The arrival of the wrecking+preservation backhoes are a long time off but the old auto row showroom and garage at Broadway at Union moved a little closer to development last week as the Seattle Landmarks Board voted against nominating the Great Western Motors building for protections.

CHS wrote about the landmark prospects and likely future as a preservation and development project for the 1920-era building here. The board voted 7 to 3 against the nomination.

“We have a great deal of respect for the Landmarks Board, their process and findings,” development firm the Wolff Company said in a statement following sent to CHS. “While this building does not qualify as a Landmark, we look forward to celebrating its heritage and unique architectural character as we move forward with our plans for a mixed-use development on the site.”

CHS broke the news in early August that Wolff was eyeing the masonry building that has been held by the Polyclinic as a possible back-up location for a new medical office project for several years. With Polyclinic’s investment in First Hill, the Broadway and Union property has remained empty and surplus for the clinic. No permits are currently on file for a new project at the address and any major project will need to pass through the standard series of public design reviews before demolition and construction.

The project will be Wolff’s third major play transforming some of the remaining vestiges of Pike/Pine’s auto row into multi-story, mixed-use developments. Earlier this summer, Wolff re-started its efforts to build Pike Motorworks, a massive mixed-use apartment project that will preserve portions of the former BMW complex on E Pike. Meanwhile, the company paid $6.7 million for the property and plans to rehabilitate and develop the Sunset Electric building at 11th and Pine into a mixed-use apartment building expected to open in early 2014.