THE SALE OF
THE ODD FELLOWS BUILDING:
A Note from Hallie
Re: The Sale of the Odd Fellows Building
Date: 10/30/07
Informational and media links regarding the sale are at the bottom of this page.
Hi everyone,
"Welcome to the Century Ballroom. My name is Hallie and I run the Ballroom".
How many years have I been saying that for? It will be eleven years this February.
It is true the Odd Fellows building has been sold. What is not true is that the Century Ballroom has been sold. What the sale of the building means for us, and everyone else in it, is still unclear. I can tell you that my lease is up April of 2009, so we are staying put for at least that long (and I hope much longer).
Every one of you has a story about the Century, mine is this: I walked into this room fourteen years ago, started renting it once a week to throw swing dance classes, first under the name Swing Girls, later as Century Ballroom, and I have never left or regretted it for one moment. For most of those years I have been neighbors with Velocity Dance Center, Freehold Theatre, and artists who have had studio and office space on the fourth floor (Seattle Mime Theatre, Seattle Chamber Theatre, 33 Fainting Spells, d-9 Dance Collective, Laura Curry, Reel Grrls and so many others). At this juncture it looks like the new owners have already made a decision to clear out the fourth floor businesses, renovate, and turn the floor into more profitable office space. The first floor, with renovation, will contain (more profitable) retail shops. The only thing that the new landlords have said is "rent will go up". They will have to invest a lot of money to upgrade the building. We assume that electrical, plumbing, and fire codes will all have to be met with any substantial work done. They also plan a facelift for the front of the building.
The new owners are still becoming acquainted with all of the organizations in the building. They have visited the Century to see what we do (the full scope probably still eludes them but they had a good time while they were here). I understand they like to renovate old buildings while maintaining the building's character, and with that in mind, I am keeping a positive outlook towards any changes that may come.
The collective we of the building, which includes all of you who dance here, see shows in the building, or take classes, have offered this building, and its Capitol Hill neighborhood, something so amazingly unique and special which can not be produced anywhere else. That is the character of the building. Our task now is to make sure they understand that the building and neighborhood is as great is they think it is because of us, and not without us. What good would it do them to upgrade the building at the expense of its heart and soul? Our businesses will attract other great businesses, and we need to help them see that. We would be happy to see some of the proposed upgrades, and it will be a challenge for the owners to do them without having to pass on some of the expense to the tenants. I know we will all take a hit.
All three major organizations have a commitment to keeping our prices affordable. In my case that will be a little easier due to the sheer number of people who come through here. But the Century would not be the same without Velocity and Freehold across the hall from us; so know that I am going to bat for the whole of this building and not just the Century, as I hope you do the same.
The front page of Saturday's Seattle Times just scratched the surface in illustrating how deep and wide this community really goes. I deeply appreciate the outpouring of support it has generated. Should the need arise I will certainly call on all of you for your assistance (letters, emails, etc.). Thank you to those of you who have already offered your support.
Sincerely,
Hallie Kuperman,
Owner, Century Ballroom
To read about the new owners:
Ted Schroth: TraceLofts.com
Craig Swanson: RedsidePartners.com
Recent media coverage:
The Seattle Times, Thursday, 11/15/07
Seattle Weekly, Wednesday, 11/14/07
Capitol Hill Times, Tuesday, 11/13/07
The Seattle Times, front page, Friday, 10/26/07
The Stranger Slog, online only, 10/25/07
The Stranger, Wednesday, 10/24/07
Seattle Weekly, online only, 10/8/07
Photo courtesy of Museum of History and Industry