While the recent stories of the Denny’s, Sunset Bowl and Ballard’s overall transformation having been grabbing headlines (even in the LA Times this weekend), let’s not forget about Edith Macefield. Remember, she’s the 86-year-old Ballard woman who made national news when she turned down $1 million to sell her home to developers. So we decided to stop by NW 46 St. and see how the construction project is going.
Yep, they’re building the five-story building around her house, as they said they would. And workers still have a few more stories to go.
Here’s the side view. You can’t even see Macefield’s house. Her blue car is parked in between the Honey Buckets and orange cones. And right across the street is a land use sign that says a four-story office building will be under construction soon (more info on that project here). No matter where you come down in this debate, you have to admit this is a little sad.
Heidi adds in comments: “I will always think of the true Ballard spirit when I see this lady’s house. I hope the future business partners will think twice before negotiating with these developers… heartless.”
Martha adds in comments: “Why doesn’t she do like the children’s book and move the entire house? Her 1 million dollar offer would pay for the move and a really nice piece of land!”
30 responses so far ↓
1 Ben // Jan 13, 2008 at 10:41 pm
This reminds me of the children’s book where there is a little country house that eventually gets swallowed by the city and is sad and dilapidated until a family comes by and moves it out into the country.
2 Heidi // Jan 13, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I will always think of the true Ballard spirit when I see this lady’s house. I hope the future business partners will think twice before negotiating with these developers…heartless.
3 the chad // Jan 14, 2008 at 8:25 am
Heartless? Try brainless. That house won’t be the same to her with all that, why bother hanging on to it? Selfish and ridiculous. When she’s gone they’ll turn her lot into a courtyard, or a fountain.
4 HEIDI in Bellingham // Jan 14, 2008 at 9:34 am
A fountain or a courtyard in her name hopefully. For her courage and spirit. Stand up for yourself and what you believe in. The world can use more people like her. I would love to meet her!
5 Rich boswell // Jan 14, 2008 at 9:44 am
Why do we have to admit it’s a little sad? Nothing sad at all about it, she gets to stay in her home, the other landowner gets to build his building, win win situation if you ask me.
6 Tia // Jan 14, 2008 at 10:22 am
The dust, the noise, the darkness on three sides. I can admire the lady’s pluck but not her decision-making sense. Does she not have someone who can help and advise her?
7 Martha // Jan 14, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Why doesn’t she do like the children’s book and move the entire house? Her 1 million dollar offer would pay for the move and a really nice piece of land!
8 Tabitha // Jan 14, 2008 at 3:58 pm
This is truly sad that the city would allow a building permit to built around this lady like that if I were her family I would sue the city for allowing this to take place in the first place
9 Kenny joe // Jan 14, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Well for one she’s an elderly lady and elderly people aren’t prone for change at that age. It’s to late for change, they feel comfortable in their environment that they lived in for so many years along with friends and neighbors. I don’t believe she’s being stubborn or trying to make point. I just think she wants the memories and to live in the neighborhood that she knows for for the remainder of her life. And I give her that.
10 flapjacks // Jan 15, 2008 at 1:55 am
Thank goodness Ballard gets a Trader Joes and an L.A. Fitness! And a parking garage! Just what we need!
11 CZSMARTONE // Jan 15, 2008 at 11:03 pm
OK, realistically, she’s 86, her house is paid for, she’s comfortable and secure, she doesn’t need a million dollars in her life, it’s the principle of it all. To hell with the developer, but I assure you any tenant that enters that building will be “black listed” by the community for supporting the developer. Reminds me of Rosa Parks if you ask me.
12 Kim // Jan 15, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Interesting that your blog post and photo came out the day after I did a photoshoot of Ms. Macefield’s and posted some shots to Flickr. Great minds think alike ;^). Nice shot and article.
-Kim
Seattle Daily Photo
13 CLC // Jan 16, 2008 at 12:15 pm
A friend in Ballard told me she’s willed the house to the owner of Mike’s Chili because he had held out against the development as well. Don’t know if it’s true, but it’s a great story.
14 Todd // Jan 16, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Not sure what you are talking about CZSMARTONE? I will be at LA Fitness an average 5 days per week. I will shop at Trader Joe’s at least two times per week. If there are any other businesses in the complex that I like, I will gladly support them. I’ve lived in Ballard for over a decade and am very excited with all the changes. Definitely for the better. The lot where the complex is going was wasteland. Ghetto material. A bums paradise. Also, everyone I have talked with in the neighborhood is extremely excited mostly about Trader Joe’s.
