Seattle nightclub El Corazon, site of Pearl Jam's first show, is definitely getting demolished

Eddie Vedder, left, and Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam play at the Off Ramp, a long-gone dive bar and punk club in Seattle, on Feb. 26, 1991. Eddie Vedder, left, and Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam play at the Off Ramp, a long-gone dive bar and punk club in Seattle, on Feb. 26, 1991. Photo: Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images Photo: Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Seattle nightclub El Corazon, site of Pearl Jam's first show, is definitely getting demolished 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

The 120-year-old building that houses Seattle's El Corazon, where Pearl Jam played its first ever live shows under the name Mookie Blaylock, will be demolished in favor of two residential towers.

A brief post on a Department of Neighborhoods blog confirmed the plans and said El Corazon and the Funhouse would move into the new building once it is complete, though it was unclear how developers would make it reasonable for a nightclub to coexist in a residential building.

SeattlePI first reported the story in February, after city records showed an application on file for a demolition permit (that has since been issued). Multiple calls and emails to the owner of the nightclub, Dana Sims, were not returned, but the architect named on filings confirmed that the building would be demolished once the property was sold.

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Sims, however, did speak with a reporter at The Stranger at the time, and unequivocally denied that there were any plans to demolish the building.

"There are no plans to demolish El Corazon and put a new tower in its place," Sims told The Stranger.

Oddly, while Sims is named in permit filings as the owner, property records with King County show it is owned by Eastlake East Associates, LLC, a property investment LLC headed by Pete Sikov, a well-known local real estate developer.

The lot including El Corazon was appraised last year at $5.28 million by the county.

Sims again did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Friday night, SeattlePI received a statement on Sims' behalf came from consultant Natalie Quick.

The statement confirmed that a new building would be built in place of the old venue.

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Vancouver-based Arbutus Properties will develop the new residential towers, according to Friday's post. The firm is already in the process of developing another lot across Stewart Street from the nightclub, where a 44-story tower is set to go up. Plans for that development were first reported last July — and confirmed by Arbutus at the time.

"We've been planning to expand into Seattle and waiting for the right opportunity — this key South Lake Union site is challenging, but it gives us the opportunity to be very creative while also being responsive to the surrounding community," Arbutus Properties President Jeff Drexel said in a statement, reported by Bisnow on July 30, 2018. "With Vancouver as our headquarters, Seattle is a natural expansion market for us and we're excited to explore additional opportunities in and around the Seattle area as its strong population growth continues."

In Sims' Friday statement, he said Arbutus's plans for the nearby building weren't announced until this past February, and that at the time, El Corazon's "plans were to remain as we are," despite permit filings and his own architect saying otherwise.

Sims, who is not named in King County property records or state corporate records for Eastlake East Associates, LLC, said he was not selling the property, but instead entering into a joint venture agreement with Arbutus "where I will be able to make sure that these clubs continue to operate and serve the music community for many years to come."

In the statement, Sims also said he expected both El Corazon and The Funhouse to continue operating in the venue for "the next few years...and possibly more." The demolition permit, issued on March 25, expires on Sept. 25, 2020, though it's likely it could be renewed.

Formerly called Graceland, The Off Ramp Cafe, Sub-Zero, and Cafe Au Go Go, the El Corazon club has been a music venue and/or bar in Seattle since 1910, according to El Corazon's website.

But the club gained notoriety during the grunge years, as The Off Ramp, where bands such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and Alice In Chains had early shows and tried out material before taking it on the road.

At a tribute to Chris Cornell in 2017, KEXP DJ Riz Rollins recalled meeting Cornell in the bathroom of The Off Ramp.

"Dude was fi-ine!" Rollins said of Cornell, who was likely there for the first Pearl Jam show in 1990.

The club always represented the grittier side of Seattle venues. It was infamous for years for having a pole, possibly supporting the second floor, that was right in front of the stage. But it was loved by locals, particularly during a period when it hosted late night food for a period of time. In the years since grunge moved on, it has been a staple of both local and touring punk and metal fans.

Constructed in part prior to 1895, the building has undergone two major remodels and expansions over the years, leaving little of the original structure intact, according to documents filed with the demolition permit application.

An assessment by The Johnson Partnership found that the building did not meet any of the criteria for it to be named a City of Seattle Landmark.

Another well-known Seattle venue, the Showbox at the Market, is under consideration for such status after a developer filed plans last July to raze the 79-year-old club and build a tower of luxury apartments in its place. But Seattle music lovers came out in droves to oppose the plans and the City Council temporarily expanded the Pike Place Historic district to include the building. Historic Seattle has since taken the lead on a push to get the city to consider giving the building landmark status, which could at least preserve part or all of the building's facade.

Just this week, it came out that the building's owners and city officials were close to an agreement that would stay the fate of the Showbox for another six months while they seek alternatives to developing the site.