An alley from Blanchard to Bell in Seattle is estimated at being worth $4.8M. Amazon wants the alley that will run between two of their towers, but the public owns it. Accommodations must be made when public spaces relinquish some control to private owners; and when the private owner is a major corporation there is a lot to say and a lot to hear. Being able to hear and say things the company doesn't like is one of the issues. Can people protest against the company that owns the land where the protest is held, especially when the land had been public? For their roughly $4.8M, Amazon gets to use the space, and also gets to improve it as open space, and access for pedestrians and bicyclists. As Seattle's density increases, such negotiations will become more common, and the standards will have to be reconsidered, reworked, and revised. It also sounds like the markets for alleys may be worth more than most people thought.
· Seattle council votes to give Amazon alley for plaza, addresses free-speech fears [ST]
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