The future home of Ballard Blocks II at 14th Ave. and 46th St. is a big empty lot that frequently fills with water. It’s also contaminated, according to the Department of Ecology. The land used to house Wesmar Co., Inc., a chemical product manufacturer and distributor, and Color Tech, Inc., a metal coating service. Between 1905 to 1917, Pacific Coast Pipe Company used and stored the wood preservative creosote at this location.
According to this release (.pdf) by the DOE, “The results of preliminary subsurface investigations conducted on the Property indicated that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soil and arsenic-contaminated soil and groundwater are present beneath the property.”
The property owners have come to an agreement with the Department of Ecology to clean up the land, and the DOE is looking for public comment. According to this draft (.pdf) by DOE, the plans include excavating contaminated soil, installing a permanent water-control system, capping contaminated soil along NW 46th St., and installing groundwater monitoring.
The public is encouraged to review and comment until November 23rd. Contact information for who to contact can be found here (.pdf).
I hate to be this guy but, Really? Another Ballard Blocks? Sheesh. (Now I'll read the info and comment more on topic later)
well duh, it's downstream from Mikes Chili Parlor!
Yay, more USSR style architecture. Let's make Ballard ugly.
Lets take bets on what Little Big Box Chain will go in at this location?
Pier 1 Imports, Pottery Barn or maybe a Gene Juarez. My bet is we might see one of them.
Maybe you'll really hit the jackpot and get one of those Vitamilk/QFC pits that sits full of muddy, mosquito-laden water for years and years!
That property is currently ugly. Build on it.
Target
I had thought about that too but thought it might be too small for them, unless the take the entire building.
Hey, whatever the architecture, whatever box chain store goes in there, I care more about the fact that this is a contaminated site that will be cleaned up! So whatever it becomes it will likely be better for us all than what is there now.
I welcome the big box stores to Ballard. As it is, the only time leave Ballard currently is when I run up to the stores at Northgate, if they are in Ballard, I'll never have to leave! Specifically, I would like a Best Buy and a Bed Bath & Beyond. Nordstrom too, if someone could arrange it please!
Yet again, New Ballard has to clean up Old Ballard's mess and then catch grief for it.
That's probably why dear Edith had cancer.
Cry me a river!
Astute passers-by may notice, at the SE corner of this property, just outside the fence, a nice little stream burbling out of the ground, then running a few feet into a grate. It's been going for as long as I've lived in Ballard (20+ yrs), 24/7, 365 days a year.
I'd always thought i could tap it for some Ballard Pure Artisanal water, but it's probably a no go now. I'm convinced it's related to the nearly perpetual pond that exists on this lot.
What say we 'daylight' the stream, find some well-heeled My Ballard reader (you're out there, and you've got a mill to spare, I know!), buy the lot, clean it up, and make a
1- park
2-new public outdoor pool
3-go kart track
4-light rail maintenance station (for when it comes to Ballard)
5- outdoor bowling alley
6- ?other ideas
Please, not another building. it's beautiful as open space (that needs some work)
Yeah, why should we be bothered by this? What's a little arsenic in our water? It's not like it's gonna kill us! oh. really? It will? Arsenic is a poison and has always been known to be a poison? Yet this business poured it all over the ground for years?
Looks like nobody loves Ballard more than Old Ballard business unless it gets in the way of making a little money at the expense of the community's health.
1- park Bum haven?
2-new public outdoor pool Only warm enough for a couple months a year.
3-go kart track Now we're talking.
4-light rail maintenance station (for when it comes to Ballard) Never.
5- outdoor bowling alley We did have a very nice indoor one that was a thriving business…
6- ?other ideas Prison? Sewage treatment plant? Garbage dump? Filth spewing dirty industry like the one that was there?
I don't think that another retail business would be the worst thing to happen here. There's going to be whiners no matter what happens and even the utopian ideas have their drawbacks when reality is applied.
As long as it gets cleaned up and put to a productive use that doesn't harm the community, it will be better than the toxic filth hole that it is now…unless WalMart buys it. ;)
Just a question – who is going to pay for the clean-up? Oh, I know, let's add a 'small' property tax on home owners! Why not? Every other entity that needs money to complete their pie-in-the-sky thought has suggested a 'small' property tax increase? Gag….
Well it gets dicey, but typically there is an attempt to determine who the past owners/tenants and other potentially liable parties are/were, and they are presented with some charges which they generally collect from their insurers.
The former owner knew that the site was contaminated, the current owner either purchased it at a price reflecting the contamination and price to remediate or the former owner has put up some type of bond for remediation. It's private property so a “small tax increase” wouldn't be used to remediate since its not public property.