Little Saigon owner sues Seattle over $30M property losses

A longtime Little Saigon property owner is suing the City of Seattle, alleging that its homelessness policies have devastated his family’s real estate investments.

Dennis L. Chinn filed a federal lawsuit seeking $30 million in damages, claiming city decisions turned the neighborhood into a center for homelessness and crime, and made his 2.5-acre Asian Plaza property on S. Jackson Street unsellable, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal .

Chinn’s complaint noted city policies led to shuttered businesses, a 2024 fire that destroyed his main building, and the collapse of a $21 million sale to a developer.