Madison Park Times RE 07-01-20

July 2020

Serving East-Central Seattle since 1983

Real Estate

Madison Park Times

MADISON PARK - WASHINGTON PARK - MADISON VALLEY - DENNY-BLAINE - MADRONA - LESCHI www .M adison P ark T imes . com

Summer is Heating Up the Madison Park Real Estate Market

I

t is undeniable that the COVID-19 pandemic halted what was shaping up to be a red-hot spring sales season in the greater Seattle area, but as buyers, sellers and real estate agents adjusted to a virtual approach to the purchase and sale of homes — and the government eased some “stay in place” restrictions — things began to heat up again in the Emerald City. Many industry experts agree that we could be moving toward a hot summer sales season with an uptick in activity that would’ve historically taken place in springtime. As you consider your real estate goals for the rest of 2020, I’ve compiled the latest stats in central Seattle with a further look Toby at the Madison Park market.

Lumpkin The central Seattle region (area Property 390) started the year on an upViews ward trajectory in the number of homes for sale, which sharply declined as the pandemic hit. The average days on market, likewise, increased, as buyers navigated a virtual, socially distanced marketplace. By May, however, activity was  Housing, Page 7

Homes Closed in Madison Park, Madison Valley, Washington Park, Arboretum, Broadmoor, Denny-Blaine and Leschi in June 2020 Bed

Bath

2512 East Madison Street #401

Address

2

1

765

Sq. Foot

1991

Built

29

DOM

$455,000

Asking Price

$445,000

Sold Price

-2.25%

2400 East Howell Street #E

2

1

735

1988

22

$460,000

$450,000

-2.22%

1833 24th Avenue #B

2

1.5

893

2007

22

$625,000

$595,000

-5.04%

2907 East Olive St

3

1

1,280

1945

52

$610,000

$600,000

-1.67%

2725 C South Norman St

2

1.75

1,042

2020

47

$640,000

$615,000

-4.07%

1929 43rd Avenue East #200

1

1.75

954

1997

3

$698,000

$735,500

5.10%

125 26th Avenue East #A

3

3.25

1,620

2004

51

$825,000

$800,000

-3.13%

318 Martin Luther King Jr Way East

3

1.75

2,240

1925

12

$879,500

$849,500

-3.53%

2508 East Howell Street

3

2

1,530

1918

3

$799,900

$891,500

10.27%

721 33rd Avenue South

2

1.25

2,280

1928

77

$999,950

$900,001

-11.11%

1356 30th Avenue South

4

1.75

1,755

2000

6

$899,950

$915,000

1.64%

211 32nd Avenue East

3

2

1,720

1946

1

$999,950

$1,015,000

1.48%

4215 East Blaine Street

3

2

2,132

1988

67

$1,300,000

$1,125,000

-15.56%

621 29th Avenue East

3

2.25

1,870

1987

2

$1,140,000

$1,140,000

0.00%

416 26th Avenue East

3

2.25

1,550

1990

6

$940,000

$1,170,000

19.66%

3024 East Republican Street

3

2.5

1,940

2001

6

$1,300,000

$1,300,000

0.00%

2040 McGilvra Boulevard East

3

2.75

2,630

1942

5

$1,750,000

$1,750,000

0.00%

3835 East McGraw Street

3

2.5

2,810

1960

5

$2,298,000

$2,298,000

0.00%

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JULY 2020

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Pacific Publishing Company – Queen Anne & Magnolia News • Madison Park Times • City Living Seattle

3

JULY 2020

Work Must Be Done To Forge Change In Madison Park

By Julia Drachman Guest columnist

I

n 2009, my family lived just a block from Bert’s Red Apple. My friends and I were nerdy, goodytwo-shoes 17-year-olds, but a few times that summer, in the dead of night, we would sneak down to the lake and go for a midnight dip in the moonlight. I didn’t worry that a concerned neighbor would call the cops on us. And even if they did, I never worried if I’d survive the encounter. As a white kid in Madison Park, that felt like a given.

On Friday, June 12, my family attended a march led by young Black people who told different stories about this place. They talked about feeling unwelcome. Being looked up and down by white neighbors. Deliberately wearing bright colors to seem “unintimidating.”

