Investing in Seattle’s Southeast Seattle neighborhood
Chubby & Tubby site redevelopment and Alpha Cine relocation to MLK corridor

SEATTLE - Mayor Greg Nickels today sent legislation to the City Council to help fund the redevelopment of the former Chubby and Tubby site on Rainier Avenue South, and to assist local company Alpha Cine in relocating its facility to 9800 40th Ave. S.

“Today we are investing in southeast Seattle to help bring jobs, workforce housing and retail space to this neighborhood.” said Mayor Nickels. “Redeveloping the old Chubby and Tubby site and relocating Alpha Cine to southeast Seattle will bring new vitality and business activity to this community.”

The mayor sent legislation to the City Council to approve a loan totaling more than $2 million for the Chubby and Tubby site, which will be developed by the SouthEast Effective Development (SEED). Accompanying the loan is a $430,000 companion federal Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) grant to help lower project costs. These funds combine with the city’s Office of Housing investment of $3.9 million and other state, county and private contributions, covering the total cost of the $19 million project.

The site of the former Chubby and Tubby hardware store/warehouse is located at 3333 Rainier Ave. S., less than half mile south of the future Mount Baker light rail station. SEED will demolish the existing building and construct two new buildings, providing:

• 68 units of rental workforce housing, affordable to families earning between 60 percent to 80 percent median income; and
• 5,000 square feet of commercial space.

“The redevelopment of the Chubby and Tubby site will continue the revitalization of our neighborhood,” said Earl Richardson, executive director of SEED. “This project will advance our goal to help those who live and work in southeast have affordable options to remain as the neighborhood continues to grow.”

The mayor also sent legislation to the City Council to approve a loan totaling more than $3 million for the assistance of the relocation of the Alpha Cine Labs from the Denny Triangle neighborhood to southeast Seattle. Accompanying the loan is a $757,000 companion federal BEDI grant.

Alpha Cine is a motion picture laboratory with more than 40 years of experience providing services ranging from processing motion picture film, producing prints and transferring digital film to 35mm film for display at theaters. It is the only film lab in the Pacific Northwest and has an international reputation for providing services to independent filmmakers.

The relocation of Alpha Cine retains 31 livable wage jobs in the Seattle area, allows Alpha Cine to acquire their own property, and will increase business growth in southeast Seattle, as new employees in the neighborhood patronize local restaurants and purchase other goods and services.

“We are excited to join other key industry members in locating our business in southeast Seattle and continue to offer our services to local and national filmmakers,” said Don Jensen, president of Alpha Cine Labs. “Many of our projects bring out of town business to other local businesses, such as sound recording and television post-production companies. Offering a broad variety of services is a win for our local film industry and the local economy.”

“We are excited about our public-private partnership with SEED to further develop this stretch of Rainier Avenue and make it a more pedestrian-friendly retail environment,” said Susan Shannon, director of the city’s Office of Economic Development (OED). “In addition, the relocation of Alpha Cine to southeast Seattle allows a longtime Seattle business that is a leader in our local film industry to grow in this larger industrial property space and provide jobs in our community.”

The Section 108 loan pool and BEDI grant are important tools that OED can use for economic development and housing projects in Seattle. The city has a successful track record in using the Section 108/BEDI program.

Since 2002, the city has approved more than $20 million in Section 108/BEDI funds for seven projects in Pioneer Square, Northgate and the Central District. Currently the City Council is also evaluating a loan proposal for $1.66 million with an accompanying BEDI grant of $333,400 for the Bush Hotel in the International District.

Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s inside view on efforts to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm.

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Office of the Mayor