It looks like Seattle may be losing one of its most historic music venues in the near future.
According to Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, a group of developers from Vancouver, B.C. has filed plans to build over the site of The Showbox and replace the storied venue with a 44-story tower. The tower will have commercial spaces, underground parking and 442 residential spaces. There is no timeline yet for when, or if, the plans will be approved and development will begin.
The Showbox, which is operated by concert and events promotions company AEG, opened in 1939 and has hosted thousands of concerts and events. The club’s excellent sight lines and acoustics combined with its limited capacity of 1,147 create enjoyable and intimate atmospheres for concerts. It is one of the largest clubs in Seattle and in 2011 Billboard Magazine named the venue one of the 10 most influential clubs in North America.
This isn’t the first time in recent years that a club operated by AEG has been in the news for development purposes. In 2012 hedge fund manager Chris Hansen purchased the land where Showbox SoDo sits in an attempt to secure land in the area where he wanted to build a basketball arena.
