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Business Owner Highlight: Tyler Davis Jones, Wedgwood Realtor

Every once in a while, I will sit down for a longer conversation with a local, North Seattle business owner.  My goal? Simple – try to tell the story of what they do, how they got here, and where they see the community going. If you would like to nominate someone to be highlighted in this series, please email me.

Today’s interview was with Tyler Davis Jones.  Tyler is a friend of mine and a great reason for me to love North Seattle.  As a new dad, Tyler cares about creating a safe, caring, and healthy community here in North Seattle and specifically Wedgwood.  Tyler is also a real estate agent specifically in the growing Wedgwood market. He and I sat down a few weeks ago at Hellbent Brewing Company to discuss his business, his life, and his vision for North Seattle.

Moreover, Tyler will be writing some Real Estate updates for Our North Seattle – so I hope you enjoy and get used to his name around here.

Tyler Davis Jones | Seattle Real Estate AgentNate Strong (@ndlstrong): Tell me about yourself.

Tyler (Davis) Jones (InstaTwitter): My name is Tyler Davis Jones and I work with Windermere Real Estate. My wife and I recently bought a house in the neighborhood of Wedgwood, Seattle, which we love. We have a daughter who is seven months old and Jenn and I have been married to for 4+ years – they’re both amazing.

NS: You moved from Queen Anne to come to the North Seattle community – something that I myself did as well. As a fellow transplant, I’m interested to hear why?

TJ: I loved Queen Anne. Who wouldn’t? But Wedgwood is home. It’s slower, you know? It feels peaceful when I get home. Like when I go to Café Javasti, people are talking to each other – it’s like West Seattle, but West Seattle is so far away from everything. We are slower in a good way. I also believe Wedgwood’s way more community-driven than anywhere else I’ve lived. People care about other people and you can feel it here.

From an investment perspective, the lot sizes are bigger than most places in Seattle. The average sold price for a home is much less compared to Queen Anne, Ballard or Fremont. You’ll get a lot more house for your money. Also, it’s kind of a blank canvas – we can make Wedgwood and our neighborhood what we want!

NS: What did people around you think about North Seattle when you said you were moving here?

TJ: A good friend of ours had a tough time with us moving all the way out to Wedgwood – “it’s pretty far man,” they said. But when you GPS it, you realize… it’s not a bad commute at all. And Lake City Way doesn’t get nearly as backed up as many of the other places in Seattle.

From a business perspective, it’s not on the radar of many of my clients. I’ll pitch the idea of Northeast Seattle, and the thought doesn’t even cross their mind. Until they get here and see how far their money can really go – you have to be in it to really see it. This is again why I’m so excited to be here. It’s like the wild west. We have so much potential to make this community what we want. I love this! But it’s not for the faint of heart. I’ve suggested North Seattle to many of my clients, and a couple of them have pursued houses here. But the truth is, it’s not yet as culturally defined as Fremont or Queen Anne. Some see this as a deterrent… I see this as an opportunity.

NS: What do you think are the major issues facing North Seattle?

TJ: “Where are the sidewalks?” I get that all the time. It’s a great question – I don’t know. I know there’s a lot of great research around what sidewalks do for a community. Like encouraging people to get outside and walk, to go meet your neighbor, to reach out to your community. That’s one of the issues that is facing North Seattle, for sure.

There’s also a decent number of questionable businesses, especially around Lake City Way. I’m sure many of these businesses are run by law-abiding, taxpaying citizens. I think that’s great! However, cleanliness on Lake City Way and our community is extremely important. Having some sort of cohesive aesthetic would be beneficial – having more businesses like Hellbent Brewing Company. If you care about the business and product, than that’s shown in what you’re doing. We’ll need to figure out good standards for businesses on main roads throughout our communities.

NS: So you’re talking about Strip Clubs?

TJ: Well, I’m not going to disagree with supply and demand. While these services aren’t something that I would utilize, I think having some form of regulation around aesthetics and good business practices would be helpful – but truthfully I don’t even know if that’s possible. I wonder if the city could create some form of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions guidelines for the community? Basically, a contract within a development where you can do xy and z to your building, then you still have the creative ability to do what you want. This type of regulation works in condo and townhome communities, maybe that would be beneficial for North Seattle policy.

NS: Then overall, what do you do with Lake City Way?

