JASON RANTZ

Saul Spady: The Showbox is a missed opportunity and should be rebuilt

Aug 23, 2018, 5:23 AM | Updated: 10:19 am

showbox...

Fliers for the Save the Showbox campaign. (KIRO Radio, Mike Lewis)

(KIRO Radio, Mike Lewis)

The rushed fervor over saving The Showbox didn’t exactly leave room or time for long-term, economic considerations. For Saul Spady — political activist and grandson of Dick’s Drive-In founder Dick Spady — politicians should rise above the hoopla and make better decisions for the greater good.

“What really bugged me is the emotional response of the council perfectly aligning with the emotional response of the city,” Spady told The Jason Rantz Show. “I think we need to have leaders who are willing to take a step back and not have an emotional response.”

RELATED: A building’s sentimental value doesn’t imply actual value

After it became known that developers planned to demolish the music venue and turn it into a 44-story apartment tower, a local campaign to save The Showbox culminated in the Seattle City Council unanimously voting to expand the Pike Place Market Historical District to include it. It has bought supporters of the venue some time to figure out how to more permanently preserve it.

For Spady, those actions missed an opportunity to opt for re-building The Showbox in a manner that served the public, the developers, and the housing market.

“If we cared deeply about the Showbox, if we cared deeply about housing, I think you’d find the developer and bring the mayor to the table — if you can get her to stop saying ‘No comment’ — and talk about how The Showbox does need to be rebuilt.”

Rebuilding The Showbox with developers, musicians, and fans

Instead of rushing to designate it as a landmark, Spady imagines a scenario in which tax credits are given to the developer if they build a new Showbox venue on the bottom, with a floor of music studios, and dorm-style housing for musicians and artists. He points to Seattle’s Hugo House — a writer’s hub. After their building was sold, they built another that integrated the history into the new development.

Any building’s current condition should always take precedence over the memories of what is was. Spady notes that the City of Seattle previously listed The Showbox as a high-risk building with un-reinforced masonry.

“It’s really important for us to value and remember those incredible shows at The Showbox,” Spady said. “But if we can imagine a new building there, with The Showbox on the bottom, and affordable housing for musicians above it — dream of the next 50 years and all the incredible music that will be made inside.”

Spady is currently leading the online organization 21st Century Seattle.

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Saul Spady: The Showbox is a missed opportunity and should be rebuilt