seattle Central Community College and Seattle University in the effort, Hilovsky added. SCCC's technology program will help companies promote themselves on the Internet, while SU's business-administration program will help in such areas as merchandizing, inventory control and window displays, he said.
The efforts could be more critical than expected, according to Hilovsky. "I think there is a perception that many businesses on Broadway are first generation and may not have the background of marketing their businesses," he said.
Also planned are regular community meetings to keep residents and businesses updated about the status of the project, and signs will be installed about the location of parking places when 146 are lost when construction begins, Hilovsky said.
And the chamber will strongly encourage workers on the station project to use park-and-ride lots instead of using scarce neighborhood parking, he said. Furthermore, a full-time Sound Transit staff member will maintain a space in the chamber of commerce office to help determine what other needs the neighborhood may have, Hilovsky added.
Marketing the neighborhood itself will be part of the effort as well. "People take pride in Capitol Hill," noted Hilovsky, who said the branding idea is to come up with the equivalent to Fremont's "Center of the Universe" title.
The goal is to get people to remember that Capitol Hill is here and open for business, he said. In addition, there will be a variety of ways to let potential customers know that businesses are still open on Broadway, he said.
Also part of the mitigation package is a zero-tolerance policy that calls for graffiti to be removed within 24 hours, that litter be cleaned up and that security guards maintain a constant presence.
Sound Transit Board member and King County Council member Larry Phillips - whose district includes parts of Capitol Hill - appreciates the effort. In an Oct. 8 e-mail to Hilovsky announcing approval of the mitigation package, he said the future looks bright for area businesses. "The Chamber's ongoing work to increase awareness of Capitol Hill as a great place to live, work, dine, shop and visit is critical," Phillips added.
Sound Transit staff members spent a lot of time talking to Capitol Hill businesses and residents, he said during a later phone interview, adding that he prodded the agency to do as much as possible during construction "because it will be a difficult period of time."
Still, Sound Transit ended up doing more than it first intended, according to Michael Wells, president of the Broadway Business Improvement Association. Originally, the agency was going to focus on the station site and a couple of blocks to either side, he said. But the chamber and the business-improvement association convinced Sound Transit to include all of Broadway in its plans and for one good reason, he said. "Broadway is one piece with a single heartbeat," is how Wells put it. "We made our wants clear, and they heard us."
Also critical in the mitigation package is dealing with the closure of the East Olive Way exit for up to a year and a half during construction, Wells said. "That's a direct route to Broadway for our customers." Another issue is the routes that construction trucks will use during the project, he said.
One reason Capitol Hill fought so hard for the mitigation package was because of what happened with the addition of light rail to the Martin Luther King Way, Hilovsky said. "There was awareness that the businesses were decimated in the Rainier Valley."
Brooke Belman, Link Light Rail's community-outreach program manager, said the comparison doesn't fit. There were five major segments on the South Seattle route, she noted. "We have actually worked with each individual community."
By contrast, Sound Transit is working primarily with just the chamber on Capitol Hill. "The good thing about working with the chamber is they really understand the business community on Broadway," she said. "We're really excited about the innovative partnerships the chamber started up," Belman added specifically about businesses linking up with SCCC and Seattle University.
Demolition work on the condemned building is expected to begin in early January, she said. "That's one of the reasons we wanted to get this program in place." Belman concedes that there is a constant challenge during construction projects.
But she stressed that Sound Transit will keep tabs on the work. "We're going to be monitoring how it goes." Part of that approach will include a 24-hour hotline Capitol Hill residents and business owner can call if they have any issues that need to be addressed, Belman said.
Another critical component needed for success of the mitigation project is for neighborhood residents to support local businesses by shopping there, according to Wells. "That's vitally important for residents to understand."
