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2025 Beer & Culture Series

These free public panel discussions were used to discuss how to best use $2.2 million in federal and state grants for planning lids over I-5 in Downtown Seattle. The three panels consisted of:

B+C #1 Creating a Vision (January 15, 2025 @ Mithun Architecture):

Dorothy Faris, ASLA, partner at Mithun (moderator)
Ben Franz, partner and senior project manager at Shiels Obletz Johnsen
Shannon Nichol, FASLA, founding principal at GGN
Donna Moodie, chief impact officer & ecodistrict executive director at Urban League of Seattle

B+C #3 Urban Integration (February 19, 2025 @ Town Hall Seattle):

Sally Bagshaw, previous Seattle City Councilmember (moderator)
Julie Meredith, WSDOT Secretary
Sung Yang, principal at Pacific Public Affairs
Lyle Bicknell, Seattle OPCD senior urban designer, retired

B+C #2 Building Partnerships (April 17, 2025 @ Wing Luke Museum):

Patrick Gordon, AIA, principal at ZGF Architects (moderator)
An Huynh, director of community development at SCIDpda
Marcus Courtney, strategist at Pyramid Communications
Marshall Foster, director at Seattle Center

The Lid I-5 team developed these 10 takeaways from the series.

Leverage urgency. While Lid I-5 is a great idea, the scale of the project requires a strong reason for political and fiscal urgency, like how the 2001 earthquake started conversations on the future of the Seattle waterfront. WSDOT’s I-5 Master Plan, and the earthquake vulnerabilities of I-5 that need to be fixed, are currently the best opportunities for leverage with multiple government agencies and the broader community.
Build on legacy. Tap into Seattle’s history of big civic initiatives and community spirit – ranging from the rebuilding after the 1889 Great Fire to the 1962 World’s Fair and the current buildout of light rail. This community sees the value of infrastructure and we are willing to pay for it, even during economic downturns.
Storytelling and messaging. Storytelling and narrative will be an important campaign component and needs to be well-funded. People like to be part of something big that shapes the future, and the project vision also needs to articulate the smaller details of how people’s daily lives can be improved in multiple ways. The project cannot just be promoted only by the project sponsors and needs to be carried by the general public.
Bottom-up planning. The vision needs to be anchored in the community, which might require opening up the process in uncomfortable ways, but also needs to be informed by realistic technical expectations. Community members and experts should be working together from the start. Provide compensation for community leaders that get highly involved.
Political coalition building. Planning and coalition-building are cheap at a time when state and federal capital funding is scarce. Use this time to build as broad a base of support as possible, especially with Seattle’s three power centers in business, labor unions, and environmentalists. Find ways to solve problems for multiple constituencies. Elected leaders are more likely to be interested and go out on a limb when divergent groups are unified on an idea.
Chinatown-International District. Engaging with the CID neighborhood requires research on past planning efforts, reaching out early to multiple types of stakeholders, and clearly explaining how this large project of citywide significance will benefit the neighborhood residents. I-5 cannot be lidded through the entire neighborhood unless the freeway is rebuilt below ground level, so it is time to have a community conversation about the broader solutions for solving I-5’s impacts.
Design a vibrant place. The topography and intersecting street grid make the site an exciting urban design challenge. Whatever the ultimate use of the new “land” is, the project needs to be well-integrated into the existing neighborhoods and contribute to an active street environment. Consider the small details. Make a plan for sustainable maintenance and inclusive programming so that people feel ownership and pride.
Build for locals. The project should benefit the Seattleites who live here today and who want to live here in the future, and not cater exclusively to tourists. This includes intentional listening to the community during the planning and design process, ensuring accessibility for all ages and abilities, and proactively addressing the risk of displacement and gentrification.
Flexible implementation. Unless the lid is built all at once with an I-5 rebuild, it is most likely to be built in phased pieces. Collective agreement should be reached on what areas are the priority and should be built first. Embrace emerging or unexpected opportunities to advance parts of the project.
Stewardship and governance. The Seattle waterfront planning process and leadership was highly successful and lessons should be applied to the lid project. That started with a City-recruited committee (still active today), from which emerged the nonprofit Friends of Waterfront Park and the government Office of Waterfront Seattle. As a result, the new waterfront park spaces are well-designed, well-funded, and well-managed for the future.