This place that let me feel wild, safe and free, made them feel wary, scared and watched.

Over the last decade we’ve seen videos that have made our stomachs turn. Videos of Black people being harassed, brutalized and murdered by the police. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve said to yourself, “That’s horrible.” And then you’ve moved on. Because you’ve asked yourself, “What can I do about this?” Maybe you’ve even thought, “This isn’t my problem to solve.”

But the organizers of this march came here to tell us it is precisely our problem to solve. Us, the white people who are “horrified.” We are the people who benefit from racism and white supremacy, and so it’s our job to fight to dismantle it — in our thoughts, words, politics and actions. And, I’m not going to lie, it’s a big job. But for now, I’m going to focus on two things that I know this neighborhood can commit to doing today:

• Never call the cops on a Black person ever again Unless you are witnessing a violent crime that puts people’s life at risk, like assault or drunk driving, you don’t need to call the cops. Do a Google search for “what to do instead of calling the police,” and you’ll find clear and practical alternatives. For example, you can host a workshop on de-escalation tactics so your neighborhood is prepared to handle scary moments in a peaceful way.

Or, if you really feel you have to report a crime, go to the police station yourself rather than bringing cops into your neighborhood. Familiarize yourself with these ideas and discuss proactive steps with your family and neighbors so you can stay safe without calling upon a militaristic, notoriously racist police force.

And while we’re at it, never post on Nextdoor that a “suspicious, young male” is wandering around, because we all know what you mean by that.

• Use your money, status, power and platform to build up Black communities Living in Madison Park means living next door to a massive gentrification battleground. The Central District has been a cultural Mecca for Black art, music and food but is now becoming a homogenous zone of town homes and condos for tech workers. You know this as well as I do. You may even shake your head every time you drive by 23rd and Union, pointing out to whoever is in your car, “Wow, this corner has changed so much.” But we can actually do something about this. We can use our immense collective power to build up our neighboring Black communities.

We can support Black-owned businesses in our own neighborhoods and give our money to organizations like King County Equity Now and the Africatown Land Trust who are committed to political and economic justice for these communities.

We can make racial diversity a priority in our workplaces by hiring Black candidates for positions of leadership in our companies and listening to their perspectives. We can fundraise for politicians who are truly committed to dismantling white supremacy here in our own city and state. We can come together as neighbors and friends to multiply our efforts and make a real impact.

The organizers of the recent march chose to come to your neighborhood because you have economic, political and social power. So do I. And it’s time we use that power to forge a change in this community. Because as long as white teenagers are allowed to go swimming at midnight at our beaches, but Black teenagers are scared to walk down our streets in broad daylight, we have work to do.

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4

JULY 2020

Revisiting the Park :How not to be an ostrich

By Richard Carl Lehman Guest columnist

T

here was never any escaping civil or political unrest here in Madison Park. In the early ‘50s, the beatnik generation was slowly becoming the hippie movement, which was being against the war and draft as well as the Establishment. A demonstration was termed “A Happening!”

Tearooms and coffee houses were popular gathering places for open mike night to discuss the issues. There were none in our area, but the place to really expound on the issues was the Madison Park Bakery, where a friendly rumble could be generated.

One night in the Attic I was sitting at a booth with friends, and before going for a pitcher refill I said to my friends “watch this!” I stepped up to the bar between two other friends. I leaned to my left, siding against a political opponent then to the right to side with the opposite. As the pitcher was being filled, the two engaged in their views. Sitting back into the booth we all watched and chuckled as the conversation became quite animated.

The four of us at the booth lived in a beatnik houseboat community on Lake Union.

It was a great group of people — mostly artists and craftsmen who had a mild, if not indifferent, view of the world’s events.

We liked to frequent and relax at the Blue Moon, the Red Robin and coffee houses in the Fremont and Queen Anne areas.

A big event on the calendar was the Great Grand Piano Drop near Mud Mountain

Dam, a few miles southeast of Enumclaw.