TJ: Bring in affordable housing and hotels to the area. As you’re crossing over the Aurora bridge, southbound coming from Queen Anne, you see a lot of new development around Fremont – there are less expensive extended-stay hotels being built. You also see lower income housing communities. I think these are a couple of options here on Lake City Way that might bring culture and community to the area. Seattle needs more inexpensive hotels that are not hourly motels. Something that’s an affordable $100 a night, not $200+ at the Pan Pacific.

If you follow Fremont all the way up to 85th and Aurora, there’s been some really cool projects that are happening – Woodlands Pizza and the Starbucks drive-through. Zillow has some great research about how when a Starbucks moves into a neighborhood, it increases the value of the surrounding property 28% more than the average. While there’s already a Starbucks on LCW and 120th, I believe that adding additional coffee shops that aren’t drive-in bikini baristas would be a value-add – like the repurposed shipping container Starbucks in Ballard.

NS: Interesting you mention it, because this seems to be an increasing topic of discussion around here. Should Lake City become the new Ballard?

TJ: A couple of months back, the city council was talking about lifting many of the single-family development restrictions in order to let the market dictate what housing was needed in Seattle. There was a pretty big backlash to this idea and they ended up revoking it. To me, it’s an interesting idea. The economist in me that believes that the market often generates solutions to new demands. However, the NE Seattle resident in me does not want to see 2,000 townhomes built three-to-one on a single lot the way we see it in Ballard.

I don’t think Wedgwood or North Seattle is the place to do that. I think North East Seattle specifically is the place of restoration and revitalization – new families moving into old families’ homes and continuing their legacy. I think a campaign worded around that ideology is a way to pursue growth – but also resisting development in the way that the market dictates.

NS: What do you think draws people to Ballard?

TJ: The food, the walkability, the options. There are so many options to really entertain yourself! You’re also close to downtown, which is nice.

Do you start with the development of bringing more people in to create demand for restaurants and things like that? Or do you start with the restaurants, like Ethan Stowell or Tom Douglas.

NS: Switching gears back to the North End, how do you bring revitalization to North Seattle?

TJ: Talk to those guys – Tom Douglas, Ethan Stowell. They carry a lot of weight. Demand drives a lot of decision making. If you could get a collective group of people who were on board to get Wedgwood or Lake City Way to be the next foodie place, or maybe even dare one of these guys to open a place… that would be cool.

NS: You’re a real estate agent in this community, so when you’re selling Wedgwood, what do you say?

TJ: I talk about the 35th Ave Revitalization Proposal. This shows forward progress; it shows the community wants something more. There’s one too many vacant properties on 35th. The opportunity is huge.

I talk about a little slower life – you can have your fast-paced city life, but do you want to come home to a fast-paced home life? Or do you want to come home and enjoy your family and enjoy a walk to Café Javasti or Mathews Beach?

Closeness to the Burke Gilman. I’m training for a triathlon so I hop on my bike and I’m two minutes from the Burke.

Affordability! 4 bedroom, 1.75 bath with a 7,000 square foot lot – compare that to Magnolia and you’re saving upwards of $200k.

NS: What are some local businesses you recommend?

TJ: Cafe Javasti – Local coffee shop
Wedgwood Smiles – dentist
Woodlawn Optical – optician
Maid in the NW for maid services for cleaning – for clients
All that Dance – my wife and I have chatted about it – hasn’t happened yet, but it would be fun
Wedgwood Broiler – Classic prime rib
Fiddler’s Inn – that’s my dive jam
Hellbent Brewing – second favorite brewery

NS: What do you love about Real Estate?

TJ: I love helping people. I love that my service impacts people in a very deep and real way. I love that what I bring to the table in saving them a lot of money and can really make life a little easier. It’s one of the most stressful times of your life – buying a home and getting settled. I pride myself on bringing the best assets to the table. I love connecting people who are really good at their jobs – my contractor, I believe in him because I think he’s really good at his job. My cleaner, my plumber, my electrician – I love connecting those people to other people because the goodness spreads.

For more information about Tyler, including contact info, check out Tyler’s website, Instagram, or Twitter account.

If you know of any local business owner that we should highlight, let us know!

 

145th Corridor Open House: Wednesday

Our neighbors to the North are having an Open House to talk about how to improve the 145th Corridor.  Though this is a Shoreline initiative, it affects the North Seattle Community in a big way.  This is a major East-West arterial for the very north end of Seattle, which provides access to I-5, Aurora, and Lake City Way.  Also, it’s the border between Seattle and Shoreline.

This may be something that North Seattleites will want to participate in.  Even though it requires a cross into a different town, this is still very important for us to be involved in.

