The Hewitt-designed “workforce” apartment building and retail space destined for the former “wildflower lot” behind Broadway’s massive Joule complex won’t be quite as colorful as those flowers. But its finishes, according to the latest renderings prepared for Wednesday night’s session of the East Design Review Board, won’t be as drab as many of its contemporary Capitol Hill mixed-use projects.
CHS first reported on the development last March as we learned of the plans to take the long-empty lot in the 500 block of Harvard Ave E and build a seven-story, 75-unit, “affordable” apartment project.
The Harvard Ave E land is owned by Greg Stein who acquired the parcels as part of a since dissolved partnership for $1.85 million in 2001. In 2010, CHS noted the impressive field of wildflowers – and weeds — that had cropped up and covered the 515 Harvard Ave E lot.
Design Proposal (20 MB)
Review Meeting: October 23, 8:00 PM Seattle University 901 12th Ave Admissions & Alumni Community Room Review Phase: Recommendation past reviews Project Number: 3013291 permit status | notice Planner: Garry Papers
By providing a percentage of the units at affordable levels — 75% of median income for one-bedroom units — the building will qualify for an extra floor of height above the six-story limit in the zone. Developer Maria Barrientos is proposing 59 market-rate units in the building with 14 affordable units plus 900 square-foot cafe space on the ground floor of the building. The developer is now planning 65 stalls of underground parking — around three times as many was originally planned in the project’s initial pass through the design review process in May.
At that meeting, public feedback and board discussion centered mostly around the large mass of the building and the risk of a “canyon” being created with the Joule rising across Harvard. The building’s patios and modulation could help it fit into the adjoining midrise neighborhood but only “if very carefully designed,” the board’s meeting notes detail. Even with any reservations about its bulk, the project passed through the first phase and is ready for what could be its final step in the design process Wednesday night. You can review the design packet for the project, below, and sort out just how carefully designed it is.
That’s huge for a space that was previously the foot print of a couple of old family homes. I remember when they were torn down, then the land was vacant for years.
I’m just glad it isn’t another godawful apodment!
But is that much parking (slightly more than a 1:1 ratio) really necessary in an area so close to the light rail station? I am a strong advocate of at least some parking in all new buildings, but this plan seems excessive and will result in higher rents, because parking is expensive to build. Perhaps the developer is intending to rent out some spaces to non-residents?
The building is just over the transit zone line. There could also be an allowance related to the existing building just west of this lot that will apparently connect with the new parking.
Well, that’s sad for the people who have the spaces on the back of the Joule building, the west side of the building — whereas while that lot was the home to flowers and the occasional flotsam TV, they’d get some glorious sunlight at the end of the day. No more of that.
Well, the rest of us have to look at the Joule. Fair trade off.
:( darn, there goes my view of the needle. The joules elevator shaft which reaches the 7th story was placed right where the Brix rooftop view of the Space Needle is located, and this plot is right in the same location with their 8th floor elevator shaft likely eliminating the rest of the view we had. :( I wouldn’t mind if the whole building was affordable rate housing as the neighborhood really needs that, but for only 15 of 75 units, this really dissapoints me.
15 units is better than none, but you are right–it barely puts a dent in the need for affordable housing.
We’re always going to have a shortage of affordable housing (and housing in general) as long as we limit overall supply by allowing developers to only build to some arbitrary height like 60′ or 75′. And since they can’t build higher, they’ll just build wider…consuming more land, taking out cool buildings, etc.
Sir, you are very right.
I’m glad we have height limits in neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, where existing housing is mostly low-rise. Taller buildings are best confined to the downtown core, South Lake Union, and Belltown.
My God, in a couple of years this neighbourhood is just going to be all steel and glass canyons, like in the opening of ‘Brazil.’
As long as we don’t get any more of those godawful “randomly-colored metal panel” lack-of-design buildings like the Melrose/Pine building, the new Northwest School, or whatever’s going up next to the Paramount.
Yeah, a place with a fraction of the density of Manhattan or Hong Kong is going to look like “Brazil.”
We’re going to regret limiting Broadway to just seven or eight stories. Everything within easy walking distance of the light rail station should be zone for far, far higher density.
I live in a building next to this currently empty lot. I heard rumor that it was empty for so long because of some sort of dispute and was caught up in litigation. For a long while it was overgrown and some people set it up as a place to shoot up, which resulted in everything being mowed down once it was discovered/reported. Then, as the joule was going up, it was used as a place for construction stuff. I had assumed it was the joule people that spread out the wildflowers seeds.
At least one of the “single-family homes” (actually rental flops) on that site had become such a bad place that when it got bulldozed some of the neighbors gathered to cheer.
The lots were empty and fenced off for a long time. One winter night I passed a couple of guys with slingshots firing over the fence and didn’t think much of it (they weren’t breaking windows, and it’s the hill where folks are doing odd things all the time). That spring was when the wild flowers exploded and I realized those guys had been seed bombing. The Joule folks had nothing to do with it: it was Guerrilla Gardening all the way.
Then at some point they took the fencing down and the lot was open. After that there were people using it to shoot up, certainly, but far worse was all the dog shit. Everybody in the neighborhood seemed to think they didn’t have to pick up behind Fido if they took him there. Quite the contrast to wildflowers.
So I’m glad it’s finally getting developed. This isn’t really all that dense, but it’s denser than what was there before. Density is a good thing within walking distance of the light rail station, and this looks much less like a monolithic wall than Joule does.
But am I the only person who thinks the corner of Harvard and Mercer, with the library and QFC and Joule and all the pedestrians, should be a 4-way stop? (Actually every intersection on Harvard between Mercer and Thomas should be a 4-way.) How do you ask the city about making a change like that?
You write your favorite City Councilmember (if you have one) or all of them, and you include the City’s amazing engineer, Dongho Chang (dongho.chang @ seattle.gov) and you explain the situation. CC’ing the Capitol Hill Community Council (chcc.officers @ gmail.com) probably wouldn’t hurt, either.
Unfortunately, SDOT does not usually respond positively to such suggestions unless there is a history of accidents at the site. They are not very good at a preventive approach.
Harvard Ave. E. and E. Republican is where the library and QFC back door is.
And yes, it should be a 4 way stop with all the pedestrian traffic there is here.
Agh… I certainly don’t mind some new construction there, but lord, it’s big. I wish there was a regulation on how much higher you can build than neighboring buildings.
Seattle continues to tear down buildings with great architecture and detail and replace them with mondane structures. This is yet another perfect example of the ho-hum architecture of the “new Seattle.”