This afternoon my family and I visited the Sanctuary Apartments at the Landing. They run from $925 for a studio, to about $1900 for their most expensive unit with the best view. So far, about 30 units are occupied, about 60 more are ready for occupancy, and the remaining 350 units in the Sanctuary will be ready soon. Meanwhile, the adjacent project, called “The Reserve” is a few months later in the process. It will feature more lake views, and prices will be slightly higher. All together, there will be 880 units, with two swimming pools, and two groups of common spaces. (One for The Sanctuary, one for The Reserve).

The common areas at the Sanctuary include outdoor swimming pool, second floor garden (not yet planted), clubhouse with bar, coffee bar, business center, workout room, game room, and general sitting/visiting areas. All of it is very inviting, and will provide vibrant social living spaces for the residents.

The apartments themselves are beautiful, and provide some unique views of the Landing, Boeing, the Airport mountains, the lake (in a few cases), parks, and city lights.

To me, one of the most attractive qualities of all is the proximity to restaurants and the park. A quick walk through the Landing will offer just about any environment and food choices the residents may want, to mingle, visit, dine, etc. And Coulon Park, our most beautiful park with a mile of meticulously groomed lakefront, is just a few minutes walk from the Sanctuary, so there is something for everyone.

These apartments are sure to be a hit. Here are pictures from tonight’s visit. They are open daily until about 7:00 PM, although they close a bit earlier on Sunday.

In addition to offering tremendous housing options, these apartments will also help the Landing maintain a bustling nightlife, and together with the Boeing day crowd, ensure the restaurants and shops have plenty of core customers in addition to those of us in the surrounding parts of town.

And a quick pizza dinner at the Rock completes the afternoon… READ MORE »

I was down at the Landing with my camera today. I shot a few pictures of the Landing’s “Rock Wood Fired Pizza” location, since I blogged about it in this entry on Friday. Here are my pictures:

It seemed like half the Harley Davidson riders in the state were on-hand today for the Grand Opening of the huge new Downtown Harley Davidson of Renton showroom and store.

Their new store is located in Renton at 3715 East Valley Rd., and their Harley showroom houses a brand new, state of the art, Harley-Davidson Dealership, which is one of a kind in the entire Pacific N.W. It is 90,000 square ft. including the Service Department & Storage, with room to hold events, conferences and more.

They were having a huge party and barbecue today, which was pulling in Harley fans from all over the Northwest. The display of bikes in and out of the showroom was beautiful, with Harley Davidson motorcycles literally on parade throughout the parking lot.

From mingling with the crowd, it was clear to me that Harley Davidson has about the highest brand loyalty I’ve seen for anything, anywhere.

We are happy to welcome this great new dealership into our city. Here are some shots from today’s ribbon cutting and events:

Mayor Denis Law cuts the ribbon, with store ownership and council members, and hundreds and hundreds of Harley Davidson enthusiasts, in attendance

Sooooo, time out from issue posting.

If you know Cathy, or you are just sympathetic for her since she is married to me, please feel free to wish her a happy birthday in the comment section . I’ll make sure she sees it.

An American folk singer and an airplane designer hanging out in Wichita

I’m a big fan of folk singer Arlo Guthrie. While he is most widely known for the songs “Alice’s Restaurant” and “City of New Orleans”, he’s recorded many albums full of great original tunes, and he records and performs a seemingly endless portfolio of tunes he inherited from his father–folk legend Woody Guthrie. He has performed with every major folk singer in America, and he even performed at Woodstock forty years ago.

So it was a nice surprise for me to discover that Arlo Guthrie and I were both staying at the Broadview Hotel in Wichita Kansas last week. I was there on airplane business, and he was performing at Wichita’s Orpheum Theater.

I got to catch his performance, and even had a chance to chat with him at the hotel.

His show was full of great music and great stories, and the family-filled audience enthusiastically laughed at his constant humorous anecdotes and sang along with all the familiar tunes. And I left the concert inspired to be more peaceful and appreciative, the way I always leave his shows.

Here’s one of my favorite you-tube recordings, with Arlo Guthrie and his close friend Pete Seeger singing Woody Guthrie’s tune “This Land is your Land, in 1993.

And, for those of you that are Arlo Guthrie fans like me, you may enjoy the tune below, which he explained was one of the very last ones his father wrote while in the hospital struggling with the final stages of Huntington’s disease. The lyrics are Woody’s, the music is Arlo’s. Arlo Guthrie ended the Wichita concert with this number, with the audience singing along.