It was perfect weather for the annual trick or treat event in the Magnolia Village.  The kids and grown ups showed up in full force in great costumes.  A special thanks to the Village merchants who make this event so much fun for everyone.

And a big thank you to Steven Smalley who took these great pictures! 

Happy Halloween everyone!

Discovery Park just grew in size. The City of Seattle officially took possession of the old Capehart housing development earlier this week.  The former Navy housing units were demolished earlier this year (pictured below).

The Parks department is now working to turn the area back into its natural state with meadows and forest thickets.  A public hearing on the work will be held November 10 from 7pm to 8pm at the Discovery Park Environmental Learning Center.  To learn more about the restoration efforts, click here.

Wondering which of your neighbors will be giving out candy this Halloween?  Ballard resident John Tynes created a trick or treat map to show which homes in the neighborhood will open their doors to trick or treaters Sunday night.  Since it was such a great idea, the map has been expanded to include Magnolia, Queen Anne, and North Seattle.  Before Sunday rolls around, you should see a lot more blue dots outside the Ballard area.  Just click here to see the current map and follow the directions on the left column to add your house (Google account required to edit map).

The investigative team at KING 5 is reporting that old military ammunition, some dating back to World War II and earlier, has been found at the bottom of Smith Cove.  In April, a Port of Seattle Police dive team found empty shell casings in the waters around Pier 91.  In September, divers brought up training rounds and projectiles.  While most did not contain explosives, KING reports a few had live rounds with high explosive material and that some live munitions were brought to the surface when a cruise ship was docked above.

You can check out KING’s coverage here.  They’re promising more tonight starting at 5pm.

Here is an interesting open house.  The public is invited to see Modern Shed’s latest backyard office structure, located in a Magnolia neighborhood. This 10 x 12 building is situated in a previously unused area of the owner’s yard and it is being used for office space.

You can check it out on Saturday (10/30) from 11a.m. to 1 p.m.  You need to  email scott@modern-shed.com or call at 206-234-9779 to receive the address.

They promise information about the costs of the structures at the open house.  We did a check on the Modern Shed website and a building like this one starts at just about $13,000 and prices increase for the larger units.  The one shown here is 10’ by 12’ and its fully insulated.  It can be completed in just a couple of days.

Reporter Meg Coyle from KING 5 news was at Our Lady of Fatima School  in Magnolia for her story about the art of cursive writing.  It seems that many schools are not focusing on cursive but its alive and well at Fatima.  The story featured  Fatima principal Susan Burdett and third grade teacher Maureen Tellefson.  Watch it here.

If anyone is missing their dog tonight..we just got this note from Jo:

I found a small, light brown, female dog running south on 22nd Ave. W at 5:30 tonight.  She has a nice blue bandana on.  I took her to the pound at 6:00 pm.

If you know anything about this dog, contact the Seattle Animal Shelter at (206) 386-7387.

The Department of Ecology is responding to a report of a small oil spill originating from Fishermen’s Terminal and extending into Salmon Bay. The department told KIRO 7 that it looks to be “tens of gallons,” and investigators have yet to determine where it’s coming from.

An aerial view from KIRO’s helicopter (above) shows a sheen on the water at the Terminal. We’ll update as we learn more.

The big event is just a few days away.  We wanted to remind everyone that Trick or Treat in The Village on McGraw Street is set for this Friday (10/29) from 4 to 6p.m.   That includes the popular blow up haunted house in the Magnolia Garden Center parking lot at 32nd Ave West and Smith Street across from ACE Hardware.  

The Garden Center haunted house always draws a big crowd.

Kids and grown ups too will be in full costume and McGraw Street will be closed to traffic so the kids can safely collect candy from the generous merchants in The Village.

Also, the fourth annual haunted house designed, constructed, and operated by the Magnolia Mission Youth will be set up at the Magnolia Lutheran Church at 2414 31st Ave West.  The haunted house is open from 4 to 7p.m.  Admission is free, and donations are accepted. 

New at the haunted house this year is the not-so-scary time for younger children or anyone who prefers a milder Haunted House experience from 4 to 5:30p.m..  Then, from 5:30 to 7p.m. the haunted house will get darker and spookier. 

