Seattle to transfer properties to Black-led community groups

SEATTLE (AP) — The city of Seattle has begun finalizing plans to transfer three Central District properties to Black-led community organizations that have long operated, or had plans to operate, public-service programs at the sites.

On Monday, the Seattle City Council voted to formally transfer ownership of an old fire station to Byrd Barr Place, which has occupied the building, running a food bank and housing-assistance programs, since 1969.

On Wednesday, Mayor Jenny Durkan unveiled legislation to formally transfer ownership of the Central Area Senior Center from the city to the nonprofit that has operated the center since 1975.

Durkan also proposed legislation to grant a long-term lease at the city’s shuttered Fire Station 6 to Africatown Community Land Trust, which has long planned to create a cultural innovation center there to boost Black-owned businesses.

Durkan framed the three transfers as aligned with, but separate from, her pledge to invest $100 million in programs for communities of color in next year’s budget.

“Our City must make real on the promise of bold investments in the Black community and increasing community ownership of land,” Durkan said.

The proposed transfers, long-planned but also long-stalled, come after this summer’s mass protests against systemic racism. They also come as the City Council voted Tuesday to override Durkan’s vetoes of slight cuts to the city’s police budget, another result of the protest movement.