The festivities are about to begin in Fremont. Check out the full schedule below and get ready to see a lot of kids, adults, dogs and trolls dressed up this evening for Halloween.

3:00pm – 6:00pm: Trick or treaters are welcome in the over 100 Fremont retailers participating in Trick Or Treat Fremont.Look for that orange flyer in the window.

3:30pm: Bubbleman will be at the Lenin Statue, entertaining everyone with his bubble show.

7:00pm – 11:00pm: Trolloween festivities begin. Folks should begin gathering at The Fremont Troll as the Haunt of Fremont parade towards the Fremont Bridge will begin shortly-thereafter. Streets in the area will be closed between 4-8pm, FYI.

Happy Halloween, Fremont!

There’s no shortage of places in Fremont for trick-or-treaters to get their goodies this Halloween. Over 100 Fremont retailers and restaurants are inviting costumed children (accompanied by an adult, of course) to stop by and collect their treats on Halloween. The official tricking and treating hours are 3-6pm PT.

The list of participating Fremont businesses is here. Also look for the orange flyer likely posted on the door or front windows.

Also, Bubbleman will be at The Lenin Statue starting at 3:30pm, blowing bubbles and putting on a show until around 6pm.

For more information, contact Trick-or-Treat Central at instigator@fremocentrist.com.

Now, you don’t have to dress up like Lenin or a Solstice bicyclist or the Fremont Troll…but it would be kinda cool if you did.

Trolloween, the yearly event that celebrates the birth of the Fremont Troll, is expected to bring out hundreds of performers and people on Halloween night (tonight!).

Come dressed up and take part in our costume walk across the final stage, under the Fremont Bridge, for the appreciation of your community.

The “Haunt of Fremont” route: starts at N 36^th St. and Troll Avenue N and end under the Fremont Bridge. Seattle Police will escort the procession. For those not participating, please note street closures from 4 – 8 p.m.: N 36^th Street adjacent to the Troll between Linden Avenue N and Whitman Avenue N.

(Thanks to Marcus for the picture)

Changes are coming to the Fremont area bus system and Metro Transit wants to make sure you’re ready. In less than a year, Metro Transit will replace Route 15 with the new RapidRide D line to improve efficiency of the transit system.

Photo courtesy King County
Other routes will also be affected by the introduction of RapidRide, including the 18 (.pdf), which will be transitioned to a Northgate/Ballard/Fremont/SLU route. Route 18 will also take over parts of Route 75.

On Thursday, November 3rd from 7 to 9 p.m., Metro is holding a meeting and open house at Adams Elementary (6110 28th Ave NW) for residents to learn more and ask questions.

Meeting Agenda:
7:00-7:45 Open house
7:45-8:00 Presentation
8:00-8:50 Small group dialogues and feedback
8:50-9:00 Next steps

For more information on Metro changes, click here.

A second draft of Seattle’s Shoreline Master Program has been released and in it are recommendations to limit the number of houseboats and to increase building setbacks by another 10 feet.

Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development announced the proposed changes this morning and are soliciting feedback from neighbors before a final draft is penned. The update revises all of Seattle’s shorelines including Lake Union/Ship Canal, the Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Green Lake and the Duwamish River.
The revisions focus on environmental protection while promoting public access. Included in the proposed revised regulations are:

• Prohibiting new floating homes and house barges
• Increasing shoreline setbacks for new residential development from 25feet to 35feet
• Prohibiting new hard shoreline bulkheads, such as concrete, unless there is the threat of water undermining a principle structure or substantial accessory structure within three years or the bulkhead is required for conducting water-related business activity
• Clarifying the use of shoreline environment for some non-water dependent uses when supporting water-dependent businesses
• Improving public access to the shoreline by encouraging the connection of public access

You can see the revisions by clicking here.

Written comments are being sought through Dec. 6. Please send your written comments to Margaret Glowacki at margaret.glowaci@seattle.gov or to the following address: 700 5th Ave. Ste. 2000, P.O. Box 34019, Seattle, WA 98124-4019

By Mwiza Kalisa

Ten 22 home, a vintage and modern furniture store, has opened on 4258 Fremont Ave. The store is located in between Hunger and Dot’s Delicatessen.

The shop offers a combination of Danish and American furniture from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, for ‘selective’ Fremont furniture collectors. Although the store has only been open for three weeks, some of the items are already in demand. Dressers and sideboards from the mid-century era are a favorite among customers. Vintage and modern lamps, tables and sofas are also on display.