Its expected that close to one thousand people will attend this year’s trick or treat and the shops and restaurants in The Village spend hundreds of dollars buying candy and treats for this event.  Make sure to thank them by shopping local as we head into the holiday season.

Each month we ask Magnolia Voice real estate expert Whitney Mason from Coldwell Banker Bain Associates to bring us the latest on the real estate market  in our area.

Mason says that looking at closed sales for Magnolia year-to-date through September as compiled by Rainier Title, there has been a 39% increase in the number of sales of single family residences (SFR) as compared to 2009. 

According to statistics compiled from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service,  the median sales price is up by 7% from $533,000 in 2009 to $570,000. For Magnolia condos, there has been a 24% increase in the number of closed sales to date as compared to 2009, with the median sales price up by 24% as well from $315,000 to $390,000.

September 2010 sales prices for the 18 SFR sales ranged from $205,500 to $1,050,000. Sales prices during the same month for the six condo sales ranged from $127,000 to $380,000.

As of Oct. 26, there were 41 pending SFR sales and two pending condo sales. There were a total of 112 single family residences  available for sale in Magnolia ranging in asking price from $189,000 to $7,975,000, and 27 condos ranging in asking price from $124,000 – $550,000 .  About one-third of the active SFR listings are on the market at $1 million or higher.

Here is a fun way to raise money for Magnolia’s Discovery Park.  The Noble Fir in Ballard will host Pints for Parks Wednesday night (10/27).  For every pint sold after 6:30pm until closing time, $1 will be donated to Discovery Park habitat restoration.  The Noble Fir is located in old Ballard at 5316 Ballard Ave NW.

The Nickelsville homeless tent camp is supposed to move out of its current location in the U-District on November 15.  But instead of being forced to find another temporary home, it could soon have a permanent one in Magnolia.

Nickelsville camp currently in the U-District

A citizens panel appointed by Mayor McGinn recommends that Seattle put a permanent homeless encampment on city land within a month and open up parks and the basement of City Hall to people with nowhere else to sleep. 

KING 5 and our news partner the Seattle Times report the potential sites include two in the Magnolia/Interbay area. One location is on city property under the Magnolia Bridge next to the playfield (1451 23rd Ave W) and the other is the Interbay substation at 3222 17th Ave W.  The remaining sites are in Haller Lake, West Seattle, and South Seattle.

The citizens panel will now look over the list and make its recommendation.  You may remember that Nickelsville spent time in Discovery Park back in 2008.  We’ll continue to track developments and bring you reaction throughout the week.

Red Mill Burgers in Interbay could soon have a lot of new neighbors.  A mixed use development is being planned at 3040 17th Ave West.  The proposed building would have five floors of residential units over street level retail and parking. 

 
Current site at 3040 17th Ave West

Currently, the lot is made up of a small warehouse and old machinery for sale.  The proposed complex would be called Interbay Apartments with 220 to 240 residential units, 160 to 200 parking stalls, and 4000 square feet of commercial space. 

Image of the preferred design from City of Seattle/Fish Mackay Architects

We have calls in to the developer to find out more about the project and we’ll keep you posted.  In the meantime, the community is invited to attend a design meeting to learn more about the development (pdf file).  It will take place Wednesday, November 3 at 6:30pm at the Queen Anne Community Center.

Here is an item from the forum that we wanted to share with everyone to see if we can find the owner of this dog.

Paige writes:  I found a sweet poodle dog, about five years old, female named Missy. She is wee, and maybe 10 pounds.  I found her on Rosemont Pl. W and McGraw…like around the triangle area where Westmont meets it.  I had to take her to the Humane Society. She is micro chipped, hence why I know her name is Missy and that she is five. They said it did come back to a Magnolia number, but the info isn’t public (name, address etc).  If you know who this sweetheart belongs too, PLEASE let them know she is at the Humane Society on 15th Ave West,, just north of the Magnolia Bridge.

Paige also wants to thank everyone who helped her catch Missy as the lost dog was running in front of cars.   If you know anything about this dog, contact the Seattle Animal Shelter at 206) 386-7387.