Bickel
Two major investments are headed towards Chinatown International District (CID) and Pioneer Square.
First, on March 25, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1408 was signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson, allocating 30% of retail sales tax from stadiums to sustain Historic South Downtown (HSD) until 2037.
HSD is a government entity created in 2007 to preserve and develop the Pioneer Square and CID neighborhoods. It is estimated that HSD will now receive $2.7 million annually as a result of the bill’s passage, with no new taxes. The bill was primarily sponsored by state Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos.
“The revenue will support housing stability projects, safety improvements, small businesses, and neighborhood revitalization efforts where state and local policies have historically contributed to intractable social and economic inequities,” Santos wrote in a statement published on social media.
Kathleen Johnson is the executive director of HSD and has worked to pass a sustainable funding bill since 2021, when they began working with the Department of Revenue. According to Johnson, community stakeholders were convened and developed a list of 12 options to create a sustainable funding pipeline. The group reached a consensus to divert a third of the sales and use taxes collected at the stadiums and pass it on.
“It doesn’t raise taxes on anyone…if you go into the stadium and you buy your garlic fries or your ferry boat, and whatever tax you already paid on that, a third of that is diverted to the neighborhoods through us,” Johnson said.
Before the passage of the bill, HSD was in a financial pinch. Ordinarily, HSD receives $2 million in funding per biennium. According to Johnson, in 2025, they received a $500,000 allocation that was supposed to last until June of 2027, which was a 75% cut.
Jamie Lee is the co-executive director of the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) and supported HSD in lobbying for the passage of the bill in the state legislature.
“The intent of Historic South Downtown is that it was created in response to large infrastructure projects that were happening around the stadium neighborhoods, and that this organization was supposed to help mitigate kind of those impacts on these communities,” Lee said. “So it kind of seemed like a good synergy to have the revenue from the stadiums actually fund this.”
One of the programs that will be funded by the passage of the bill is HSD’s grantmaking. According to Johnson, the request-for-proposal process will open in September 2026.
“This is something that a lot of folks are going to apply for and something that is going to be in high demand,” she said. “We haven’t really been able to do robust grant making since 2023, but I think, if there’s real demand built up, there’s always more demand than we can meet.”
According to Lee, SCIDpda is planning to apply for a grant, which could focus on projects such as unreinforced masonry, which addresses older structures with load-bearing without steel reinforcing. There are many historic buildings in the CID that need retrofitting that SCIDppa will be undertaking.
The other new investment coming to the neighborhood is from the CID Vision Group. This is organized by the Chinatown International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA), which announced the recipients of its Small Business Grant and Public Activation Grant, which will support local small businesses and community development projects. This funding is from the City of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods.
Among the awardees for the Small Business Grant are Hood Famous Café + Bar, Mike’s Noodle House and Theatre Off Jackson. The Public Activation Grant was awarded to organizations such as A Resting Place, Filipinotown Seattle, Japantown Neighbors, and Massive Monkees. You can view the full list on the CIDBIA website.
Amy Chen Lozano is a CID advocate, a board member of HSD, and part of the grantmaking committee.
“A lot of the businesses [said] we need a new freezer. We need a new refrigerator. We need advertisements. And those are all things that were tangible, that we were really happy that we’re able to help out with,” said Chen Lozano. “There’s just so much need in this community.”
Despite the incoming investments to these community-based organizations, advocates such as Chen Lozano say that it should not be the only solution considered for long-term root causes of systemic inequities.
“My hope is that people don’t see it as a way of replacing the basic responsibilities and duties that the state, city and county should already be addressing,” Chen Lozano said. “Yes, we have money coming in for funding to help our district, but at the same time, this is not a replacement for the duties and responsibilities of our local government agencies who should be doing what they’re doing to support our neighborhoods.”
Hong Ta (she/her) is a news writer from South Seattle and grew up going to the CID, specifically in Little Saigon. She graduated from the University of Puget Sound with degrees in Political Science and Spanish. You can read more of her work at thienhongta.com.
