Parking Garage Up For Grabs
The U.S. Postal Service parking garage at 4th Avenue South and Lander is up for sale and might be used to provide badly needed parking for the SODO Sound Transit Station – or, maybe not.

Nobody knows but the answer may become clear in January.

The parking garage was open to the public for retail parking until 2006, when it was closed through the Homeland Security initiative. The 500-space garage is now used only for postal service vehicles and is mostly empty.

A postal service employee confirmed this week that the parking garage and post office along 4th Avenue South are now being marketed as potential surplus properties. The postal service will begin accepting bids for the properties the first week in December, with the winning proposal scheduled for selection within 45 days. A half dozen private firms have expressed interest in the property, the postal employee said, and some of them are interested in keeping the garage.

Bidders have lots of leeway in their proposals, including the choice of including the post office in their development or redevelopment plans. The postal service will be looking for the best return on the property and has already decided it can relocate both the post office and the parking garage if the price is right. Government properties are normally surplused through processes that first make them available to other government entities, but the postal service is not required to follow such a process due to its status as an independent agency within the federal government.

The future of the parking garage is of interest because no parking facilities are presently planned to support the Sound Transit station on the east side of the parking garage or the one on Royal Brougham near the sports stadiums. The stations will open when Link Light Rail service comes to SODO next year.

The city does not want parking provided near Sound Transit stations inside Seattle to encourage transit users to bike, walk or ride buses to the stations. That approach is problematic in SODO because no one lives in the area and transit service is more limited than in any other part of the city.

And while the SODO stations are located too far away from many businesses to be of much value to Duwamish area employees or employers, the stations are close enough to downtown Seattle to make them attractive for "hide and riders" who will use street parking in SODO and then ride the LINK into downtown to beat the high cost of downtown parking rates.

Parking is a concern in the area because the SODO area will lose about 2,000 parking spots over the next couple of years while construction work on the Spokane Street Viaduct and the Alaskan Way Viaduct eliminate the parking spaces beneath both structures.

Parking and other issues related to the SODO Sound Transit stations will be discussed at a community meeting Thursday, November 13, sponsored by the Duwamish Transportation Management Association. The meeting is scheduled from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and will include presentations by staff from the City of Seattle, King County Metro and Sound Transit, with time for questions.

The meeting is scheduled for 2-3:30 p.m. at the Mezza Café at the Starbucks Center at 1st and Lander.

Busy Day In SODO

Join us on November 13, 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. at The Pear Garden (3220 First Ave. S.) for a fun-filled breakfast celebrating the Green Guide for Businesses and to receive your copy.

The SODO Green Guide for Businesses was developed to give our local businesses a single place to begin the search for information on energy efficiency, saving money, and becoming 'green'. This Green Guide was made possible through a grant from Seattle's Office of Economic Development.

Contact Mike Peringer at the SODO Business Association at 206.292.7449 or mike@processheating.com for more information.

Restoring Habitat along the Working Waterfront
The Port of Seattle has released its Draft Habitat Restoration Plan for the Lower Duwamish River and is hosting a PUBLIC MEETING to take comments this Wednesday, November 12, 5:30–7 p.m. at South Seattle Community College–Georgetown Campus, 6737 Corson Avenue S, Gene J Colin Education Building (East Marginal Way and Corson Ave S in Georgetown). Light refreshments will be served.

For details on the Port's Habitat Restoration Plan see: http://www.portseattle.org/community/environment/Duwamish.shtml. The deadline for submitting comments to the plan is November 19, 2008. Click here for announcement details. 1.43MB

10 Years!
The Manufacturing Industrial Council is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. The date is December 3rd, 2008 from 5:15-9:00 at Rock Salt Steak House at 1232 Westlake Ave N on Lake Union.

We are looking for table sponsors and/or table captains - or 1/2 table captain, if that works better for your circumstances. This celebration will be a fund-raiser to kick off the next 10 years so we are asking for fine wine contributions in order to have a FABULOUS raffle event! Don't be shy. Let us know if you can shepard a table or have a fine bottle of wine to contribute. Call for more information 206-762-2470.

How We Get There
South Seattle Community College is pleased to announce a new short-term training program starting Winter Quarter in Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management. This program is designed for currently employed working professionals looking to gain additional skills as well as those looking to enter the logistics field. Click here for a program flyer.

Companies in the area, specializing in any aspect of the logistics field, can help us support this program by:

• Sending the flyer to interested employees and encouraging them to attend an informational session on December 2 at the Georgetown Campus
  
• Alerting prospective students to tuition assistance resources, if available
  
• Providing financial support for scholarships
  
• Hosting tours for students who enroll in the program
  
• Identifying industry experts who may be interested in serving as guest speakers in the program
  
• Volunteering to serve on the program's Technical Advisory Committee.
  

Seattle Schools Needs Math-whizzes
Seattle Public Schools is seeking two community representatives for the High School Math Adoption Committee. The representatives will help provide insight and perspective as the committee considers what math materials high school students will use for the upcoming school years. Community applicants should have an open mind and a passion about student learning in mathematics. To apply for High School Math Adoption Committee, please complete the Application for Community Members and submit to Anna-Maria de la Fuente (ahdelafuente@seattleschools.org), Mathematics Program Manager (deadline extended),. For more information, please see the Math Adoption Web site. http://www.seattleschools.org/area/math/math-adoption/mathadoptionhome.htm

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