Sisley properties continue to plague neighborhood around Roosevelt High School

SEATTLE — The city has plans to take a plot of land owned by an infamous landlord and turn it into either a park or housing, but neighbors around Roosevelt High School said the project does not solve the issue of Hugh Sisley’s remaining properties that have been sitting derelict for decades.

Sisley owes more than $3 million in fines for code violations on various properties throughout the city. City leaders proposed exchanging that amount for these parcels near the school to make more productive use of the space. But an attorney for Mr. Sisley said that deal has not been worked out yet.

At the same time, dozens of other Sisley parcels sit bordering the high school, some that are abandoned and occasionally house squatters.

When Melissa Westbrook was invited to shadow police one time as they entered one of the houses, she saw “human filth everywhere, there were rat droppings, the police had to hold me back in another room because they found another person lying there whom they weren't sure had overdosed or was dead.”

Some of the parcels are being leased by Roosevelt Development Group, which intends to build a mixed-use development.

“They’ve been working with us very well to try and remove three of those derelict single-family homes sooner than when they actually plan to begin construction on their mixed use development,” said Bryan Stevens, a spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.

Stevens said RDG will tear down three buildings later this fall.

Even in an area where new housing affordability recommendations suggest profitable upzoning to allow taller buildings, Sisley may not have incentive to sell, given that the money he owes is in the form of liens to be paid before any sale, according to the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.

“That would solve a lot of problems if we had some new ownership,” Stevens said.

The city attorney’s office said the next option is to go to court for what’s called supplemental proceedings, which will determine how much cash Sisley has to pay his fines. Then the city can pursue seizure of his land.

Megan Ryan, a rising senior at Roosevelt High School, said she’s seen the blight around the campus for as long as she can remember.

“I remember it, when I was a little kid. And we used to take the bus from Boys and Girls Club down to downtown. It’s been like this forever, and I hate it,” Ryan said.

She said she wished someone could clear the space and create something new.

KIRO