Details:
Wednesday, February 24th from 6:00pm-8:00pm (Presentation at 6:30pm)
Shorecrest High School

From the City of Shoreline:

Save the date… a third open house for the 145th Street Multimodal Corridor Study is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24, 2016. At this time, a draft preferred concept for the corridor will be presented and the project team would like to hear your comments. 

Due to the overwhelming turnout at the second open house, there will be a new venue.  Everyone is invited to attend from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.(with a presentation at 6:30 p.m.) at Shorecrest High School in Shoreline.  For those of you unable to attend, some information from the open house will be made available on this webpage along with a survey (for a limited time) shortly after the 24th. 

Here’s a link for more information on the project: http://www.shorelinewa.gov/government/departments/145th-street-corridor

Thanks to Chris Roberts – Shoreline Mayor – for this information.

 

Chief O’Toole Hosting Townhall on Nextdoor: NOW

We just received notification that Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole is hosting a Townhall on Nextdoor.com.  You’ll need to have an account, log in, and visit her post: https://nextdoor.com/news_feed/?post=21603359.  Make sure you post any questions you may have by 3pm today.

Here’s her post:

Good morning Seattle. Welcome to the first ever Nextdoor Town Hall.

I often say policing is a vocation, not just a job. I’m honored to lead the men and women of the Seattle Police Department and to serve the residents of this great city.

Today I’d like to take this opportunity to hear directly from you. Let me know what we’re doing right, where we can improve and what questions you have. Simply reply to this post with your questions by 3:00 PM today and I’ll try to answer as many as possible with a post by 6:00 PM this evening.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

I look forward to seeing lots of questions from the North Seattle area, especially about the local policing, or maybe lack thereof.

What to do About Your Alley

Did you know that the City of Seattle has an official policy on how to deal with your unpaved alley? And that essentially the policy is that they won’t do anything to fix your alley, but you still have to get approval to make any changes.

As we approach the end of winter, and the potholes intensify, we will start to see neighbors out, inspecting their alleyways and trying to band together to fix them.  The official policy says:

Unpaved Alleys – Alleys which are not paved to City standards (e.g. dirt and gravel alleys) are not funded for any maintenance, repair, or improvements by the City.  Adjacent property owners can maintain or make improvements to the alleys at their expense.  All work requires a Street Use Permit.

Essentially what this means is that you are required, with your neighbors, to maintain your alleyway.  However, if you would like to make any improvements, you have to obtain a permit.

Does anyone have any advice for neighbors looking to make improvements to their alleyways?

North Seattle Councilwoman Goes on District 5 Tour: Friday

Attention District 5 Residents – which is pretty much North Seattle through and through: our Councilwoman, Debora Juarez will be going on a ‘tour’ of District 5 this Friday, February 19th.

During this time, she will be visiting various places throughout the North Seattle Area.  Below are the list of places and times that she will be there.

  • 10am – 11:30am Northaven, Senior Living With A Heart (11045 8th Avenue NE)
  • 1:30pm – 2:30pm North Helpline (12736 33rd Ave NE)
  • 3:00pm – 4:00pm Mary’s Place (1155 N. 130th St.)
  • 4:30pm – 6:30pm The Shanty Tavern Reception (9002 Lake City Way NE)

They are asking people to RSVP to this event, please email her Legislative Assistant at Sabrina.Bolieu@seattle.gov to notify her that you are coming.  You also should separately (this does not count as an RSVP) respond “yes” to the Facebook Event.

Does anyone plan on being at one of these events?  I would love to hear more about some of them, and I plan on being at the Shanty Tavern Reception myself.

See you there!

Workshops for City’s Large Projects Fund

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is hosting some upcoming workshops regarding the Large Projects Fund.  This is a great way for us here in North Seattle to be involved in Seattle’s growth an development, and also to receive some money for development in our community.

From the Large Projects Fund Website:

The Large Projects Fund (LPF) provides awards up to $100,000 to support community members in building community relationships around a project. Large Projects Fund activities may be physical projects as well as less tangible but equally significant educational, cultural, and relationship-strengthening activities. All projects must demonstrate its capacity to build a stronger and healthier community, and must:

  • Provide a public benefit and be free and open to all members of the public.
  • Emphasize self-help, with project ideas initiated, planned and implemented by the neighbors and community members who will themselves be impacted by the project.
  • Demonstrate community match.
  • Occur within the Seattle city limits.