No one in their right mind would miss that! With or without a ride, everyone arrived to enjoy live music. The law stepped in to manage parking and keep crowds in line. Some even coined it a “love-in!” We heard rumors of drugs. Friendly cigarettes were passed around with funny twisted ends, which produced continuous smiles. It was a rainy day but some did see the lovely colors. Since the Seattle area was so much smaller back then, chances were good you’d see someone you knew in the harmonious crowd who was grooving to the mood and music. Finally came a drumroll, and the announcer said, “It’s time!” We all looked skyward (most were already doing so anyway).

We formed a wide circle around a clearing awaiting the totality of the event. A helicopter appeared and slowly climbed high, and there was a hush in the crowd except for a soft drum roll.

As promised, the great grand piano appeared at the end of a long line below the helicopter. The pilot found the exact spot and released the grand piano. It was a sight to behold and on the key of F sharp, the piano made its solo tribute to the day. We added wood and started a huge fire for warmth, which added to the spectacle.

Gatherings like this were a backdrop to our concerns of the day. Many protested the war and draft by burning their draft cards. Others took off for Canada, and others found themselves in the clutches of Uncle Sam. Back at the Red Onion, we shared a beer before going our chosen ways.

I was stationed in Fort Ord but while there spent a few weekends in San Fran-

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cisco’s Haight-Ashbury. Here the beat was really going on. While folks wore beads, I wore dog tags. One large dude grabbed my tags and was about to remove them when a friend said, “No, man, his heart is here!” Good thing, as any altercation would have guaranteed me second place. Actually, he became a friend, but I never knew if he “dropped out” or not. During my service time, we all had been given pig shaves (white side walls). Long hair and beards were verboten, but it was the better choice for me rather than to “drop out.”

Back to Seattle and meeting up with my Lake Union beatnik houseboat friends, I found many had sold their homes — the

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neighborhood had changed. Madison Park was the same — still a singles area. Roommates I had previously had moved to Sacramento. They invited me to visit them, and I thought it would be interesting to see if the demonstration scene had calmed down.

It was the Fourth of July, and it was suggested we do Mexican food in Berkeley. Why not? It was a margarita day with bright sun and clear blue skies. We drank shooters and margaritas while we waited for a table. A live music group played as we drank to a good day. Then, what doesn’t go with margaritas? Gun shots and yelling! The manager shouted, “andale, andale!”  Revisiting, Page 6

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JULY 2020

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JULY 2020

The new normal: Know Your Neighbors

By Margie Carter Madison Park Emergency Planning Despite all the disruptions, fear and uncertainty we’ve been living through recently, we’ve seen the best of what neighbors can be for each other — offers to shop, cook or do chores for those designated “at risk”; stuffed animals bringing cheer from windows; signs thanking essential workers; Little Free Libraries transformed to Little Free Pantries; and telephone poles posted with scan codes to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

We should take heart with all this evidence that people do care about the common good, do want to make a contribution and be morally responsible citizens. Yet modern life has disconnected us from those around whom we live.

Most of us are actually more connected with people at work, school or exercise and hobby groups than the person down the hall or street. I can attest to this. I’ve lived in Madison Park for over 15 years, and I’m embarrassed to say that I know only a handful of people beyond my im Revisiting, from Page 4 while closing shutters on windows and doors. My friends yelled, “See you at the car!” as they disappeared into the crowd.

I started to follow but heard a gunshot louder than the M-1 I fired in the Army.

The round struck a sign above us making a loud sound against the metal. If it had been a bullet, it would have ripped through the sign with little reverberation.

The crowd’s movement left me with few options. When we got to a corner someone yelled “Right! Right!” We were at the end of a short street where police stood with rubber compressed cork guns. “No thanks!”

Some folks fell, but most stepped around

mediate neighbors.

As we move out of months of confinement into a world reckoning with grief, financial depression, systemic racial injustice and climate change, we are asking “what does this moment require of us?”

We can turn to West Africa for inspiration. In March, Oeindrila Dube, a political economist, and Katherine Baicker, a health economist, reported on lessons learned from the 2014 Ebola epidemic (https://www.nytimes. com/2020/03/26/business/coronavirus-community-support-social-changes.html). Their conclusions emphasized that, in the context of so much disruption, loss and sacrifice, building social support for making behavior changes was critical. Successful communities mobilized people at the grassroots level to go beyond self-interest into collective action.

