West Seattle Blog… | Not just to rebuild, but to rethink: The Highland Park Improvement Club opens the door to post-fire possibilities

(HPIC photos unless otherwise stated)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog Editor

Three and a half months after the heartbreaking early morning fire that severely damaged the Highland Park Improvement Club building, it’s time to start shaping the future of the site.

HPIC’s volunteer-only board of directors took a big step in this direction by running an online community “town hall” on Wednesday evening. Now that they’ve maneuvered through some of the more arduous immediate tasks such as managing insurance, it’s clear that they can do more than just rebuild all or part of the historic building at 12th / Holden: they might rethink the future of the site by answering the question “Why does the community need this building?”

The June 25 fire came near the end of major renovations – we reported on the project just a month before the fire – but as trustee Kay kirkpatrick shown in a historic presentation of HPIC at the Wednesday night meeting, HPIC built on what it had inherited. The building itself dates from 1924, five years after the club started; its evolution over the years has included additions, changes, even modifications to expand its dance floor space in the post-war years.

Kirkpatrick’s presentation also shed light on other evolving needs and priorities over the years – first showing the community works teams to pave the parking lot in the 1970s …

… And then the “de-paving” that created the front patio and the rainwater characteristics in the 2010s:

Even without a structural / site change, HPIC’s mission has pivoted over the years – most recently, as a community welfare center in the first year of the pandemic, when it became a center to provide counseling. food for families in need, especially at the start of the month when Seattle public school campuses were closed and the district couldn’t figure out how to resume distribution of meals to students.

In addition to revisiting the history of the club, the meeting, chaired by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of PCSI Nicole mazza, also recapped what is known about the fire – more about where it started than how or why it started:

And that prompted discussion of PCSI’s position in working with its insurer – who determined that up to $ 750,000 would be available for reconstruction, Treasurer Shannon harris noted.

Their questions are: what does the next building look like? Are they saving part of the building or are they rebuilding it from scratch? The dilemma presents what has been called “an opportunity to build with intention and create a unified vision for the neighborhood”. To achieve this, the question to be answered: “Why does the community need this building?” “

The board will not answer this question on its own. They invite community members to be part of the process in the coming months, which will lead to a final project design by spring. when they can apply for permits and hire a contractor.

But it is more than a building. It’s about people. Even in the months following the fire, HPIC strived to continue serving the community.

They reallocated the city grant money – courtesy of the city – to get what is needed for outdoor events, including portable toilets and storage. It helped them move forward with certain events such as the three Giant garage sales.

(Photo BMS, August)

The more people involved, the more creative and innovative the ideas will be, the more they can do. So, explained Mazza, HPIC also uses this time to “review the structure of the board.” They want to make sure it is “diverse and sustainable”. Years ago, 501 municipalities helped them move from a membership organization to a charity, so now they’re going to help reinvent the board.

Getting involved in the future of counseling is one way for community members to help with “HPIC 2.0”. Other ways: Participate in upcoming discussions. Donate to the Reconstruction Fund. Become a club member – increasing revenue from membership dues would help PCSI stabilize its operational funding (especially until it could organize regular events, which, along with rentals, were a major source of pre-departure money) . Members can participate in club decisions. And – volunteer! E-mail [email protected] to find out what you can do, come up with an idea or ask a question.