The Workshop for North Seattle is at the Bitter Lake Community Center, and it will be Thursday, March 24.  If you’re thinking about going, shoot us here at Our North Seattle an email and we’d love to write about some of the projects coming from the North Seattle Community!

Mayor Murray Releases Lake City Urban Design Framework Today

Today, Mayor Ed Murray and District 5 Councilwoman Debora Juarez released a new Urban Design Framework for the Lake City corridor.  There is already one in existence for Northgate, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

However, this is a welcome change for people living in the Lake City community.  This corridor renewal has long been fought for by some active community members (some of whom I have already had the chance to digitally meet since launching this blog).

The following is directly from the City of Seattle’s site on the new Urban Design Framework, specifically regarding key outcomes:

Strengthen Community Partnerships

  • New integrated approach to community development
  • Coordinated community outreach
  • Only in Seattle grant for Lake City Future First (LCFF)
  • LCFF business district support
  • LCFF design and planning committee
  • Green Seattle Partnership

Build a Healthy Community

  • 33rd Ave NE park design
  • Virgil Flaim skatepark
  • Thornton Creek restoration
  • Little Brook Park public restroom open all year
  • Improve connections to Meadowbrook Community Center
  • New recreation programming
  • Access to healthy food
  • Fred Meyer Community Garden
  • Natural Drainage Systems
  • NE 130th Street beach access

Enhance Community Safety

  • Intersection improvements around the Lake City Civic Core
  • Sidewalk installation
  • LCW Traffic Safety Corridor project
  • Public safety

Building for the Future

  • Workforce Housing for Families
  • Lake City preschool
  • Human services
  • New development standards
  • 28th Ave NE festival street plan

This is a huge step forward for our community and a big congratulations is in order for the people who have fought for this tirelessly for years.

Read the full press release here.

Burglaries/Property Theft in North Seattle

Neighbors – I am hearing more and more reports of forced entry burglaries in the North Seattle community. I want to thank those who have spoken up about the burglaries that are happening because while these are terrible events, the more they are shared, the more we can be aware.

SPD has a great map that shows all of the recent police reports filed in the city.  Check North Seattle, and you’ll see the usual amount of green squares (this is property theft and damage), but what seems to be a growing amount of burglaries, specifically nonresidential.

Theft in North Seattle

Please keep aware of this map, report any suspicious activity, and report anything that happens to your property to the Seattle Police, even if they don’t respond directly, this helps them with gathering data on our community, and may increase police presence.

Thanks, neighbors, and stay safe out there.

Ballots due TODAY!

Time to vote! This is just a reminder that your ballots are due TODAY! If you would like to see your vote guide, you can look it up here.  On this ballot should be two ballot measures, both for currently expiring property tax levies supporting schools.

Make your voice heard on this beautiful sunny Seattle day.  Make sure North Seattle is a big voting block.  Vote!

Also, if you can’t get to a mailbox, a reminder that there’s a drop box in Magnuson park today.

One Week In: What I’ve Learned

My Buddy, Denali

My Buddy, Denali

Here I am, one week in to starting Our North Seattle officially, and I’ve already learned a lot.  So don’t mind me as I settle in next to my little buddy here to reflect on some of the things I’ve learned about North Seattle as a community.

North Seattle Community Members Care
Nothing has been more clear than the fact that North Seattleites care a great deal about their community.  Within hours of kicking off my first post, I was inundated with messages and emails from caring neighbors who wanted to meet up to talk about their love for this neighborhood.

Local Businesses Still Struggle
Yes, our economy is booming.  However, I still see local small businesses struggling, especially here in North Seattle.  My hope is that as we continue this blog, I can help be a voice for local businesses.  I have some thoughts on how to connect more community members with local businesses, but please let me know if you have any thoughts yourself! Small business is so important to our community and I hope to encourage this as much as possible.

North Seattle Gets the Short Shrift
Yes, we all know that we lack sidewalks.  However, because of how we were annexed to the rest of the city, it’s becoming more and more clear to me that we are unable to centralize, organize, and represent our views.  As we were added onto the city, considerations were not given to optimizing community.  Since then, the city has largely been able to ignore our area because of our lack of representation on City Council and City boards.

North Seattle has the Most Potential
Take all of the above and put them together – we have the biggest room to grow as a neighborhood or collection of neighborhoods.  I think with the people that are here – these people who care so much, with a couple of pushes, we can become one of the leading areas of Seattle

What else should I learn in the next few weeks?  How do you think we can help our community grow together? I welcome your thoughts – and thanks for joining me!