Pier concerts move to South Lake Union

By Bob Young and J. Patrick Coolican
Seattle Times staff reporters

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES South Lake Union Park, shown in the lower right, will be the new home of the Summer Nights at the Pier concert series. The stage will stand at the north end of a grassy area, west of the Navy Armory building. The crowd will look out over the lake.

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The shift, announced yesterday by Parks Superintendent Ken Bounds, is driven by multimillion-dollar repairs needed for piers 62 and 63, where the concerts have been held. The downtown waterfront piers were built in the 1920s, and the structure that supports the decking is deteriorating, Bounds said.

The popular concerts, which have unfolded against a backdrop of glistening water and setting sun since 1991, drew 50,000 patrons last year. Performers ranged from sexy soul singer Macy Gray to quirky rocker David Byrne. Next year, the city expects 18 to 20 evening concerts to run from mid-June through August.

Shifting the location of the concerts was welcomed by Mayor Greg Nickels, park fund-raisers, boat enthusiasts and a spokesman for Vulcan, Paul Allen's development company.

The company owns about 60 acres in the area and is redeveloping the once-sleepy neighborhood of low-slung buildings as a hub for biotech and close-in living.

Nickels has embraced Vulcan's vision of a new neighborhood that would support thousands of new jobs and apartments and condos. He has pushed for a streetcar system and a makeover of busy Mercer Street as a tree-lined, pedestrian-friendly boulevard.

"This will continue to drive the momentum of South Lake Union and everything happening positively around there," said Vulcan spokesman Michael Nank, who added that the company did not have anything to do with steering the concerts to South Lake Union.

Nank said the concert series does show the need for the $45 million streetcar line in the area that Nickels, Vulcan and others have advocated.

Nickels wanted the concerts to continue at a waterfront location while the piers were repaired, said his spokeswoman Marianne Bichsel. City officials and concert promoters considered other sites, such as Sand Point's Magnuson Park, but decided South Lake Union was the best fit.

"A number of people don't realize the park is there and how big it is. This will help people get to know the area. I think it will be a big boost for South Lake Union and the park," Bichsel said.

City officials and concert producer One Reel, which also puts on Bumbershoot, might want to stay beyond the summer of 2005, Bichsel said. "Both parties are pretty open-minded to see how it goes," she said.

Not everyone was enthusiastic about the announcement. Mike Foley, who is active in the Lake Union maritime community, said the concerts could cause parking headaches.

"We have parking problems as it is now. Adding 4,000 concertgoers could strangle the whole area on key nights," said Foley, president of the Steamer Virginia V Foundation, which owns a historic ship moored at Lake Union.

Parks Department spokeswoman Dewey Potter said neighborhood streets could provide ample parking in the evening. Concertgoers also could park at nearby Seattle Center, she said.

Michele Scoleri, producer of the concert series now called Cingular Summer Nights at South Lake Union, said she was working on a parking plan.

"We'll release a map with all available parking spaces," Scoleri said, adding that promoters are comfortable that there is enough parking in the area.

Bringing the concerts to the area could help with the proposed $20 million redevelopment of the 12-acre waterfront park.

The nonprofit Seattle Parks Foundation is trying to raise most of that money from private donors. Foundation Executive Director Karen Daubert said the concerts might give that effort a boost.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to get people who aren't familiar with the park down there on a bright summer evening, listening to music and watching boats on the lake. I don't see how it could hurt," Daubert said.

Some boat enthusiasts and maritime organizations located on Lake Union have complained that proposed park-renovation plans don't put enough emphasis on nautical heritage.

But Joe Follansbee, a maritime activist and writer, said, "At first blush I can't see a downside" to having concerts at South Lake Union. "It would draw tens of thousands of people, it gets them closer to the vessels and raises the profiles of the vessels," he said.

The city and concert promoters will try to re-create the atmosphere of the pier concerts. The stage will stand at the north end of the park's grassy area, just west of the old Navy Armory building, according to Parks Department spokeswoman Potter. Folding chair and bleacher seating for about 4,000 concertgoers will be just to the south, looking out at Lake Union. A beer garden will be set up.

Scoleri said the lineup of performers would be similar to that at the piers. One Reel is expected to announce the lineup and begin ticket sales in April.

"We want to duplicate the feel of the pier — on the water, downtown, and South Lake Union best echoed that," she said.

The city is assessing redevelopment of the piers, Potter said. For the past several years the city has been making improvements, but recent structural studies have called for replacing the entire pier-piling system.

The estimated cost of that work is $12 million to $14 million.

"There are 100 unanswered questions. The city will look at the two piers in context of the central waterfront," Potter said.

Proposed changes to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, for example, could lead the city to reconfigure the location of the piers, she said.

Scoleri said she'd love to see the concerts back at the piers but wasn't sure that would happen. "We were on a year-to-year agreement for 14 years down on the pier, and we expect to do that here," she said. "What the future holds is open."

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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