Group shaping $3M public safety plan around Broadway Crisis Center’s 2027 opening

An advisory panel formed to steer neighborhood planning for King County’s Central Crisis Care Center at Broadway and Union is already guiding the project, defining the boundaries to be studied for public safety investments and preparing to decide how to spend $3 million in county mitigation funds.

The Seattle Community Advisory Group grew out of political compromise surrounding Seattle City Hall’s conditional approval of the Capitol Hill facility.

While the need for citizen oversight was a major component of debate by the King County Council during deliberations over approval of the Crisis Center acquisition last year, the process of forming an advisory group to launch the process and prioritize the spending of the $3 million earmarked for the neighborhood was not spelled out.

In late 2025, after his defeat in the November election, then-Mayor Bruce Harrell made a series of last minute appointments to fill the advisory council and advised the county of the choices.

A person close to the process said the county “sat” on the list until newly elected Mayor Katie Wilson took office.

“Wilson had opportunity for changes,” the official told CHS, but her young administration never acted on the list. District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth also did not ask for any changes. The group began meeting in April.

Across four sessions between April and July, the panel worked to define what authority it holds, coordinate with police, and evaluate street-level impacts around the property.

The board’s six core community voting members are Heather Smith, Andrew Haas, Erin Reinhart, Matt Corsi, Scott McClellan, and David Selander.

Meetings also bring together municipal liaisons, department staff, and observers, including representatives from the King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) and King County Council staff. Seattle City Hall has provided a rep from the mayor’s office, health policy advisors, and community liaison Joe Elenbaas of the Seattle Police Department, plus occasional attendees including Hollingsworth’s chief of staff—but not Hollingsworth.

One person who has attended advisory group meetings said the process has been slower than hoped and has left some asking if the right people are in the room. There have also been frustrations in the layers of bureaucracy and decisions like the county’s choice to bring on a private consultant instead of working with SPD on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) components for the planning.

“Procedural items and discussions to date have focused on how the group can be most effective in their role and creating a charter,” a King County spokesperson said regarding the group’s early work. “The near-term goal (by the end of the year) is to conduct a gap analysis of the types of crisis response services near the future Crisis Care Center site so that the group members can make a decision about how they want to spend the $3 million. The SCAG meetings are open to the public and notice is on the SCAG website.”

CHS reported here on the 2025 approval of the $56 million plan to acquire the property, overhaul the building, and hire an operator for what is planned to be the second in a network of five county facilities providing 24-7 walk-in and emergency care mental health clinics funded by a 2023 voter-approved levy.

In November, CHS reported on the selection of Connections Health Solutions to operate the center.

The current advisory group board has not been publicly announced. Information like occupation and job titles from meeting documents reviewed by CHS were scrubbed of details like job titles and organizations. While municipal and agency attendees are identified by department, the board removed titles and professional affiliations for its six community members during its July 23 meeting.

Minutes for the meetings are posted here.

The advisory group includes a mix of backgrounds but leans heavily toward real estate and nearby institutions:

• Reinhart is part of the Circle the Blocks group that has been organizing neighborhood walking tours to support public safety and small businesses. In July, the group organized a walk to call for more public safety support and policing in the neighborhood in the wake of a burst of summer gun violence.
• Haas is a past member of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board and has worked as a Capital Projects Coordinator with the city.
• Smith represents 4N Associates, a Seattle real estate and property management firm.
• Corsi is a multifamily real estate developer and principal on the Pike Motorworks project.
• McClellan serves as Vice President for University Affairs at Seattle University.
• Selander serves as Interim Chief Medical Officer at Swedish and is also a Seattle U board member.

In addition to allocations around the $3 million funding pool, the advisory group will also be part of shaping a Good Neighbor Agreement with the provider. During its May 19 meeting, a county official clarified that the group holds the power to “concur on up to $3 million of King County funds (not up to $2 million)”. In July, county staff confirmed that this “$3M allocation” remains “available for allocation through the end of 2027.”

Hollingsworth led the call for the county to triple its planned budget for street and safety clean-up near the planned facility to $3 million. The advisory group is now shaping the plan on how that $3 million should be spent.

On July 23, the advisory group unanimously voted to approve its charter. The vote followed previous debate over Open Public Meetings Act rules, voting standards, and community fears that oversight would dissolve once the center opens. To prevent an abrupt end to community input, members added language “about revisiting how SCAG engagement may continue beyond one year after opening.”

Under the timeline adopted with the charter, members will review a full neighborhood gap analysis in October 2026, followed by a formal vote in December to allocate the $3 million.

Along the way, a second citizen advisory group is also planned to be formed to handle community issues around the facility. More on that planned hand-off and the $3 million process around already underway soon.

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