South Lake Union 2008: Year in Review

The Southlake hasn't been around for all of 2008–we started in March–but we can at least speak to ¾ of the year, and what a ¾ of a year it has been. Both the blog and the neighborhood have come a long way in 2008, and you can bet that 2009 will be no different.

Below are some of the South Lake Union highs and lows of the (¾-) year past. I'll try to keep it lively by color-coding some of the evolving stories of the year so you can easily follow on.

March

• First post!
  
• You can always count on there being a raucous crowd at Paddy Coyne's for St. Patrick's Day
• Kapow! Coffee's problems with their landlord first arise with news of a 200% rent increase
• New parking meters create a stir
• The Southlake's logo is born!
  

April

• Weber Thompson moves into their brand spankin' new headquarters, The Terry Thomas
• The S.L.U.T. crashes for the third time
• First round of layoffs at Seattle Times announced
• The Southlake gets a whiff of what Skillet's got cooking in their airstream trailer
• Another S.L.U.T.-astrophe!
• The Clise Family takes their Denny Triangle holdings off the market–giving us another 10 years of parking lots and old motels to look forward to.
• Lake Union Loop gets a name–Chesiahud–in honor of a Duwamish chief who once lived on the lake
• Phase 1 of Lake Union Park had its grand opening, but we missed it :(
  

May

• Just in case you didn't know, May is Bike to Work Month
• Portage Bay Cafe opens their second location in South Lake Union—mouth watering brunches ensue
• The City Council gives the go ahead on 2-way Mercer, so long as Nickels can up with a funding plan
  
• SDOT proposes four new streetcar lines–modeled after our beloved S.L.U.T.–that would connect neighborhoods to downtown and Link light rail
• Drama at SLUFAN–an upcoming vote on whether to propose building heights as high as 400' in South Lake Union intensifies board elections
  

June

• SLUFAN shakeout–the board unanimously approves the proposal for taller buildings, and outspoken up-zone opponent Diane Masson (Mirabella) is voted off the board

July

• Independence Day!
• The Mercer debates begin to rage–Councilmember Nick Licata brings his grudge against 2-way Mercer to a Cascade Neighborhood Council meeting
  
• Spurned in the SLUFAN board election and incensed over the up-zone proposal, Masson and others form a new community group called Lake Union Opportunity Alliance
• A flash mob's attempt to race the S.L.U.T. ended badly as a cyclist got their tires caught in the tracks and went over handlebars
• South Lake Union's first bookstore, Inner Chapters Bookstore & Cafe, opens its doors
  

August

• Struggling Seattle Times puts two South Lake Union properties on the block
• The biggest party of the year, Vulcan R.E.'s South Lake Union Block Party, came and went. I got invited to judge the Audacious Burger Challenge–sweet!

September

• Much rabble-rousing over taller buildings at Lake Union Opportunity Alliance's first meeting
• Shovels break ground on Phase II of Lake Union Park
  

October

• The buyers at Veer Lofts (all 5 of them) have their big move-in day
  
• Councilmember Licata holds a forum at City Hall to raise opposition against 2-way Mercer–but it back-fires
• Kapow!'s landlord kicks them out after 11 years in Cascade, to start his own coffee shop no less
• Pizza and beer delivered by bicycle—Zaw Pizza opens in South Lake Union
• A lot of uneasy pre-sale condo buyers begin voicing their concerns in the forum—a lot of questions, not many answers
• Dissatisfied with SLUFAN's upzone proposal, Lake Union Opportunity Alliance unveils a zoning alternative of their own
  

November

• The Southlake hosts its first ever meetup with the help of Inner Chapters Bookstore & Cafe and Two Beers Brewing Co.—great space, beer, and conversation
• Round two of layoffs at Seattle Times
• Cascade People's Center has funding cut by the city and is at risk of closing at the end of the year
• 2-way Mercer is expedited by City Council in an effort to be included in the Obama administration's infrastructure-focused stimulus package
• The up-zone debate reaches a fever pitch as the DPD holds their last public meeting to discuss the different height/density alternatives that will undergo EIS
• We learn that SLU/Denny Triangle is home to the worst intersection for pedestrians—hurrah!
  

December

• Kapow!'s shed, a Cascade landmark of sorts, is white-washed
• City Council approves a streetcar expansion plan that would add four new lines in Ballard/Fremont, the U-District, First Hill, and Downtown
  
• The mayor cuts the ribbon on the first segment of Chesiahud Lake Union Loop
• The S.L.U.T. celebrates its first birthday!
• Cascade People's Center finds a way to stay open in 2009, but two of the people that made the Center what it is today will be lost
• Snowmageddon 2008 sacked our city. We warned of icy roads, but that didn't stop two buses from nearly crashing on to I-5. We poked fun at the Monorail, but the S.L.U.T. caught the winter bug as well. Then the power went out, so we walked around and took pictures of snowmen.
  

Well, there you have it. What are some of your most memorable moments in South Lake Union 2008?