Justin Ferguson, the owner, says that so far he’s received a warm response from the neighborhood. Ferguson, a Ballard native, says that Fremont was the perfect venue to open the store. “I’m excited to have the interaction with the customers as they experience the pieces that come into the store,” he said. Ferguson previously sold furniture online and worked in a store that sold vintage furniture in Magnolia.

The idea for opening the store stems from Ferguson’s interest in mid-century era furniture. In college he sold small items online to subsidize his living expenses. “That’s when I realized I could make a living out a passion,” he said. “That’s grown to a storefront and selling furniture.” Ferguson has been in the furniture industry for 12 years and has been dealing vintage and modern furniture for six years

Among a handful of vintage furniture shops in the Fremont area, Ferguson says that customers can expect high quality furniture at Ten 22 home. All the pieces are hand-picked and are part of his unique taste. “The overall experience is different than any other store that sells this type of furniture,” he said.

Ten 22 home is open 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday and by appointment Monday and Tuesday.

Brooks Sports, a leading running  shoe and apparel company, is planning a move to the Wallingford/Fremont area, relocating its global headquarters to the recently announced 3400 Stone project by Skanska USA Commercial Development. Given that it runs right along the Burke-Gilman Trail, that’s pretty perfect location. They’re expected to bring 300 jobs with them into the building sometime in late 2013.

As for that building, it’s been generating controversy amongst many in the community. The planned five-story green building has many Wallingford and Fremont residents thinking “too much, too big” for the area.

“I have mixed feelings. I like the concept of ‘living buildings.’ But I look at this particular building in this particular location, and it’s going to be way out of place.”

Many other residents are excited over what the building could mean for a part of town that “really doesn’t do much for the neighborhood.”

The city’s Northeast Design Review Board, an advisory group, is tentatively scheduled to examine the project Nov. 21 and a Wallingford community council hearing is scheduled for Nov. 29.

You love The Fremont Troll but you wish you had a miniature version that you could grow moss on top of…

Today is your day, friend.

Now available at Bartells Drug…The Chia Fremont Troll. He retails for $24.99 and 20% of the proceeds go to benefit the Fremont Arts Council.

Kudos to Steve Badanes, Will Martin and Ross Whitehead for working with the fine folks at Chia to make it happen.

It might sound strange, given all of the decaying or outdated hotels and motels dotting Aurora Avenue, but someone would like to build a brand new fancy one along that street as well.

Emerald Hospitality, a hotel management and consulting company, would like to build a four-story, 101-room hotel on the vacant lot at 3926 Aurora Ave. N.

Deemed the “Fremont Hub Urban Village” in their write-up, here’s how Emerald Hospitality describes the proposed complex:

A 4-story extended stay hotel building with public spaces on the ground floor and below grade parking. The project will consist of guestrooms on the 1st-4th floors. There will be a mix of studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom guestrooms. The below grade parking will be accessed from the alley. The hotel entry will be accessed by vehicles and pedestrians from Aurora Ave N.

Just so you know we’re not talking about another drive-thru motel, check out these drawings from their plans:

As examples of like-minded projects, the builders cite the Ballard Blocks and Holiday Inn in South Lake Union, amongst others.

Check out the extremely-detailed plans for the hotel here (PDF). In them, you might noticed that there are a couple different designs floating around. If you have an opinion on what makes the most sense for Fremont, make your voice be heard at a public design meeting tonight. Come to the University Heights Community Center (5031 University Way N.E.) at 6:30pm to find out more about the project and share your opinions.

Images courtesy of Clark Design Group.

At around 1:00 am early Sunday morning, a large fight broke out around the 3600 block of Dayton Ave. N. After shots were reportedly fired, police responded to the scene:

The multiple 911 calls stated that there was a large fight taking place and that one of the participants had fired a gun into the air.  A number of officers responded to the scene.  The first officers to arrive located the suspect and his car.  Officers conducted a high-risk stop on the vehicle and ended up detaining three suspects.  A gun was also recovered.  It was determined that the suspect had assaulted two separate victims by punching, kicking and pistol-whipping them.  The victims had non life-threatening injuries.  The primary suspect also sustained some minor injuries from the fight, he was treated at the hospital and later booked into the King County Jail.

H/T: Jenifer, Mark