Living In The Central District: Seattle, WA Neighborhoods

The Central District of Seattle, WA – I am working with a client right now who grew up in the Central District and loves it.  We were looking at homes in that area and it is really booming… a lot of new construction is going in and the area is becoming gentrified. One of the reasons for this is the proximity to downtown Seattle.  In addition, it’s going to be a location for the still-to-be-built future East-West Light rail route that will shuttle people from Seattle to Bellevue.  It already has the North-South Line traversing this area – the branch that runs from downtown Seattle South to Seatac Airport.  Many of Seattle’s urban planners are moving toward more high-density housing because we are so strapped for space in between our bodies of water here, so the want to squeeze in as many people as possible close to the urban core and help them get to work on public transportation rather than bringing cars into the city where there is no room to park them.  And parking is heinously expensive.  

I was taken on a trip down memory lane when I saw the old “Oh Boy Oberto” Pepperoni Factory.  This local sausage manufacturer was started by two Italian grandparents who came over from the old country and made good living the American Dream.  You may have seen their products in your grocery store!  We see them all the time.  In fact, I sat next to their granddaughter in high school geometry and she helped me ace a school project when we did a presentation on hexagons – which are used by bees in honey comb, and also in the manufacture of hydroplane boats which are raced here during Seafair.  The Oberto company sponsored a boat every summer, and my client Deb also told me that they used to sponsor block parties in the neighborhood.  But they eventually sold the company and those thing have gone away.  Hopefully another up-and-comping local business will get reinstated in the building and take advantage of the good ju-ju (or at least the secret seasonings) that must permeate that iconic space in Seattle’s Central District.