Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 4, April 2003
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University's growing pains
By MATTHEW PREUSCH
For months, City construction workers have been tearing up the asphalt and sidewalks along University Way NE, the University District's main thoroughfare known to locals as The Ave.
But now a different part of Mayor Greg Nickels' revitalization plan for The Ave is making almost as much noise in the community as the backhoes and jackhammers are in the street.
The mayor recently announced his intention to abolish the University of Washington's lease lid, which caps the amount of space the institution can lease in surrounding neighborhoods at 550,000 square feet.
"The lease lid makes no sense. Let's get rid of it," Nickels said.
Community groups, who helped establish the lease restriction, fear unfettered expansion by the university would dramatically alter the commercial and residential character of surrounding area.
The lease lid is one aspect of a 1998 agreement between the City and the UW that was meant to manage the effects of the university's expansion on bordering neighborhoods. It addresses the increased traffic and changes in housing patterns that accompanies the university's expansion.
The lease limit only covers a designated "Impact Area," which includes the entire University District and parts of surrounding neighborhoods, such as Wallingford and Laurelhurst.
Removing the lease lid is likely to have a dramatic effect on the University District in the next decade, according to Neal Lessenger, who ran the UW's real estate office for 23 years before his retirement in 1999.
"The long-term effect is that you'll have a lot more (office) buildings going up in the University District," he said.
Lessenger, who negotiated the original lease lid, thinks it would be unwise to remove it all together. Instead, the City, UW and surrounding communities should negotiate a compromise agreement, such as allowing the university to lease unlimited space only in a small area around the campus, he said.
"I think there is a good middle ground the University can live with," Lessenger said.
Local residents, like Matt Fox, president of the University District Community Council, are wary of the eclectic business community along The Ave turning into little more than an office park.
"The bottom line is if the UW can lease whenever, wherever, developers will build buildings that are attractive to the UW," Fox said.
Others are worried an increase in office space would mean more car commuters in the area, taxing the already clogged streets around the university.
Not all residents are opposed to the mayor's plan. Chris MacKenzie of the Wallingford Community Council said the UW is a good tenant, and would encourage business in the area. She said neighbors' attention should instead focus on ensuring new developments follow land use regulations.
"I don't see why it makes any difference if the university is going to rent more space, because someone else is going to rent it eventually," MacKenzie said.
For the UW, lifting the lease lid is an urgent concern, said Theresa Doherty, assistant vice president of the university's Office of Regional Affairs. According to Doherty, the UW is currently leasing about 543,000 square feet in the impact area, just 7,000 short of the limit and about 40,000 more than a few months ago.
She said the UW's office space needs change from semester to semester, requiring flexibility in office leasing.
"We don't know what kind of grant funding we're going to get; we don't know how much space we are going to need," said Doherty.
The UW also leases an additional 500,000 square feet of space outside of the impact area, in areas like south Lake Union or First Hill. If the lease lid were lifted, Doherty said, many of the departments in those satellite offices would move back into the University District.
Confusing the issue, say local residents such as Fox, is the mayor's decision to bundle his proposal to lift the lease lid with his "Ave Revitalization Plan." He says the two are separate issues, as the UW is not likely to lease large amounts of new office space in buildings along University Way NE.
In a March 5 letter, the Seattle Community Council Federation echoed that concern.
The proposal "goes far beyond improvements to the Ave and has the potential of adversely impacting surrounding communities," wrote SCCF President Stephen Lundgren.
Jill Nishi, director of the City's Economic Development Office, addressed that question and others at a recent meeting of the City's university community advisory committee. She said that the UW is the City's largest employer, and therefore should be encouraged to grow.
"I don't want to mislead anybody into thinking that the City believes (lifting the lease lid) is a panacea in the revitalization of The Ave," said Nishi.
On Tuesday, April 8, the City Council is hosting a public forum on the mayor's proposal to lift the lease lid. The meeting, which starts at 6 p.m., will be held at the University Heights Community Center at 5031 University Way NE.