Benefit concert to support businesses affected by Market St construction

Meghan Walker Ballard

A number of businesses west of 24th on Market Street have seen a downturn in business since the Ballard Multimodal Corridor project started, so they’ve formed a coalition and are planning a benefit concert to raise money to help offset the financial hit.

The group of business owners have named themselves the Heart of Ballard, and will hold their benefit concert at 6pm on Sunday, Dec. 1st at the National Nordic Museum. They’ll have food, drinks, curated live music, “high-end” raffle prices from local businesses, and talks from Ballard community organizers.

“Today, facing the sight of torn up streets, few answers from the city, and potentially more than a year of construction remaining our core of a dozen small businesses are at a complete loss,” organizers from the Heart of Ballard write in their Facebook event page.

“We believe that this small act of caring rebellion, of coming together to hold onto and support this core of small businesses is indicative of the Seattle community – it is a move towards caring more, not because we have to, but because when one of us thrives, we all do.”

If you can’t make it to the event but would like to support the group, you can donate to their GoFundMe online fundraiser.

30 thoughts to “Benefit concert to support businesses affected by Market St construction”

  1. The torn up streets are a temporary thing. The crime and unfriendly attitude towards businesses will NOT go away any time soon, with the likes of Shawammalonga DIng Dong and all her pals running this city. So we got rid of MOB and a couple others, BFD. People here are liberals first and all else after that. Until they run a business, rent a home out or become rich somehow NOTHING but nothing will change. In fact, it’s going to get worse, with lazy inept prosecutors and judges, the police having their hands tied behind their backs and the damn recidivism; AKA catch/release. Welcome to a liberal city. Perhaps a move may be the thing. Many are coming, many are getting the F out.

    2. You are NOT helping, or advocating for these businesses with your crazy anti-everything drivel. Please do these businesses a solid favor by just letting them run their businesses as they see fit and Not try dragging them into your miserable anti-community existence.

    3. The torn up streets are not that temporary. They’ve been going on for almost a year, blocking businesses and taking away all parking. And this project is expected to continue to the end and probably past the end of 2020. There is no way some of these small businesses can stay open if nothing is done to help. Sure, there is a homeless problem but what does it have to do with the small family run businesses trying to support each other to stay open? If they all close down, there will be more spaces for homeless folks to set up camp…just like they did before some of these businesses moved in. Small business owners contribute to the community, they pay taxes, they vote, they advocate for the betterment of where they work and live and most of them live in Ballard. Most are sustainable and do a lot to help the community and the environment. Would you rather the likes of Amazon or some giant corporate businesses move in? How will that help the homeless situation? Have you even met any of these small business owners? Why don’t you meet with them and ask them to help you advocate reform for the homeless rather than just make pointless comments?

    4. PK, please consider getting out of Ballard yourself.

      You’re obviously unhappy here, with your endless screeds on local politics, business regulation and the homeless. Just leave. Please!

  2. If you want to help the businesses, walk the extra block that it takes to find parking and purchase something from us.
    The biggest problem my customers report is the difficulty finding parking.

    Just stop by and buy something from us.

  3. The original plan for the trail through this area was to be along the tracks behind the Nordic Heritage Museum. This original design would have been entirely constructed on city owned land and would have been more direct, cheaper, have less intersections/crossings, less exposed to fast moving traffic, would not have the steep grade on the east end , and would have been less disruptive during construction. One industrial oil business lobbied to move the trail to Market Street for selfish purposes. Unfortunately the businesses currently affected were either not involved in the decision making process or were not listened to. Hopefully in the future we will make the right choices for all when we construct the last and final section of the missing link.

    1. Current street work isn’t for the missing link. Certain Ballard businesses have made sure it won’t happen. These street improvements are mostly for cars and perhaps pedestrians who park their cars there.

      When I need to visit the main part of Ballard it’s always easier via bike or bus. My car remains in my garage. I’d visit these businesses if they support completing the missing link otherwise I’ll go else where.

      1. multimodal – the work on Market street IS PART OF THE “Missing link”! You need to check out what you are posting before you post!

        1. I keep up on what’s going on concerning the missing link.

          The city cannot do any work on the missing link because of the lawsuit. Also, the city just lost their shoreline permit ( see the recent myballard post)

          None of the current work is for the trail.

          Do you have different info? Did the judge change his mind recently? I haven’t seen anything in the news that the situation has changed. Has my google-fu failed? I’d be happy to be wrong.

          2. You realize you just posted proof that your POV was incorrect, right? Are you going to apologize to multimodal?

          3. VeganBiker is a well known troll who comes on here and lies constantly on posts, such as:

            1. Whitewashing local business owners
            2. Misrepresenting ST3 options
            3. Making up “facts” about the missing link

          4. elenchos2 – nasty!
            I make mistakes like most people, but I am not a “troll”
            Most of the time I retract my comments or apologize if called out.

          5. Yes but you make comments like this:

            “You need to check out what you are posting before you post!”

            Because you demand that of others but not yourself. Why do you think you get to have the privilege of posting without facts unlike anyone else?

          6. elenchos2 – I regret posting that and I am sorry. Unfortunately I can’t edit what I post on here after a certain time limit.

          7. You could take 1 second to do some research before harassing others.

          8. Yes, sorry multimodal.
            I have strong feelings about the Missing Link and want it finished.
            I think we are probably in agreement about that issue.

          9. Yeah the project website says, “Please note that due to a recent Superior Court Ruling, SDOT will continue working on those elements of the Ballard Multimodal Corridor project that are independent from the trail, but trail work will be halted. SDOT continues to work through next steps to be able to advance the trail work.”

            They’d still have to pave after the drainage work.

            Also, from their weekly email, ” Beginning in summer 2020, we will be paving NW Market St between 24th Ave NW and 15th Ave NW.”

            And hey, “Not ” 54th, behind the museum, got paved.

            You can always ride your mountain bike on “Not” 54th. I’ve done that many times. Perhaps gravel bikes would work as well. Heck, just get sturdy tires on any bike. We could even get a work party together and fill in the divots to make riding it a bit easier. The more bikes riding that area the better.

    2. There were tons of open houses, many rounds of community input and commentary, decades of study and time to prepare for this project… you cannot say businesses were not allowed in the decision making process.

    3. Dream on…”Hopefully in the future we will make the right choices “WE” won’t decide anything.
      did you miss the last election?

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