Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/672196
28 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | MAY / JUNE 2016 P U B L I C S P A C E S Jon Scholes has twin 6-year-olds, but that's not the reason he likes going to the park. As President & CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, Jon spends a lot of time thinking about how to make Seattle's inner-city open spaces better. That includes Westlake Park, an always-shifting mix that in recent years has grabbed newspaper headlines good and bad. An advocate for a better downtown Seattle JON SCHOLES Last year, the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) partnered with the city to set up outdoor table tennis and foosball at Westlake Park as well as to put on public events, including art installations, free fitness classes, and summer concerts. That trial one-year agreement may soon extend to five years. "We want to flood these spaces with activities and events seven days a week," Jon said on a gusty spring morning at Westlake. As we spoke, he looked around at a rare sight, a nearly empty plaza. Return with the sun, or even the clouds and no rain, and you'll see a space brimming with More about the DSA: downtownseattle.com/DSA people. It wasn't so long ago that open drug deals ruled this tree-dotted triangle at the intersection of 4th and Pine, three blocks from the WAC. Living downtown Since the DSA took over management, crime has fallen and family users have increased. "It's been a really great success in creating welcoming, inviting, active spaces for everyone," Jon says. The DSA focuses exclusively on downtown, using public policy advocacy, economic development, and marketing to create a healthy and vibrant place to live, work and play. We're at a historic level of private investment in downtown," Jon says. "What we see today is going to be very different three or four years from now." Jon joined the WAC in September 2014. Two months later, he was promoted to the DSA's top spot after four years as the group's vice president of advocacy and economic development. He walks the talk, living downtown with his wife, Erin, a dermatologist at The Polyclinic, and their son and daughter. His commute: two blocks. "It just made all the sense in the world for us to be here," he says. At last count, 67,000 people live downtown. That's roughly 10 percent of the city's population. City ambassadors About 700 organizations, including the WAC, belong to the DSA. Perhaps the most visible aspect of the DSA are its Metropolitan Improvement District ambassadors, funded Dive deeper into downtown demographics: downtownseattle.com/resources/demographicsgraph