I read an article a few months back that talked about the construction workers befriending the 86 yo lady occupying the house. They bring her coffee and make small talk with her. She was asked her if the construction noise bugged her and she said no and that it’d be over with at some point. No ill will from her towards the construction workers and vice versa.
Personally, I think it is sad that she didn’t take the million, buy another house in cash and give $500k to charity, donate it to a public school, or something…but that is just me.
Also CLC, the article I read stated that the developer didn’t even ask the owner of Mikes Chili to sell. The reporter asked Mike if he would’ve held out like the 86 year old lady and he stated something to the affect of “I don’t have that much willpower”. Sorry to ruin your feel good story.
15 Rudy // Jan 18, 2008 at 10:20 am
Well Todd isnt it nice that you’ve been in Ballard for over a decade and are so happy about the changes.
I have been in Ballard for over 6 decades, my family has been here for over 10 decades. I live in a 1916 home that I purchased from my grandparents estate that they built when they were first married.
I too am pleased with some of the changes and upgrades to Ballard. Trader Joes is a great place as well as some of the restaurants.
However the next time you are in LA Fitness take a look around you at the superficial plastic folks around you and you’ll see what the elders of Ballard have such an issue with, these are the changes we dont like. The influx of Self absorbed condo dwelling 30 sumthin a$$holes is unbearable. They move into the neighborhood live here a few years and then play a fan fare for all the changes.
Ballard has a history that is being forced out and is being replaced by condos and steril buildings that all look like a storage facility. You want to talk ghetto take a walk down condo row just north of Market and you will see somethin that looks like nothing less then highrise project buildings.
You have the nerve to suggest this woman should sell her home, move and then donate half the money to a community that tried to run over the top of her and left her home in the shadow of a high rise structure.
I’ll tell ya, they want my house too and the lovely corner 1/4 acre lot it sits on. They wont get it, not from me nor the family that I have willed it to. Edith is not the only one fighting to keep Ballards history.
16 Ben // Jan 21, 2008 at 11:52 am
I live pretty darn close to this lot and it was a complete waste of land: flat ground covered with broken chunks of concrete with some rusted pieces of metal and broken window laying around. This land is obviously being put to better use (as opposed to no use), how is this bad for Ballard or its history? Is Ballard’s history a bunch of completely collapsed warehouses? I don’t think so.
17 Stacey // Jan 22, 2008 at 11:53 am
Todd -
I agree with you and respect you for standing up to the developers.
The condos that are being built are not anyone’s ideal living situation that they intend in staying in for a long time. People in Seattle don’t say, “My dream home is a boxy condo in a huge skyrise!” Condos are usually a temporary stepping stone to owning a better home. The people who move into condos are not thinking about the future of Ballard, they are thinking about their own personal situation - what is convenient for them right now (including having close access to chain stores), regardless of what it does to the future of the community. Ballard is not designed to support so many people, and traffic is already bad. I’m curious to find out how many people who support the over-development of Ballard will actually be living in Ballard 10 years from now.
18 Stacey // Jan 22, 2008 at 11:57 am
I meant to agree with Rudy and NOT Todd.
19 Merry // Jan 27, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Rudy, fighting change is futile. Embrace it. It’s interesting and invigorating. Keep yourself young by keeping current. Roll with the punches. Go with the flow. Don’t like where it’s heading? Jump off somewhere else more to your liking. Don’t be a grumbling, reminiscing old die-hard. Be nimble, be quick. If you’re so astute, why are you wanting to stay in an environment you no longer really like? If you don’t cash in and move, your heirs surely will.
20 Keith // Jan 29, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Have you ever seen pictures of the “spite mounds” …. this is the modern equivalent.
21 marjorie // Feb 2, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I’ve accessed this blog through smarterneighbors.com and encourage community leaders to attend a meeting at the public library meeting room on 50th & Roosevelt Way NE, Mon, Feb 25, 6:30-7:45 PM to work on putting together a badly needed and long overdue local zoning initiative.
22 Joel // Feb 4, 2008 at 8:35 am
Rudy-
My family has been here since the early part of the 20th century as well. It’s a great thing to have a picture of your grandmother as a child, standing in front of a Ballard Ave apartment building that still stand, and at at the old Adams school.
But let’s be fair, there’s nothing wrong with the people that are moving in. I’m sure all the newer Ballard residents are fine people- all the ones I’ve met are super nice! I am a member of an athletic club and am not plastic. If you look hard enough, you can find a**holes anywhere. :-) Don’t assume that just because people are living in condos they are bad.
