We've hit the two-week mark until the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the SoDo arena proposal is released to the public. For those who might not have seen our story earlier in the week on the tweaks to the SoDo arena designs, we'd just like to reiterate that we spoke with the Seattle Department of Planning and Development last Friday and confirmed that the FEIS is on schedule to be published May 7th.

Last Thursday, the Sonics Arena team presented those tweaks and information on the urban design merit and public benefit of the project to the Seattle Design Commission. The Seattle Department of Transportation has also begun reviewing materials on the project. Both agencies will present important recommendations to the city council regarding vacating the portion of Occidental Ave S that currently cuts through the arena site.

On May 21st, the SDC will vote to decide their recommendation on the merit of the urban design. Then, on June 18th, the SDC will vote on what to recommend to the council on the public benefit of the street vacation and the arena project. SDOT's recommendation is expected in Q3.

Things are heating up. Keep rallying, my friends!