Location | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
---|---|
Opening date | 1956 |
No. of stores and services | 71 |
No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
Total retail floor area | 316,000 square feet (29,400 m2) |
No. of floors | 2 |
Website | uvillage.com |
University Village (colloquially known as U-Village) is a shopping mall in Seattle, Washington, United States, located in the south corner of the Ravenna neighborhood to the north of the Downtown area. [1] It is an open-air shopping center which offers restaurants, locally owned boutiques, and national retailers, and is a popular retail destination in the region for home furnishings, popular fashions, gift items, and restaurants.
University Village was originally developed by Continental Inc. who also developed Westwood Village in West Seattle and Aurora Village in Shoreline, Washington.[ citation needed ] it was once home to a Coast Salish village named sluʔwiɫ, which means "Little Canoe Channel" in Lushootseed. [2]
The 24-acre (9.7 ha)[ citation needed ] shopping center was built in 1956 across NE 45th Street on an earlier part of the Montlake Landfill (since 1911, 1922–1966), taking out what remained of the Union Bay Marsh that was drained by the lowering of Lake Washington as a result of the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal (1913–1916). [3] Some wetland was later partially restored as the Union Bay Natural Area with the Center for Urban Horticulture. [4]
Until the early 1990s, the character of University Village was decidedly different. Most of its businesses were small, and the chain stores were all local: Ernst Hardware and Malmo Nursery, Lamonts department store (acquired by Gottschalks in 2000), Pay 'n Save Drugs (sold to PayLess Drug in the early 1990s), and QFC supermarket, then a much smaller facility on the western side of the property, [5] formerly an A&P store. [6] [7] The present QFC store on the east edge opened in 1996, it was formerly a dairy facility from 1955 to 1991. [6] [8]
There was even a bowling alley, Village Lanes, which was originally a roller rink in the 1950s, located near the northwest corner. [7] Many of the businesses began to falter toward the end of the 1980s, however, and in 1993 the owners of the mall decided to sell. For much of this period, University Village was owned by the Tektronix Retirement Investment Fund.
The chairman of QFC and a partner bought it, and tenants such as those mentioned above began to move out. Barnes & Noble was an anchor tenant after the mid-1990s renovation, [5] but closed at the end of 2011. [7] U-Village no longer has a hardware store, but features upscale national stores such as Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Banana Republic, and Crate & Barrel instead (as well as related local specialty stores). Despite this, 61% of U-Village merchants are still local. (The Ernst and Pay n' Save corporate chains went out of business in the 1990s; adjacent QFC still nominally exists, but as a division of Kroger.)
Anchor tenants today are Bartell Drugs (locally owned 1890-2022), Apple Store, [9] Crate & Barrel, The Gap, and Pottery Barn. [10] Significant adjacent anchors are the Seattle QFC flagship store and a large Safeway. In 1991, neighborhood activists initiated a campaign with the City to "daylight" Ravenna Creek through Ravenna Park to Lake Washington, but the segment from the park to the University of Washington (UW) and the Union Bay Natural Area was successfully blocked by the owners of University Village. It has been recently updated to include more shops below the brand new medical center. [11]
Amazon.com, an online retailer founded and based in the region, opened its first physical storefront at University Village on November 3, 2015. [12]
The campus of the UW is to the west and south, the neighborhood of Bryant farther to the east, and the neighborhood of Ravenna to the north, [13] but portions of the surrounding neighborhoods are often referred to as being in "University Village" themselves, approximately west to 22nd Avenue NE, north to NE 55th Street, and east to Union Bay Place NE and 30th Avenue NE.<[ citation needed ] The area's principal arterials are 25th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street; 35th Avenue is a minor arterial. Collector arterials are NE Blakeley-Union Bay Place NE and NE 55th streets. [14]
The University District is a major district in Seattle, Washington, comprising several distinct neighborhoods. The main campus of the University of Washington (UW) is located in the district, lending its name to both the district as well as University Way NE.
The Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA) in Seattle, Washington, also known as Union Bay Marsh, is the restored remainder of the filled former Union Bay and Union Bay Marsh. It is located at the east end of the main University of Washington campus, south of NE 45th Street and west of Laurelhurst. Ravenna Creek is connected to University Slough, thence to Union Bay, and Lake Washington. Drainage Canal is one of three or four areas of open water connected with Lake Washington around Union Bay Marsh. The canal extends from NE 45th Street, between the driving range and IMA Sports Field 1, south to the bay, ending southeast of the Husky Ballpark baseball grandstand. The Drainage Canal that carries Ravenna Creek past UBNA to Union Bay is locally sometimes called University Slough.
Union Bay is a body of water located in Seattle, Washington. Part of Lake Washington, it is bounded by the Laurelhurst neighborhood to the north and the Montlake and Madison Park neighborhoods to the south. The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, which carries State Route 520, crosses over a portion of the bay.
Roosevelt is a neighborhood in north Seattle, Washington. Its main thoroughfare, originally 10th Avenue, was renamed Roosevelt Way upon Theodore Roosevelt's death in 1919. The neighborhood received the name as the result of a Community Club contest held eight years later, in 1927.
Wallingford is a neighborhood in north central Seattle, lying on a hill above the north shore of Lake Union about four miles from the downtown core. The neighborhood developed quickly during the early 20th century after the establishment of the University of Washington to the east. With trolley tracks laid through the neighborhood as early as 1907, Wallingford is a classic streetcar suburb, typified by its many 1920s era box houses and bungalows. Commercial development is primarily concentrated along North 45th Street where a number of iconic structures stand including the neon "WALLINGFORD" sign, the Wallingford Center, and the original Dick's Drive-In. With its central location, numerous public amenities, including the world-renowned Gas Works Park, and views of both the Olympic and Cascade mountains, Wallingford has long been home to many middle and upper-class families. While Wallingford is mostly residential in nature, the neighborhood's southern edge, along Lake Union, has historically been an industrial and commercial business strip. In recent years, numerous office buildings have been developed as an extension of the burgeoning business center in neighboring Fremont. In 2014 Brooks Sports moved its headquarters from Bothell to a new six-story office building at the southwestern edge of Wallingford.
