Fancy that: elegance in Ballard

It's barely past noon and Dave Voorhees is into his second beer, which by itself qualifies him as "Old Ballard."

He has also sold records in Seattle's Scandinavian capital for 23 years. A few decades back, when Ballard Avenue was all dive bars and metal-fabricating shops, Dave's brother Steve sold glow-in-the-dark T-shirts to the sloshed crowds that read "Do the Ballard Crawl." I'm in his shop, Bop Street Records, to ask what he thinks of the latest news. Which is that Ballard, of all places, is getting a four-star hotel.

"Who would want to come spend the night in Ballard?" is his first reaction.

But then he shrugs.

"You know, the reality is Ballard is already a four-star kind of neighborhood. There really aren't any dives anymore. When I grew up, nobody even knew where Ballard was. It certainly wasn't cool."

Now, it's hot. Maybe too hot.

Across from Hattie's Hat — a century-old bar that once was one of those dives — will go the four-story Olympic Hotel (no relation to the Fairmont Olympic downtown.)

In a building that long ago housed an Elks lodge, the boutique hotel will have a swimming pool, a spa, a European-themed restaurant and studios for yoga and Pilates.

It's being billed as Ballard's first hotel since the speakeasy days. But it's the part about the four stars that's got the land of pickled herring buzzing.

There actually is a hotel in Ballard already — a "real Ballard hotel," says the manager, who is standing in the doorway. It's called the Starlight, a boarding house where the weekly rate — $165 — probably won't fund a single night in the four-star digs across the street.

"If they're four stars, in here we're good for about a half a star," he says, before retreating to soothe a rankled tenant.

Like much of the city, Ballard is being transmogrified by yuppie wealth. The shift is especially obvious here.

An 18-wheel fuel truck is parked in front of an art gallery. Ballard Sheet Metal Works butts up against a craniosacral massage parlor. A panhandler begs in front of a bank window that blares: "CONDO LOANS HERE."

The four-star hotel will be steps from two wine bars, a gourmet cooking studio and a natural pet-food store. But on the same street is also Hatch & Kirk, the ship-engine builders; Covich-Williams, the marine-fuel distributor; and Broomfield's, father-son makers of boat-exhaust systems.

There's another hotel planned for Ballard two blocks away, a 175-room Silver Cloud Inn. It'll be right next to the Pacific Fishermen Shipyard. The pairing of leisure and industry is so discordant the inn's owners are installing triple-pane soundproof windows.

"Ballard is all a great jumbled mix right now," says Jeff Osborn, who sells fishing boats for Dock Street Brokers. "We love it. But one side is starting to overwhelm the other."

Here is where I cry, "Save Ballard!" Or "Free Ballard!" Yes to all that. But Ballard's also the most vibrant hodgepodge in the city right now.

If nothing else, just go See Ballard. Before it all becomes too four-star to really Be Ballard anymore.

Danny Westneat's column appears Wednesday and Sunday. Reach him at 206-464-2086 or dwestneat@seattletimes.com.