Encampment takes over site of former Beacon Hill Burger King that burned down
SEATTLE — A cluster of RVs now sits on top of the site where two restaurants and a gas station used to operate in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Neighbors have expressed repeated concerns about crime connected to encampments on the property at 2025 Rainier Ave South after a Burger King and a 7-11 both burned down.
Currently, at least seven RVs are now on the site of the former Burger King, as well as tents and vehicles in the encampment.
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“We were staying in our car for months - me and my friend we moved here in her trailer," said Yunique, a woman who is living at the encampment with her 8-month-old son.
Yunique said she understands the safety concerns of the neighborhood and she doesn't leave her trailer after dark. “We don’t just wake up and say ‘Oh, we want to live in a trailer', I just want my son to feel stable," she said.
The people in the encampment told KOMO News they have not been given notices to leave and they are hoping to be able to stay for a while.
In the last year, multiple fires forced the closure of a Burger King and 7-Eleven gas station on the property. A Baskin Robbins ice cream shop also closed after its building was damaged during a fire, as well.
“I certainly worry that it is going to drive away business," said Shawn Mason, who owns a furniture store on Rainier Ave. “We’ve been in this location for 15 years, and it’s just mind boggling how much it’s changed. People come up to me and ask me if I’m leaving because of everything going on here, and I have no intention of doing that.”
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A 29-year-old man was shot and killed near the encampment in January.
A mechanic shop across the street from the encampment has closed as well, and the building has been vandalized.
The property itself is currently listed for sale at $ 16 million.
David Irons, a real estate agent representing the property owner, told KOMO News on Tuesday that the site is currently in the process of being sold to a developer that plans to build low-income housing units.
