Bank robbery near NE 75th Street and 35th Avenue NE (UPDATES)

Just before noon on Thursday, neighbors reported seeing multiple Seattle Police Department patrol cars in the vicinity of NE 75 Street and 35th Avenue NE.

We have since learned that Seattle Police were responding to a bank robbery in the area.

Via the SPD Twitter feed:

Police searching for bank robber near
7500 blk 35th Ave NE. Susp is white male, 50s, 5’3, denim jacket/jeans, black hat, may be armed.

Seattle Public Schools had local schools in shelter-in-place mode around the same time as police arrived on the scene. The list of schools includes Eckstein, Bryant, Thornton Creek, View Ridge, and Wedgwood.

UPDATE (12:35 PM): Unconfirmed as of yet by SPD, but attention seems to be on the coin store Chase Bank on 35th Avenue NE just north of NE 75th Street.

Here is an image from KIRO’s Chopper 7 which could be heard hovering over our area earlier:

Also, the shelter-in-place was lifted at local schools moments ago.

UPDATE (2:18 PM): The Seattle Police Department Blotter has a post up now about the robbery. Unfortunately, it does not contain the words “in custody.”

If you have any information on today’s bank robbery (in the 7500 block of 35th Avenue NE), please call the police at 625-5011.

UPDATE (2:31 PM): University Prep (8000 25th Ave NE) was in “modified lockdown” from 12:15-12:35 PM.

Women of NE Seattle Schools Kickball Tournament this Sunday (UPDATE)

[Cue “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor]

For about eight years now, women with kids in various north end schools have gathered to challenge each other in the ultimate contest of playfield supremacy: KICKBALL.

At 4 PM on Sunday, June 8, some of these glorious ladies of wisdom will face each other once again at the lower View Ridge Playfield (4408 NE 70th St).

At this time, we know that Bryant, Eckstein, Roosevelt, Thornton Creek, Laurelhurst, Assumption, and Wedgwood schools have teams (UPDATE: View Ridge Elementary also has a team). The team from Laurelhurst Elementary is returning as the previous tournament’s champions. CAN THEY KEEP THE GOLDEN KICKBALL TROPHY IN THEIR POSSESSION???

"I think the trophy reflects the level of sophistication of this event," says Terrie McCoy. (Photo provided by Terrie McCoy)

“I think the trophy reflects the level of sophistication of this event,” says Terrie McCoy. (Photo provided by Terrie McCoy, trophy by the Barker Sherman family.)

 

More information about the tournament from Terrie McCoy, who has kids at Roosevelt and Eckstein (via email):

The general idea is that teams consist of women from each school, mothers, guardians, staff, etc. Each school has one team but rosters have varied from the minimum of 9 to as many as ~25. Kids cheer and often provide coaching tips but do not play. A group of Bryant/Eckstein/RHS dads have barbequed in the past and families from all schools have brought money to pitch in for the refreshments. Several of those dads are not available this year but I think we have at least one Wedgwood dad ready to bbq. With 8 or more teams we have two round robin tournaments with the winners of each playing in a championship game. Games typically consist of 3 innings. The quality of trash talk tends to be better than the quality of kickball so I encourage people to bring their thick skins.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

[Cue “The Final Countdown” by Europe]

Children’s Home Society land FOR SALE: 3.7 acres on NE 65th St could be yours

The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association (RBCA) posted on their website today information about the sale of the Children’s Home Society of Washington (CHSW) property at 3300 NE 65th St.


View Children’s Home Society of Washington land for sale in a larger map

CHSW owns the entire block of 3300 NE 65th St, which neighbors the private Catholic school Assumption-St. Bridget, the Bryant Corner Cafe, the Northeast Branch of the Seattle Public Library, and lots of single family housing.

Offers on the property are due by Friday, May 17. A source of ours said that CHSW expects to raise $12-15 million dollars from the sale.

From the offering memorandum (PDF):

The Property encompasses the entire city block bounded by NE 65th Street, NE 68th Street, 32nd Avenue NE and 34th Avenue NE in Seattle’s Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood. The Site totals 3.7 acres and has seven existing buildings. The Site has been home to CHSW for over 100 years, receiving its first intake of children in 1908 when the area was still a woodsy exurb of bustling Seattle. Since the closure of the Cobb Center for Youth in 2010, the Site has been used by CHSW solely as administrative office space. CHSW currently operates out of the office building on the south end of the property and one of the cottage buildings. The two remaining cottage buildings are currently unoccupied.

The property carries three different zoning designations across its length: NC 1-30, LR-2, and SF-5000. (More information on what these zoning classifications mean here.)

IMG_2539

At the RBCA’s next board meeting on Tuesday, May 7, the sale of the property will be discussed. All residents are welcome to attend.

According to HistoryLink.org, “[t]he National Children’s Home Society was formed in Illinois in 1883 on the new idea of placing orphaned children for adoption in family foster homes rather than in orphanages.” Reverend Harrison D. Brown and his wife Libbie Beach Brown, who first oversaw the society’s work in Oregon, built a small receiving home in Green Lake in 1899. After it was destroyed in a fire in 1905, a new building was constructed in Ravenna, on donated land. Brown Hall (named for the Reverend) stood from 1907 until it was demolished in the 1970s to make way for more modern facilities.