Popular Capitol Hill cocktail lounge relocating after 60 percent rent hike

SEATTLE — One of Capitol Hill's most popular nightclubs tells us a near $10,000 rent raise is forcing them out.  The owner of Purr says it's just another case of gentrification.

Small businesses in the Central District that are part of Africa Town say they're being replaced by bigger businesses with deeper pockets.  Likewise on Capitol Hill, new, expensive commercial and residential buildings are popping up everywhere so long-time renters like Purr say they have to relocate.

Owner Barbie Roberts says she opened Purr cocktail lounge on Capitol Hill 12 years ago to sell more than just drinks; she was selling an atmosphere where people could feel comfortable.

"That's where the whole name Purr came from because that's how my cats feel when they're purring," Roberts told us.  But now Purr will be purring somewhere else.

"It's going to be at the old Montlake Ale House. It's going to be still a cocktail lounge with more emphasis on food," Roberts explained.

Roberts said that wasn't the original plan though.  Her landlord Matt Basta wants to raise her rent 60-percent from nearly $14,000 a month to nearly $24,000 a month.  Roberts says it's gentrification at work on Capitol Hill.

"More people are coming to this part of the city and the rents are just astronomical and lot of small business owners are being forced out because it has grown and it has changed," Roberts explained.

Matt Basta is out of town but told us over the phone that gentrification is inevitable.  He says he went through it in Belltown; he raised the rent for the hair salon leasing his building there but that business stayed.

Roberts recognizes growth and expansion is good for the area-- she just wonders if it's the wrong kind of growth and expansion.

"For small business owners to afford those kinds of rents, I’m not sure how they can make it," she concluded.

Basta says he already has a new tenant to replace Purr, another gay bar, he says willing to pay the higher rent, which he says is fair market value.

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