The image shows the new Caroline W. Apartments going up at 431 Boylston Ave E. The tri-color you see on the exterior walls was not a part of the Final Proposal and was not reviewed by a public Design Review Board. The surrounding community is concerned because the building looks jarring and does not fit the neighborhood aesthetic like the new, well-designed Stream Belmont Apartments that went up next door. The property managers were notified of the community’s concerns but they have let us know that they don’t care and will not change it. Seattle Department of Planning and Development have also ignored our concerns. We are calling for assistance in preventing this new Lego / Tetris building from disrupting our neighborhood!
Thanks John. Who should we contact at this point? DPD? I saw this and also thought it was in bad taste. Now that I know it was not in the original plans we should definitely raise our concerns.
Gentrification’s a bitch, ain’t it?
This is not gentrification. These are “low income apartment units for tentants recovering from homelessness and mental illness”. All we’ll and good, but the siding color is garish and not what was presented to the community and approved.
What is the name of the builder?
I contacted the director of DPD and finally received a response. She is looking into it now. The people in charge of the development are Community House Mental Health. You can call them at (206) 329-6485. Chris Szala is the ultimate decision maker and the guy who told me nothing is going to change. His email is [email protected]. Please email him to complain, if you can. Environmental Works is the architect behind the design. Surprisingly, the designs they have on their website are really nice so I don’t know why they decided on something so unusual.
I just looked at the developer’s website. The results of their work is uniformly awful.
And yet the work continues. DPD needs to issue a stop work order. It’s half finished as of today, on the north side of the building.
thanks so much for posting. i walk by this building several times a day and the siding is so incredibly horrific and troublesome. completely out of context with the rest of the neighborhood. i haven’t known what i could do but now i plan on contacting the entities that you list and add my two cents.
First you guys say all the new stuff looks the same. Now this one’s out of character for the neighborhood. Starting to feel like most of you just despise new developments in general and need a lame excuse to justify your attitude. I personally like it. If every building were like this I would hate it, but one building that’s a little different makes it interesting. If you wanna live in a place where everything looks the same and your senses will never be challenged there’s this place called lynnwood. It’s not too far, maybe you should try it.
There’s always going to be people who love and hate any design; that’s just a fact of life and it is important we respect everyone’s opinions but when you are designing for a neighborhood, you have to appease the majority and choose something that is appropriate to that community. The fact that you need to insult everyone just because you happen to be the minority who likes it makes it clear you do not understand the concept of designing for the community.
Also, you clearly are someone who does not have an eye for design. Just because something is new and different does not make it a good thing. Capitol Hill is a neighborhood with a mix of historic buildings from different eras with the entry of new modern buildings that have done a great job in respecting the aesthetic of the area. This building literally looks like the buildings I use to make as a kid with Lego bricks. Also, don’t put me in a box and assume that means I want everything to look like a cookie cutter suburb. This neighborhood has quite the variety as it is and it works.
The whole idea of the design is to make something plain, like Army barracks, house the people who are a drain to our economy. A nimbus of shame.