By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

All the changes sweeping across the lower hill are worrisome to some residents, who fear more cars, higher rents and congestion. Others welcome the public and private investments.

They point out that projects such as the new Larry's Market fit in nicely and have not generated the kind of traffic woes that some residents predicted. The Larry's development on Mercer Street is served by an underground parking garage. It opened in February 1995 after the developers tore down the old brick Hanson Baking Co. and added the grocery store, a small McDonald's, Bartell Drugs, a Seattle's Best Coffee outlet and several other shops.

The half-square-mile lower Queen Anne neighborhood has lagged behind the rest of the hill, with its more fashionable shops, restaurants and boutiques. And that was OK.

Lower Queen Anne residents like their neighborhood, which has always had room for print shops, taverns, insurance agencies, union locals and working-class folks.

As longtime business owner Vivian Kahn sees it, "there's just a real sense of community here."

For 16 years, Kahn has run The Mailbox on lower Queen Anne. While occasionally a Seattle Sonics player walks in, most customers are just regular folks who live or work on lower Queen Anne. "It's the kind of place where you get to know the clerks," Kahn says.

It also has its lesser-known charms, including the Queen Anne community hall, which A Contemporary Theatre recently sold toOn the Boards. Founded in 1978, On the Boards is known for its presentation of contemporary dance, theater and music. The organization is renovating ACT's old home, which should be ready for performances in about a year.

On the Boards will use the first floor for retail space. One of its first tenants will be The Crane Gallery, formerly of Pioneer Square.

Continued:

• Gentrification is in full swing
• Upscale eateries invading bastion of old-style diners