Mayoral candidate Bob Hasegawa reminds us Seattle already has major project

When six candidates for Seattle mayor were asked what their favorite mega-project is during a forum, five responded with Sound Transit light rail and a new or redeveloped Seattle arena.

The only candidate with a different view was Senator Bob Hasegawa, who reminded those in attendance that Seattle already has a mega-project in the works that has nothing to do with sports or Sound Transit.

On a whiteboard, Hasegawa wrote that the Washington State Convention Center is his favorite mega-project.

That project, largely overshadowed by contentious debates over arenas and whether or not Sound Transit will receive much-needed federal funding, is an approximate $1.6 billion expansion that will include more exhibition space, more than 100,000 square feet of meeting rooms, and additional ballroom space. The site is at the intersection between Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine corridor, the Denny Triangle, South Lake Union, First Hill, and downtown.

The developer is asking for the vacation of more than one acre of land.

The project is currently in the permitting phase, according to the convention center timeline. Construction is scheduled to begin sometime this year.

The addition to the convention center is expected to open by 2020.

Around the time he announced his bid for mayor, Hasegawa said his vision for the city is returning it back to the way it once was.

“Back in the day, we used to hear about things like the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” Hasegawa said. “It was more of a community sense. I recall riding a bus from my home up on Beacon Hill, maybe 9 years old, by myself to the downtown YMCA to take swimming lessons. And the bus driver was a gracious person, looked out for me, made sure I didn’t miss my stop. He even let me play with the lever to open and close the bus door to explain how it worked. And you felt good about being in the community. The community was a nurturing place for families and youth. Since then, there has been a cultural shift around community to individuals. That shift … that sense that we are so busy scrambling over the next person to survive, that’s sociopathic.”

Based on his answer during the candidate forum, he must also have the vision for a leadership that can focus on current affairs, instead of basing decisions on what’s trending.

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