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Council Approves Removal of UW Lease Lid

SEATTLE-The City Council voted 6-3 on Monday to remove a 25-year-old lid on leasing in the area surrounding the University of Washington and passed two resolutions to promote the construction of new housing stock in the University District.

By Joel Cone | Updated on June 18, 2003

SEATTLE-After more than two decades of restricted growth, the University of Washington will be allowed to lease an unlimited amount of space in the University District or anywhere in the city thanks to a 6-3 vote by the City Council on Monday.

Dating back to 1985, the UW was limited to leasing only 241,950 sf in an attempt to ease concerns about the university’s expansion into the neighboring community. Those space restrictions were expanded to 400,000 sf in 1991 and then to its current level of 550,000 sf in 1998. In deciding in favor of lifting the lid, the council noted its wishes that the UW concentrate 75% of its leasing efforts in the core University District area immediately west of the main campus. The UW’s leasing activities in the area will then be reviewed in five years to assess the number of new housing units created, the number of university jobs created and whether the UW has influenced the housing situation in the district.

“Lifting the lease lid sustains momentum on our jobs creation agenda,” said Mayor Gregory J. Nickels in a statement released after the council vote on Monday. “In the University District, we’re moving forward on implementing the neighborhood plan and meeting goals for transportation, public safety, economic development and community building. Citywide, we’re moving forward to create jobs, but there’s more to do.”

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