Hahn Building Designated a Landmark! But the work is not over.
On January 20, the Landmarks Preservation Board (LPB) voted to designate the Hahn Building (103 Pike St) as a City of Seattle landmark, with six in favor and one opposed. The Hahn Building was designated under criterion C (association in a significant way with a significant aspect of the cultural, political, or economic heritage of the community, City, state, or nation) and criterion F (because of prominence of spatial location, contrasts of siting, age, or scale, it is an easily identifiable visual feature of its neighborhood or the city and contributes to the distinctive quality or identity of such neighborhood or the city).
We are grateful to the Board and the thousands of people who provided written and verbal comments in support of landmarking. This was a big win for nomination applicant, Save the Market Entrance, and the many people and organizations who supported designation. But the effort to preserve the historic four corners of the Market community is far from over.
The next phase of the designation process is negotiation of controls and incentives between the City and the owner. Controls describe the protections to the physical elements of the building. Without controls, the Hahn Building could be torn down. Like designation, there are specific rules on what can be considered for this part of the process. In their February eNewsletter, Historic Seattle said the organization “supports controls being placed for the Hahn Building; we will call on the public to do the same when the time comes…Historic Seattle believes landmarks deserve protection, not plaques.”
On a parallel track, the Master Use Permit (MUP) issued by the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) in January 2020 was appealed to the City Hearing Examiner by Save the Market Entrance and the Newmark Building Owners Association. The appeal is related to the proposed 14-story hotel project on the Hahn Building site. A hearing is scheduled for May 2021. The MUP was issued after the Hahn Building landmark nomination application was submitted to the Board. Now that the Hahn Building is a designated landmark, what does that mean for the future of the hotel project? Is the new shiny tower project doomed, or is the landmarked Hahn Building going to be consigned to the scrap heap of history?
Stay tuned for more on this effort, which may stretch months or years into the future before the fate of the Hahn Building is resolved. We will let you know when there are additional steps you can take to help ensure that the Hahn is protected for centuries to come.