At Large in Ballard by Peggy Sturdivant

Going, going...gone

Three hundred sixty-five days in the year but not enough days for the number people being forced to leave Ballard due to economics. The condo conversion at Lock Vista will affect over 200 people; many have already left. Then there are the renters in triplexes and duplexes - most slipping away without any publicity or outcry at all.

Mary

While she cleans a kitchen that already looks spotless, Mary is wearing coat and hood, using the oven for heat. The main heating vent in the living room hasn't worked during her 15 months in the two bedroom apartment three blocks north of the Ballard library. Mary is doing the final cleaning of her apartment before turning in her keys. The triplex was sold and the new owners promptly announced 30 percent rent increases; from $975 per month to $1,225. She and the two other longtime tenants tried to negotiate with the new owners to ease into the increase. The landlords explained that the cost increases were necessary to be able to make improvements. Perhaps fixing the heating vent will be on the list; too bad that costs extra.

Mary is 64 years old and has Multiple Sclerosis. The move has been costly in many ways; packing and cleaning, hiring a truck and workers from the Millionair's Club, but it has also cost her valuable physical energy due to relocating and anger at what she considers a "backdoor eviction."

The first of the three tenants moved out at the end of October, leaving behind the sculptured landscape that he created during his 10-year tenancy. The remaining tenants turned in their keys the last day of November. As of last August, not one had any inkling that a move was in their future; they all considered Ballard home. Given the prospect of 30 percent rent increases that none could afford plus the possibility of additional costs for utilities, all three tenants chose to leave.

Meanwhile they recognize their former apartments on Craig's List, and note that the new landlords are already being forced to lower the rent.

Mona

Mona Lang had a studio apartment in Building A at Lock Vista where she could see her artist studio in the Sev Shoon building on Northwest 30th and the bus stop where she always felt safe returning from her set design job in downtown Seattle. Her apartment was mostly packed; she had decided to give notice rather than put energy into wondering when the condo conversion would force her to leave.

Originally from Sweden, Mona's friends are surprised that she still wants to become an American citizen after what's happened, particularly the lack of protection for renters and public opinion that seemed biased against artists and renters in general.

"I had a house," Mona told me, as though she needed to prove her rights. "I sold my house to be here and to be close to my studio."

After the notice about the potential sale, Mona and others found the Lock Vista buildings already part of The Northlake Group's marketing materials.

"What makes me angriest," she said, "is that Ballard isn't going to be economically diverse anymore. There are all kinds of people at Lock Vista who are not losers. There are a lot of elderly and single women; it felt safe here."

She plans to "couch surf" until after the holidays. "I'm on the waitlist for Lock Haven," she told me, "but I'm afraid of renting in an attractive building for fear that someone will try to convert it."

Kara

Lock Vista is Kara's first apartment. She was born in West Seattle and raised in White Center. At age 23, her heart is on her sleeve, and it belongs to the Seattle libraries and her chosen neighborhood of Ballard. Growing up in White Center was akin to growing up in a small town with limited possibilities; she knew that she wanted something more. When she spotted a vacancy sign at Lock Vista while visiting Ballard she made her friend stop the car.

"This is where I'm supposed to be," she told me with the certainty of youth, "when the neighborhood fits, you finally feel like you belong." White Center wasn't that neighborhood for her.

Kara volunteered at the library as a high school sophomore and has worked ever since, working her way up to Library Assistant II. She feels that every single library branch has managed to capture a sense of its neighborhood but loves the Ballard branch most of all. The new Ballard branch is so popular that to take advantage of a promotion she had to transfer to Montlake but Ballard remains her "snow branch" - her designated work place in inclement weather.

When she learned about the condo conversion at Lock Vista she found herself crying in front of friends who couldn't understand her depth of grief at losing her first home. Kara can afford to rent a studio at Lock Vista, not own one. Her lease ends in April; she plans to stay until forced to leave. She joined community efforts to save Lock Vista, making signs and organizing meetings. She says that unlike many in her generation she wants to be involved in activities that will make a difference in the world. She wrote directly to the mayor about her despair at losing her first home as an adult and asking the City to intervene in the sale of Lock Vista.

"I work for you," she wrote him. The reply, she said, "was a bunch of crap."

Every day there are more stories about people who have lived in the area, whether for one year or 50 years, who can no longer afford to stay here. The woman I met at the health club, the library assistant, the set designer, they are going, going ... gone.

Peggy can be reached through atlargeinballard@yahoo.com. She writes additional pieces at http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/ballard/.