Northgate is a neighborhood in north Seattle, Washington, named for and surrounding Northgate Mall, the first covered mall in the United States. Its north-south principal arterials are NE Northgate Way and 130th Street, and its east-west principal arterials are Roosevelt Way NE and Aurora Avenue N. Minor arterials are College Way-Meridian Avenue N, 1st, 5th, and 15th avenues NE. Interstate 5 runs through the district. Besides the eponymous mall, the most characteristic distinctions of the area are North Seattle College (NSC) and the south fork of the Thornton Creek watershed and Seattle Kraken Iceplex center.
The Industrial District is the principal industrial area of Seattle, Washington. It is bounded on the west by the Duwamish River and Elliott Bay, beyond which lies Delridge of West Seattle; on the east by Interstate 5, beyond which lies Beacon Hill; on the north by S King and S Dearborn Streets, beyond which lie Pioneer Square and southwest International District of Downtown; and on the south by the main lines of the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad, or about S Lucille Street, beyond which is Georgetown. SoDo is the name of the northwest portion of the neighborhood, named for its being South of Downtown. SoDo is the location of T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners, and Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC. Lumen Field was also the site of the former Kingdome.
Ravenna is a neighborhood in northeastern Seattle, Washington named after Ravenna, Italy. Though Ravenna is considered a residential neighborhood, it also is home to several businesses, many of which are located in the University Village, a shopping mall.
Wedgwood is a middle class residential neighborhood of northeast Seattle, Washington with a modest commercial strip. Wedgwood is located about two miles (3.2 km) north, and slightly east, of the University of Washington; it is about six miles (9.7 km) northeast of Downtown. The neighborhood is further typical of Seattle neighborhoods in having more than one name and having different, overlapping, but well-documented definitions of the neighborhood.
Lake City is the northeast region of Seattle, centered along Lake City Way NE (SR-522), 7–8 miles (11–13 km) northeast of Downtown Seattle. A broader definition of the Lake City area includes all the land between 15th Avenue NE and Lake Washington, and between NE 95th and 98th streets to the Seattle city limits at NE 145th Street. Lake City encompasses much of the Thornton Creek watershed, the focus of a long restoration campaign by citizens and Seattle Public Utilities staff to enhance the residential environment of Lake City.
Bryant is a residential neighborhood in northeast Seattle, Washington. According to the City of Seattle's neighborhood maps, it is bounded by 35th Avenue NE and NE 45th Place on the west, beyond which is Ravenna; Sand Point Way NE and 45th Ave NE on the east, beyond which are Laurelhurst and Windermere; and NE 75th Street and NE 65th Street on the north, beyond which are View Ridge and Wedgwood.
Licton Springs or North College Park is a neighborhood in the informal Northgate district of North Seattle. It is bounded by Interstate 5 to the east, beyond which is Maple Leaf neighborhood and the Northgate Mall; Aurora Avenue N to the west, beyond which is Greenwood; N 85th Street to the south, beyond which is Green Lake, and N Northgate Way to the north, beyond which is Haller Lake.
Matthews Beach is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington; it and Meadowbrook are the southern neighborhoods of the annexed township of Lake City (1954). Matthews Beach lies about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of the University of Washington, about 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Downtown.
Rainier Beach is a set of neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington that are mostly residential. Also called Atlantic City, Rainier Beach can include Dunlap, Pritchard Island, and Rainier View neighborhoods.
Northgate Station is an enclosed shopping mall in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located in the Northgate neighborhood on Interstate 5, adjacent to Northgate Way and Northgate station, a light rail station. The mall is anchored by Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Nordstrom Rack.
University Way Northeast, colloquially The Ave, is a major street and commercial district in the University District of Seattle, Washington, located near the University of Washington (UW) campus. Once "a department store eight blocks long," The Ave has gradually turned into what now resembles an eight-block-long global food court. The story of The Ave reflects the dynamics of many urban neighborhoods and the social and economic problems of countless American cities, though it is also a crossroads of diverse subcultures. It is patronized by many of the nearly 96,900 students, faculty, and staff of the UW and by a population of homeless or transient individuals, most of whom are youth.
Meadowbrook is a neighborhood in the Lake City district of Seattle, Washington. Meadowbrook is centered on open fields adjacent to the Community Center, Meadowbrook swimming pool, and Nathan Hale High School. It is bounded on the south by NE 95th Street and the Wedgwood neighborhood, on the north by NE 120th Street and Cedar Park, on the west by Lake City Way NE and Victory Heights, and on the east by 35th Avenue NE and Matthews Beach.
The Duwamish tribe is a Native American tribe in western Washington, and the indigenous people of metropolitan Seattle. The Duwamish tribe today includes the People of the Inside (Dxw'Dəw?Abš), for Elliott Bay environs today; and the People of the Large Lake (Xacuabš), for those around Lake Washington of today.
Broadway is a major north–south thoroughfare in Seattle, Washington. The 1.6-mile-long (2.6 km) arterial runs north from Yesler Way at Yesler Terrace through the First Hill and Capitol Hill neighborhoods to East Roy Street. Broadway East continues north to East Highland Drive. North of there the street is made up of shorter segments: one from just south of East Blaine Street to just north of East Miller Street, another from East Roanoke Street to East Shelby Street, and the last from East Allison Street to Fuhrman Avenue East.