The 25-acre site will be vacant after the National Guard relocates, and a new report says a public development authority should manage the property.
Ray Dubicki writes about the future of the Interbay Armory in Seattle and the possibilities to transform the military facility site. A new report from the Washington Department of Commerce proposes good ideas, he says, but it does not go far enough.
"It sees the potential at this crux of infrastructure, development, and a booming population. It recognizes what could be there. Then it stops short of making bold proposals," says Dubicki.
He points out that the report does not adequately consider all the stakeholders involved and coordination around various infrastructure projects. He is also critical of how public comments were incorporated into the analysis and the report’s focus on current conditions instead of future challenges.
Dubicki discusses what he thinks are a slew of better ideas being developed for the Interbay Armory site. He does, however, support the report’s proposal to establish a public development authority. "It gets us closer to having a functional relationship between the city and the land it owns. It gets us closer to recognizing the City can be an investor in its own future," he says.
FULL STORY: Armory Development Authority Could Unlock Visionary Interbay Plans
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research