MEETING AGENDA & MINUTES
What Does HSD Do?
Long Answer:
Historic South Downtown (HSD) was created by the Washington state legislature in 2007, RCW 43.167, as the state’s first Community Preservation and Development Authority. We work to preserve, restore, and promote the past, present, and future of Seattle's Pioneer Square and Chinatown International District neighborhoods.
HSD pursues its mission through advocacy in partnership with other neighborhood stakeholders and through a unique grantmaking program focusing on neighborhood self-determination and local control. By statute, our 13-member board is comprised of representatives from specific sectors in each neighborhood, who work together to define HSD’s values and priorities for funding and advocacy.
HSD’s work is intended to mitigate the impacts of large scale, publicly funded development, public infrastructure and facilities work, and construction projects. The nature of these large projects is that they benefit people and communities throughout the city, county, and state, while the burden of construction and operations rest largely within these two historic neighborhoods.
HSD seeks to support these neighborhoods so that the people do not merely endure the negatives of massive new projects, but also reap a share of the economic benefits.
1956 Central Business District map by Seattle Planning Commission, courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives, map 1289.