Following mass protests from the Pacific Northwest pulp and paper industry and hipsters with bands who ride fixies — plus *significant* outcry from CHS readers — the developers behind the Legacy Pine project set to transform the auto row-era home of Value Village, The Stranger and, soon, Big Fun into a preservation-focused office and retail development have canceled a key design meeting scheduled for this week.
The people have spoken.
We honestly don’t know why — yet — but a spokesperson for the developer confirmed Wednesday’s “early design guidance” meeting has been canceled and promised more information in “a few days.”
While most respondents in a survey CHS ran last week about the early concept for the development were positive about the design, a handful of land use and development advocates we spoke to about the plan said they were surprised the early vision didn’t do more to preserve the auto row-era buildings once home to REI’s original flagship store.
We’ll update when we know more but in the meantime, hipsters with bands, you can call off your protest and cancel your plans to get married.
UPDATE: No additional details about the decision to cancel but we’re told the developers have arranged a presentation of their plan for a meeting of the Pike/Pine Urban Neighborhood Council next Tuesday. You can learn more about the council and find out about attending on the PPUNC Facebook page.
Wow JSeattle, feeling a little old and grumpy today? Too many hippies… I mean hipsters… on your lawn? Why don’t they get a haircut, and a bike with gears like we had when I was a kid, and just let the grownups build their office space!
Honest question: what was wrong with the proposal? I’m curious about what was so objectionable. I liked the proposal, but I’m no urban planner. As a resident, I’m intensely interested in what people found wrong with it.
From what I can glean from comments on previous posts, people didn’t like that the value village would (most likely) have to go. At least one person though that there should be a more serious attempt at preservation than just saving some facades.
But I didn’t see many complaints about the massing of the building, or about integration with the street, or contributions to the day/night mix of Pike/Pine- the touchstones of development politics. SO – those of you who objected- what’s up? I want to listen.
Does this really have anything to do with any casual community protests over the development plan? Has that ever stopped any developer before? I would guess it has more to do with other (money-related) reasons…
I’m missing something. The meeting was cancelled. Meetings get cancelled all the time so why do we assume there was a pullback or change in original plans – outside of a change in meeting date.
It’s extremely unusual to cancel a design review session on a project of this scale only days before the meeting.
Ah, I see. Thanks for the perspective.
These two buildings are among Capitol Hill’s finest, especially the white one (the Strange/Velo Bike building). That combined with their relatively good condition, large open floor plates, and adjacent vacant lot (giving them flexibility for access and parking) make them the best possible candidates we are likely to get to show some creativity in planning for an adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of their interior qualities. Eleventh between Pike and Pine is also arguably our best street, and care to conserve its quality and character is warranted.
The developer will be presenting at the next PPUNC meeting, beginning at 7:00 at Agnes Lofts (corner of 12th and Pike). All are welcome to participate.
“Those gosh durned hipsters ruin everyTHING dagnabbit!!!”
I remember REI in the 1960’s when it was at Seventh and Pike, above the Green Apple Pie, before it moved up the hill to this building.
If they do want to develop this location they had better do it soon. I have heard of growing support to limit the height of buildings on capitol hill. Hopefully they keep with the 6 and up to 7 or is it 8 stories when you incorporate the existing structure in the design.
The effort to control heights on Capitol Hill is focused on the “LR-3” zones (where 40′ is now the maximum height, although loopholes are exploited by developers and some new buildings are now in the 50-60′ range). I could be wrong, but I don’t think this property is in a LR-3 zone.
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