Reading this brought me back to Seattle’s earthquake preparation recommendations. They expect neighborhoods to create small, self-supporting groups, Seattle Neighborhood Actively Prepare groups, around a central com-

them. Fear was the expression on most faces, some pushed, some freaked out, but others were veterans who just ran silently.

A young lady nearby looked at me and shrugged her shoulders and smiled. Now was not the time to ask her if she wanted a cocktail, as I shrugged and smiled back.

Alas, she was gone.

We encountered a tall bearded dude bleeding from his head. His friend asked, “What happened? A pig whomp on you?”

“No!” he answered, “I was forced into a jewelry store alcove, and there in a broken show case window was a shiny new Mickey Mouse watch. I reached for it and cut my head on a glass shard!”

Now we were running who knows where at a good clip, and we were laughing! It was

munication hub. In Madison Park, we’ve set up an emergency hub communication system to be activated near the park tennis courts, but the formalizing of block-by-block SNAPs has been pretty hit or miss.

If we thought responding to COVID-19 was bad, imagine going through an earthquake without ambulances, police, firefighters, electricity, Internet, heat, clean water, safe roads and bridges and safe homes. No one is coming to help us for weeks after an earthquake. We’ll only have ourselves and our neighbors.

So, I’m encouraging for a renewed push for Madison Park neighbors to form SNAPs now. You need to be able to recognize who your neighbors are and be available to respond to help those in need and inspire local remedies to any acts of racial injustice and climate change.

As we start to move our lives out into the world again, let’s make the new normal one of greeting our neighbors by name and finding ways to stay more regularly connected. We will continue to need and be a resource to each other in the times ahead.

a nervous laugh but nonetheless laughter, which almost drowned out the sound of garbage cans being thrown. We were running into the setting sun with nothing but people in front and all around us. Tear gas and gunshots ahead? Would this crowd turn? I saw a separation between buildings and forced my way there when I thought, “No! Hell with it.” The margaritas were wearing off; this mid-week activity was losing its charm — I’m bailing. I found a dark area and stood against it. The gunshots were getting louder so people were going in different directions. I got to where we parked the car when I heard a cop car coming toward me. I ran but fell over a concrete abatement. The car flew by and didn’t stop.

A long while later, I found the car and my

friends and told them, “Next time, I’ll find lunch!”

Years later, someone at work said they saw me in a demonstration on the freeway.

No, me? I’d been working at an engineering firm but left work early for a dental appointment. That day two workmates said they were leaving early. The art director asked why, and they said, “Oh, we’re joining Dick in the demonstration!” I was in trouble again. It was hard to hide the hippie in me at the time.

The demonstrations ended when the leader of our nation became the intermediary and united us, sharing views from both sides. It took some time, but it brought us closer together and invited conversation.

Silence isn’t the answer.

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Pacific Publishing Company – Queen Anne & Magnolia News • Madison Park Times • City Living Seattle

JULY 2020

7

When the Stars Align in the Garden Steve Lorton Tree Talk

I

confess, somewhat sheepishly, that I am an inveterate reader of my horoscope. A good pal got me addicted, saying, “It’s amazing how often it is spot on.” He was right. So, it’s early June, I flip open the paper, run my finger

down to Leo and read: Today is a 9 [my lucky number]. Make the most of unexpected gifts. Your stars are due to align in complex and unexpected ways.

I blew through that and into my day, which included a visit to see a fellow gardener (social distancing observed) en route to other errands. There, in my friend’s garden, I spotted a Japanese maple I’d never seen, Acer palmatum “Ukigumo.” Wow! The thing caught any bit of light on that overcast day and made Photo courtesy Mary Henry The Acer palmatum “Ukigumo” Japanese maple adds a sparkling focal point to a garden.

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for a sparkling focal point in a tapestry of spring greens. I’d never seen this plant before. I raved, sincerely, then went on my way.

