The southwest corner of 17th & Christian has been a mess for as long as we can remember. It was over four years ago that we first brought this property to your attention, lamenting its persistently blighted condition and enormous tax delinquency. We urged the owners of the property to sell it off, believing that a decade of poor stewardship indicated that they would never fix up the property. Instead, they installed plexiglass into the window openings to attempt to comply with the City's now-defunct Doors and Windows ordinance.
Over the last few months, we've noticed some construction work taking place at the property. Recently, we spotted new framing for a future fourth floor, giving the best indication to date that the property was coming back online. We assumed, given the history, that new owners had paid a pretty penny for the property and were now pushing to make their investment worthwhile. But… that isn't the case.
Yeah, it's the same people that have owned the building since 2002. On the one hand, we'll admit that the building looks much better, with the brick cleaned up, several new windows installed, and the bays restored. The candy-cane notice on the front door, however, gives us some pause. The L&I Map tells us that the plan includes a ground-floor commercial space and two apartments on the upper floors. It also shows us that the project has been hit with a boatload of violations over the first few months of this year, a handful of which are still characterized as "not complied." Another mark on the positive side, the owners have paid off their significant tax delinquency.
We're optimistic that the building is, after an awful decade plus and a rocky construction process, finally on track to experience a complete renovation. We wouldn't be surprised to see the work finished in a few months, but we'd consider it just as likely that the work site will sit dormant for the next two years. Still, this is a big step up from our last visit when the only signs of "progress" were a few panes of plexiglass.