Madison Valley businesses eager to see end of stormwater project

While Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is in the final phases of its massive stormwater construction project that has congested traffic along East Madison Street in Madison Valley, local merchants are hopeful for a different summer. The city is optimistic that the project, which began two years ago, will be finished by the end of this coming summer.

Madison Valley merchants have seen sales drop as East Madison becomes more congested and fewer parking spaces are made available. In an economy that is already tough on small businesses, a construction project like this can be a fatal blow unless local merchants develop creative ways to drive sales.

“The project’s greatly impacted our business; it’s right across the street from us,” said Steve Magley, owner of City People’s Garden Store, 2939 E. Madison St. “It’s mostly to do with on-street parking: We’re a business that does a lot of volume, but we rely on street parking because we have a small parking lot.”

But Magley is quick to say he’s pretty much  happy with the work SPU has done. Most of the merchants and residents of Madison Valley understand why the work needs to be done.

“I haven’t had any problems with SPU: They’ve communicated well with the community,” Magley said. 

Working with construction

The Garden Store has faced its share of challenges, but Magley said they work hard to accommodate customers, and it’s paid off.

“We’ve made a lot of changes, and not all have been bad,” he said. “We reconfigured the parking lot to allow for more cars. We’ve asked employees to park elsewhere or to not drive.”

The store also makes sure to emphasize to customers that employees are more than happy to carry merchandise to cars, no matter how far away they parked, and they’ve been doing more deliveries than ever.

Magley and other merchants say the one frustrating thing about the construction project is the amount of blocked-off parking spaces along East Madison that aren’t being used by the crew.

“It’s greatly affected our customers because it’s hard enough getting in and out of the neighborhood,” Magley said. “Every business up and down this street has had to learn how to operate their business with less parking and more congestion.”

Larry Levine, president of the Madison Valley Merchants Association, said the city has been very accommodating when it comes to ensuring merchants don’t lose business, including providing a shuttle to bring customers into the business district from outlying parking areas during December 2010 shopping season. 

The merchants association also has worked to keep shoppers coming back, with merchants participating in the installation of community Christmas lights and advertising in local newspapers.

“The construction has brought us closer together as an organization,” Levine said. “We created a couple committees and applied for the grant from the Office of Economic Development (OED).”

The association plans to use the $15,000 it received from the OED for advertisement and rebranding. Plans include a new logo and a new catchphrase for the business district.

A few businesses have left the neighborhood since the construction started, but most have been resilient. 

“[There’s not as much turnover] as I would expect — there’s been some. I know at least two or three businesses closed and new ones opened up in those locations, and I know the storm-drain construction had something to do with that — not all, but some of it,” Levine said. 

Among the businesses that have left are a men’s consignment store in the 2800 block of East Madison that was replaced by a new clothing store, and a candy store in the 2900 block of East Madison that was replaced by a French bakery.

Neighborhood-wide problems

The construction has caused some tension between merchants and residents who may be battling for parking, and disagreements have arisen over whether construction should be done during the day or during the evening, Magley said.

“There’s been more tension between residents and merchants than I wish would happen — we both can coexist. That’s what commerce is,” Magley said.

Levine said the Madison Valley merchants recognize that the construction is hard on residents as well, knowing the evening and early morning work hours jam the adjacent residential streets and wake people up.

“The merchants see it not just as a business district but as a neighborhood,” Levine said. 

Lindy Wishard, president of the Greater Madison Valley Community Council, said residents, for the most part, are sympathetic to the neighborhood merchants’ struggles and understand how the construction during the day affects business.

“The businesses have struggled because of the construction. It’s affected people’s willingness to stop by, it’s hard to find parking, so I’m sure it’s affected their bottom line,” Wishard said. 

She added that the construction has been difficult for residents, as well.

“It’s a very similar impact to the residents as to the businesses: With any construction project, you’ve got trucks coming in and out, dirt, noise…,” Wishard said. “It doesn’t do a great deal to beautify the neighborhood, but we realize it is a necessity.” 

And while times are tough, Madison Valley merchants say they wouldn’t want to do business anywhere else.

“This is a tremendous location for us,” Magley said. “Being a garden store, we need a lot of space that isn’t always available in the city.”

“We have some of the best restaurants in Seattle…. New restaurants and businesses are always opening up,” Levine said. “When you get a chance. come on down [and] spend some time in our neighborhood — we’d love to take your money.”