That evening there was a knock on my door. I fumbled to get myself together, then went to answer. Not a soul in sight, but there, in a 15-gallon nursery can, in the middle of my terrace, stood a 5-foot-tall A.P. “Okigumo.” Fully leafed out, it was as dazzling in the twilight as it had been in the late morning. Of course I was touched, overwhelmed by the unexpected gift. The horoscope had predicted it. The problem was, what to do with the thing in my over-planted, tiny Madison Park garden? A week passed while I fretted and kept the plant well watered. Then puttering around one morning, I looked at a spot in front of the 6-foot perimeter fence at the end of a walkway. I moved the plant in place.

Perfect! So I planted it, always mindful of the horticultural admonishment: a million dollar planting hole for a $10 plant. No small trick, here. The tag on the gift tree said it had cost $145!

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That Japanese maple did what plants of its ilk are supposed to do. It lighted up that end of the

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garden. That, in turn, led me to prowl around in my gardening library and rediscover old treasures like George Schenk’s “The Complete Shade Gardener” and “The Natural Shade Garden,”

by Ken Druse. Ken has an entire chapter on lighting with plants.

Suddenly I found myself looking for hostas, any number of wonderful ferns, astilbe, even filipendula and surprisingly hardy fuchsias. How quickly we forget. The options were far more abundant than I have space for planting.

I was jazzed. With Yukon prospector’s zeal, I raced to Fred Meyer where I religiously prowl the sale table for neglected plants. I knew I’d find something. Sure enough, there I found three sadly bedraggled Dryopteris affines “Crispa Gracilis.” Eureka! Reduced to only $1.75 each. I brought these prize ferns home, smugly telling them, as we drove out of the parking lot, “your Angel of Mercy has descended.

You’ll be fine soon!” Once home, I filled the sink with water and soaked them over night. The next morning I groomed off all the dead foliage and took them out of the small, torture-chamber plastic pots in which they’d been suffering. I planted them,

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4020 E MADISON ST STE 102 SEATTLE

on an upswing again, with the number of homes on the market rising 25 percent compared with April 2020 and a 28.9 percent increase in the number of homes under contract. Median home prices remained relatively unchanged from what we saw in 2019, settling at $865,000 for single-family residences and condominiums for the first half of June.

Many of the trends that are impacting the central Seattle area are also reflected in the Madison Park micro-market. As was the case in central Seattle, a sharp decline in inventory and market activity through February and March seemed to pick up

by May, as buyers and sellers adjusted to electronic means of doing business. Median sales prices and the average price per square foot figures in the Madison Park market are generally higher than in

soaking the soil around them throughly, with the promise of continued attention through the summer and until they were established. Yes, I talk to plants.

Once established, I could not keep my eyes off the planting.

There stood the stately, gardenilluminating new tree that would soon peek over the fence. Coming up around it, evergreen ferns that would stand 3 to 4 feet tall at the maple’s trunk, assorted hostas in cream and green and snaking around and through it all, fuchsias, astilbe and (oh, yes!) the big sprawling leaves of Rodgersia aesculifolia. I’d first seen the tropical-looking leaves of this perennial in its native Japan and always wanted to grow it. I figure it will be quite happy in the dappled light of its kindred spirit.

That’s when the message arrived from the Great Beyond.

My neighbor stopped by, stared at the newly planted Japanese maple and said, “Wow! I love it. Those leaves look like stars.”

Stars! Indeed, they do.

It was all there. The unexpected gift had caused the stars to align in complex and unexpected ways. So, with that, I bid you a joyous July. Now, I have to go find the paper and read my horoscope.

central Seattle as a whole. The median sales price reached $1.175 million for single-family homes and condos in Madison Park for May 2020 over a total of five sales, up from three sales in the same time period last year.

At the time of this writing, there are five condominiums listed for sale in Madison Park, ranging in price from $728,000 to $995,000. Just two single-family residences are currently on the market, priced at $1.995 million and $4.2 million.

If you would like more information on the implication for homes in your neighborhood, I’d be happy to connect with you via phone, email or a virtual chat. Here’s to a wonderful month of July and summer ahead.

Toby Lumpkin is a broker for the Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty Madison Park office. He can be contacted at Toby.Lumpkin@rsir.com.

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JULY 2020