Post navigation

Prev: (09/16/14) | Next: (09/17/14)

Capitol Hill developer with knack for making room for more has plans for addition to 91-year-old 13th Ave apartments

The proposed project will neighbor 13th Ave's St. Nicholas Cathedral which went through some construction of its own in 2013

The proposed project will neighbor 13th Ave’s St. Nicholas Cathedral which went through some construction of its own in 2013

Screen Shot 2014-09-16 at 2.59.45 PMA Capitol Hill developer experienced in squeezing new units into some of the oldest apartment buildings in the neighborhood brings a new project to the East Design Review Board Wednesday night that will add an entire apartment building next to the 1923-built Washington Irving apartments at 13th and Howell.

With the continued demand for apartments on Capitol Hill, it’s not surprising that prolific Capitol Hill real estate investor Morris Groberman and development partner Dan Ronz Ron Danz are making plans to demolish an old garage and construct a new apartment building just south of the existing 39-unit, 1305 E Howell building. What might be more surprising is that the developers and architect Neiman Taber are proposing a two-story building where they could build four.

The “preferred” design for the Washington Irving annex offers a “neighborhood lofts” take on the development that would be technically only two stories tall and include only 15 units in comparison to what the developers call a “conventional” design that would yield 23 units.

Screen Shot 2014-09-16 at 3.01.11 PM

Screen Shot 2014-09-16 at 2.59.24 PMThe rub for the more interesting and possibly more neighborhood-friendly “loft” design is that the developers are proposing the dedication of a portion of the building to include 41 parking spaces in the design. The “conventional” option would include no parking. We’ve asked the developers for more information about the trade-off and will update if we hear back.

UPDATE: Groberman said the focus should be on the preferred design and that his plan to include 41 parking stalls to complement the 26 already serving the Washington Irving is as straight forward as it looks.

“There’s a huge demand for parking on the Hill,” Groberman said. “My parking rates have gone up through the roof.”

The developer adds that about half the demand comes from people working in the neighborhood — not tenants.

Groberman adds that “nobody else is building parking.”

“It’s expensive as hell to build,” he said.

The project’s goals include the creation of “infill with an orderly development pattern compatible with the existing neighborhood building fabric and streetscape.” We’ll find out what the review board has to say about the “preferred” vision Wednesday night.

Review Meeting: September 17, 6:30 pm
Seattle University
824 12th Ave
Admissions & Alumni Building
Review Phase: EDG–Early Design Guidance
Project Number: 3017634 permit status | notice
Planner: Carly Guillory

 

Development notes

  • The mother of all Capitol Hill projects melding an entire new building with existing apartment? The Belroy development that doubled the capacity of the I-5 Shores land where the vintage portion of the project had stood for more than 80 years.
  • Another version? This E Malden townhouse project. By the way, we’re told the old houses at 14th and Malden making way for the development finally met the demolition crew on Tuesday.
  • Bradley Khouri of b9 Architects, also behind the Malden project, is working on another townhouse development that will replace an old single family home at 708 11th Ave E. The project is too small to qualify for the full design review so it’s getting the “streamlined” administrative review treatment.
  •  A developer is lining up a new seven-story apartment building planned for the 200 block of Boylston Ave E just off E Olive Way. The project is being planned for somewhere between 15 and 26 units. Nicholson Kovalchick Architects is currently working on the project according to permit records.
  • Want to take a look inside Capitol Hill’s Wedge House?
    Historic Seattle acquired the Egan House in 1998 and worked with the Parks and Recreation Department to repair the deteriorated exterior and gently update the interior. The renovations were completed in 2003, and since then the building has served as a rental for one lucky person or family. When Mendili settled in, he was surprised to discover a few mysteries: “There’s not all that much information about the house, and there are odd things, like a door in the living room that doesn’t go anywhere,” he says. “I’m not sure if there was a balcony there that was removed or not.” These riddles only add to the charm of living in an architectural landmark.
  • How about an 88 minute, 51 second discussion of Neighborhood Design and Architecture in Capitol Hill?

Subscribe and support CHS Contributors -- $1/$5/$10 per month

7 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
calhoun
9 years ago

It’s very refreshing to see that this developer is planning the addition to be in-scale with the neighborhood, and not greedily building something which squeezes into the space and towers over the neighbors. Thank you, Mr. Groberman and Mr. Ronz!! (wish there were more like you). I wish you best of luck in getting your “preferred option” approved at Design Review.

LeonK
LeonK
9 years ago

Crap.

More soulless crap.

Just what Seattle needs.

Hutong-sweeper
Hutong-sweeper
9 years ago

Just to correct an error on the parking: The 41 stalls for parking, with 15 units of new housing, would be in place of the demolished parking garage containing 26 parking spaces currently for the Washington Irving brick building. That would be adding a total of 15 parking spaces.

The two stories will also be the same height as the 4-storied Washington Irving, actually a little higher with the elevator shaft. Currently, it will be 22 feet from the St. Nicholas church; not sure how close to the Washington Irving.

Hutong-sweeper
Hutong-sweeper
9 years ago
Reply to  Hutong-sweeper

…and as an addendum: There would be a change in pedestrian/bicycle encounters with cars here. Currently, a ped/bicycle is warned by a door opening, and a wide view of that door, before a car enters the sidewalk from the garage. This building adds (if it is designed like most underground parking) a yawning hole – 22 feet or so, where the cars may not be visible until they are in or close to the sidewalk…this was an early design meeting, and not sure about this. But it is also 15 more cars on a street that has had no ‘out of view’ car entrances. Quite a few children are walking on Sat. and Sunday to the Russian church for Sat/Sunday schools.

JK
JK
9 years ago

While i am happy to see someone at least is willing to help preserve some of the old buildings, and account for parking, I am still left wondering where this demand for apartments is. Most buildings I see are half empty, and I am constantly getting ads asking me to rent/buy in buildings that were built over a year ago. Mind you, all of these are what many would consider expensive, so maybe they are just confusing demand for housing with demand for affordable housing.

trackback

[…] Stark contrast in Seattle developments: The Rainier Valley continues to suffer with overparked projects and lack of good design. Meanwhile, a Capitol Hill developer has a pretty sympathetic neighborhood-oriented design for their project. […]

trackback

[…] as its neighborhood grows up around it, 13th Ave’s Saint Nicholas Cathedral continued 77 years of tradition Saturday with a day of […]