Vulcan owns a lot of the land in our neighborhood and has been building a lot of buildings. Consequently, property values have gone up considerably. There was a very interesting article about some of the impacts to small business owners. Here's an excerpt:

Fairman has been in business in Seattle for 31 years... When Safeco Field was built and Sodo redeveloped, he was forced from a warehouse there.

So he settled into South Lake Union, where rent was cheaper...

This was 12 years ago. "There wasn't much going on the neighborhood back then"...

"Vulcan says all of the right things, how they want to keep the neighborhood's charm and small businesses. Then they do things to drive out those same businesses."

Fairman... said it's why downtowns across the nation have begun to look the same. Developers create lease options that only major franchises can afford.

"That why you are more likely to see Niketown and Starbucks than a mom-and-pop business," he said.

I've seen this coming, unfortunately, and it's one of the reservations that I have about this area. In a decade or so, a lot of the unique characteristics will be gone and replaced with fancy new buildings with new mainstream establishments. It would be nice if the area could stay diverse and eclectic with room for everyone.