The issue is NOT about the people. I hate losing some of our nice old buildings, too, but I love the idea of a Trader Joe’s AND I love Edith. Let’s focus on fixing the areas that need fixing and maintaining enough that we don’t lose our neighborhood identity!
23 Justin Bowers // Feb 6, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I LOVE IT! Now that’s character. Way to go 86-year-old lady!!! I think the place is still beautiful and should get instant historical landmark status.
24 uptown // Feb 12, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Funny thing is her lot will still be worth a lot of money, as the owner can build to the same height as the surrounding building (nice penthouse on top with view, southern exposure). Her house is small and could still be moved to a new location.
25 Betsey // Feb 13, 2008 at 10:10 am
Not everyone who is new to Ballard embraces the ubiquitous townhouses. Three years ago we bought a lovingly cared for 1928 house from a sweet family and moved from a 1 bedroom apartment. Our offer was not the highest offer on the house, yet the sellers chose my husband and I anyway. I can only assume the other offer was from a developer who would have torn the near-mint condition house down to cram 3 or 4 townhouses onto the small site, and our offer was better to this family because we wrote a letter about our plans for starting our own family in the little house. They clearly put a lot of themselves into remodeling and adding on to this house.
Having a huge mortgage is not easy for us, and sometimes friends and even family encourage us to sell it for big bucks to the developers that send us letters and call us weekly. I can definitely understand what Edith Macefield has done. It would break my heart to sell our house knowing that it would be torn down and ticky tacky townhouses put up in its place. It would break my neighbors hearts, too, I’m sure. Who can put a price on integrity?
26 Flowerbuyer // Feb 24, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I grew up in Ballard, as did my parents and grandparents. I moved away 35 years ago, and when I return, don’t recognize most of it. I do understand Ms.Macefield’s reluctance to move. She is 86 years old, for crying out loud. She doesn’t want to leave what is familiar and comfortable for her. She didn’t. Good for her!
And some of those condo buildings are, in my opinon, just plain UGLY.
27 born in ballard // Feb 27, 2008 at 2:07 pm
let a couple of things be known about this “evil and wrong” developer. first off, they have treated edith incredibly well during this entire situation. an employee of the project has been taking edith to all of her doctors visits and grocery shopping since the project started. she has not been able to get around well lately, so he is now cooking her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. also, they didnt need to offer her $1 million. thats alot of money!
another thig about this project is the fact that its not replacing a beautiful old brick building, or somthing with sentimental value like the denny’s. that lot has been a junk pile for a long time. if you have lived in ballard for a while, you will know this.
28 Suthii // Mar 26, 2008 at 7:28 am
“true Ballard spirit”
I’m sorry, hasn’t that moved to Renton and Kent with the working class?
“I would sue the city for allowing this to take place in the first place”
Sue! It’s the American way. Or get the state to come in and arrest those who don’t understand Ballard’s semi-socialist Scandavian ways.
“Reminds me of Rosa Parks if you ask me.”
Ah yes, the Rosa Parks of Ballard, if only Ballard wasn’t nearly 99% white and sitting on $1/2 million homes.
“A bums paradise”
Finally someone else who doesn’t think feeding pidgeons and bums is a good way to maintain a neighborhood.
“the elders of Ballard have such an issue with, these are the changes we dont like. ”
What, you own Ballard? The only ones allowed to complain about new comers are the Indians, and from what I can see, they are hanging around that eyesore of a Denny’s the village elders have declared a national monument.
“flat ground covered with broken chunks of concrete with some rusted pieces of metal and broken window laying around”
Apparently that’s what the Ballard Elders consider a fine use of land and much better way to generate growth, opportunity and employment.
“people who move into condos are not thinking about the future of Ballard”
And that nugget of information was obtained how? Peer reviewed research or random opinion.
29 Suthii // Mar 26, 2008 at 7:43 am
“LA Fitness take a look around you at the superficial plastic folks ”
You mean people who don’t eat trans-fats and chain smoke like a true Ballard Elder? How dare they get healthy and not contribute to rising health care costs.
“It would break my heart to sell our house knowing that it would be torn down and ticky tacky townhouses put up in its place. It would break my neighbors hearts, too, I’m sure”
And how do you think the natives who lived on your land before you came and replaced a perfectly charming teepee with you home feel? Or does time, history and change just have to stop with us?
30 Sheila // Apr 9, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I’m excited about the Trader Joe’s and LA Fitness. I am not plastic, I just need to take care of myself. My great grandparents went through something like this in Tucson in the late ’70s and they held out. Too bad really. The place was kind of dumpy and they could have moved somewhere that was easier for them to take care of.
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