Welcome to 2009 Hillites! Lots of development action going down on the hill this year and hopefully we can make sure it fits nicely into our quirky neighorhood.
January 21st brings a back-to-back Design Review meeting for two projects on the I-5 Shores.
The first is 1623 Bellevue:
An interesting little infill project, Roger Newell Architects is planning a 6-story 23 resident complex with a bit of retail at the bottom. What strikes me here is that there will only be 12 underground parking stalls. Its unusual to see even a 1:1 ratio of parking spots to residential units but this almost 1:2 ratio is absolutely unheard of (But much appreciated!). Check out the Design Proposal [9.1 MB] for more info.
The other project up for review is 1650 Olive Way, the infamous B&O replacement project.
In fact, the whole block, as well as the apartment building behind it will all be razed to make room for a 75-unit apartment complex with some retail at ground level (78 parking stalls in this guy). Unfortunately the Design Proposal isn’t online but NK Architects are designing the project. The uproar over the B&O has sparked a petition against this project. Check out 1650choices.org for more on that.
So if you want to help make sure these projects don’t suck, be sure to go to the Design Review Meetings:
Wednesday, January 21st
SCCC, Room 4106
6:30pm – 1623 Bellevue Review
8:00pm – 1650 Olive Way Review
Great Info, Thanks.
“So if you want to help make sure these projects don’t suck, be sure to go to the Design Review Meetings”
Umm..no. Design Review doesn’t make any difference. I have been to several, and even when EVERYONE hated the design–including the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, residents and business owners–not a single thing changed. They did not take anyone or anything into consideration. The developer got everything they wanted across the board.