Mayor proposes funding to give
Phinney Neighborhood Center a permanent home

SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels submitted legislation to the City Council today to make $2.5 million in city funding available to the Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA) to acquire the former John B. Allen Elementary School. Since 1981, the PNA has leased the school from the Seattle School District to house the Phinney Neighborhood Center. PNA has also received other grants and donations to secure the property.

“The Phinney Neighborhood Center is a focus for the Phinney/Greenwood community and provides services to more than 200,000 people each year,” said Mayor Nickels. “We are supporting PNA’s efforts to close on the property so that it can continue to offer a diverse range of services for years to come.”

This legislation follows months of negotiations between PNA and the Seattle School District to reach a purchase price. The majority of the city’s funding will finance the acquisition, with some funds set aside for urgent building improvements such as a new roof. PNA has agreed to ensure ongoing public use of the property, with a range of services, programs and gathering spaces that will serve the neighborhood as well as the city as a whole.

The legislation is scheduled for discussion and possible vote at the Sept. 10 meeting of the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee of the Seattle City Council.

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Office of the Mayor