Investing in Chinatown / International District’s Bush Hotel

SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels praised the City Council today for approving his proposal to fund the rehabilitation of the historic Bush Hotel in the Chinatown/ International District neighborhood.

“Today we are investing in the continued revitalization of the Chinatown/ International District,” said Mayor Nickels. “Redeveloping the landmark Bush Hotel will add renovated commercial space and bring new life and business activity to this historic Seattle neighborhood.”

Today the City Council approved 8-0 (Councilmember Drago not present) the investment of a Section 108 loan totaling $1.6 million for the Bush Hotel project, which will be rehabilitated by the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDPDA). Accompanying the loan is a $333,400 companion federal Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) grant to help lower project costs.

SCIDPDA will renovate and rehabilitate this historic building, and provide

• 41 new permanent jobs; and
• 26,000 square feet of commercial space.

“The rehabilitation of the Bush Hotel’s commercial space will help to revitalize the entire neighborhood by attracting new office, retail and restaurant tenants,” said Paul Mar, acting executive director of SCIDPDA. “This project is an important part of our mission to ‘preserve, promote, and develop the Seattle Chinatown International District as a vibrant community and unique ethnic neighborhood’.”

“We are excited about our public-private partnership with SCIDPDA to renovate the Bush Hotel,” said Susan Shannon, director of the city’s Office of Economic Development (OED). “This project will create 41 permanent jobs in this community and provide attractive retail space for local businesses.”

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 more than $2 million with an accompanying $430,000 BEDI grant for developing the former Chubby and Tubby site in southeast Seattle, as well as a loan totaling more than $3 million with an accompanying $757,000 BEDI grant to assist the relocation of the Alpha Cine Labs from the Denny Triangle neighborhood to southeast Seattle.

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