The Roundup: Skyway Is Getting a Community Center
From the Editor
What's up, South End?
Today we're discussing a neighborhood near and dear to my heart: Skyway.
It was recently announced that the Skyway building that formerly housed a bowling alley will be purchased by King County and converted into a new Skyway Community Center. As many longtime Emerald readers likely know, Skyway community advocates have been fighting for a community center for decades.
But I want to be clear about something. Yes, community members have been trying to get this off the ground forever, but they have in no way been stagnant without a community center.
There's plenty of community activation happening in Skyway, and once I heard this recent update on the neighborhood, I wanted to discuss it. Especially with the former bowling alley emerging as a potential location. I mean, I used to be in a bowling league there as a kid.
So, I reached out to someone with a deep connection to Skyway: Devin Chicras.
Devin, a former Emerald board member, is currently a board member at the West Hill Community Association, and she's an unofficial Skyway historian.
I recently chatted with Devin about the new Skyway Community Center.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
MD: Where are we in the current process of Skyway Bowl becoming the Skyway Community Center?
DC: We've been talking about creating a community center in Skyway for years, decades, but primarily, we've really been hyperfocused on this project now for the last several years. Initially, you know, there were some hits and misses around finding a location. That's always been a challenge. Where is this thing going to go? Skyway is not that big. We're like a couple square miles.
We have this 27-acre park in the center of Skyway, so the focus then shifted to possibly putting it in the park. I'll say, personally, I was very against it. We've worked at the West Hill Community Association for years to try and activate the park. We've done big events down there. It's really important that we preserve one of the only green spaces that Skyway has. And I think we heard that loud and clear from a lot of people. I think that there was continued pushback against this idea of, you can't give us something while taking something away from us.
When this space opened up, the bowling alley, that was huge. And so where we're at now, as far as I understand, I know that the design phase got pretty far along in the park. So I think what will have to happen next, and this is just my assumption, is that that design phase is going to have to restart or reset with that new location. And that's funding, that's time, that's effort, that's also a hard-working community advisory group that will be involved in that process and helping guide that along.
MD: Are we looking at a full teardown and rebuild, or a remodel? I'd assume a teardown would be more expensive.
DC: In the recent statement from executives, they said they would be tearing it down. From what I know of the building, there's just no way that I could imagine them keeping that building intact. It really has to be torn down.
I'm like the keeper of the history up here. In 1961, they built [the bowling alley] after tearing half the hill down to build a park. So they just rolled the dirt all the way down to the Skyway Park, which was a swamp. So when we talk about Skyway Park, and we talk about this bowling alley space — they're the same soil. They literally just took an excavator and pushed the dirt down the hill into the park. Those spaces are so connected.
MD: You kind of touched on this, but can you speak about the significance of the former bowling alley space becoming a community center?
DC: We've tried to, over the years, partner with them to do events. We brought families into the bowling alley. We started our Halloween events in there, where we would take over the whole space and fill it with community organizations handing out candy and having inflatables. We've staged shows and stuff like that. When we talk about community centers, that space has already been a community center. That's been where we've done our recreation. It's where we've met our friends. West Hill Community Association used to have our meetings, like our committee meetings, in the bar. A community space has existed in there. So it's really kind of sad to be losing the bowling alley, but we're transitioning it into a space that's just a different form of that, which is kind of cool.
MD: For people interested in getting involved, who may want to help push these efforts forward, what can they do?
DC: I know folks have varying levels of ability to sink time and effort into things. I would say number one, just stay informed. Subscribe to the King County Parks channels and make sure that you're seeking out information about it. If you're curious, usually the information is there. The next thing is, there's literally a community advisory committee. And I'm not sure if they're actively seeking more people for it, but I would check that out to see if there's a way to get involved.
The Roundup Rundown
This week, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson held a press conference at Yesler Community Center to announce a six-year education levy plan to expand childcare, student meals, and teen health services.
Unfortunately, as contributor Connor Nash and others have reported, the event was interrupted by gunfire.
At the time of me writing this, there have been no reports of people being hurt.
Obviously, a shooting at a mayoral presser is going to make headlines. Gun violence is a hot topic, and an important one, and in many ways that became the story here.
But I don't want Connor's reporting to be overshadowed. The education levy is important too, and I know many of you heard about the shooting and may have missed the context of the presser.
I encourage you all to read Connor's article. It includes a lot of information on plans for preschool, free student breakfast plans, expansions to mental healthcare, and more. I don't want any of our Roundup family to miss out on this news.
Contributor Connor Nash has been busy this week. He also covered the April 28 Public Safety Committee meeting, which included a presentation from the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (aka Let Everyone Advance with Dignity, LEAD) program.
We talked about LEAD in a newsletter earlier this year when I chatted with City Attorney Erika Evans about the program.
Now, as Connor reports from the committee meeting, drug arrests went up in 2025, while referrals to the City's diversion program (LEAD) went down.
There are reasons for this decline. But I'm not going to tell you here. That would be a spoiler.
Public safety has been a top-of-mind issue in Seattle for my entire adult life. We're all invested in how the City is handling public safety, and this story has some juicy details about a program that's constantly debated by both sides of Seattle's political spectrum. Wherever you stand, you're going to want to read it.
Ok, y'all, I have to admit: I'm a sucker for a feel-good story. And if you're reading this, that means you care about news, which means that, like me, by the end of the week you've likely had enough doom and gloom.
This story, by contributor Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero, is about something we all could use just a little more of these days: friendship.
Technically, it's about a Columbia City group trying to help people make connections and meet neighbors. But I hear that as: Local group wants to help people make new friends.
(Sidebar … a great place to make new friends would be The Royal Room on May 9 for the Emerald's pancake fundraiser brunch. And by new friends, I mean me — this is me inviting you to buy a ticket and come hang out and eat brunch. I'd love to meet you!)
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This is an abbreviated version of The Roundup newsletter. To get the entire newsletter, including a weekly list of events to check out and my shout-out to South End Gems, subscribe here. See you next week!
Mike Davis is the newsletter editor and Voices editor at the South Seattle Emerald. Born and raised in Seattle's South End, Mike is a longtime journalist who's covered everything from arts and culture to sports to politics.
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