(Images: Ankrom Moisan)
Wednesday’s review (Image: CHS)
The project to transform a landmark-protected 11th Ave auto row-era building that also played a big role in the growth of REI and was the longtime home to Capitol Hill’s Value Village will move forward in the city’s review process after approval of its preliminary design at a meeting Wednesday night.
The East Design Review Board signed off on the design that will change the old Value Village space into an office and retail project. Parking and impact on residential and commercial neighbors were discussion points during the meeting. The building’s preservation goals and landmarked exterior were also discussed.
“Preserve and enhance the defining aspects of the landmark building – that’s our main goal here,” said Mack Selberg of Ankrom Moisan architects.
These old beams are staying — or will be put back in place. The smell of creosote? Probably not.
The developers from Legacy Commercial presented their development and preservation plan for the 1917-built Kelly Springfield Motor Truck Co. The plan for the historic 11th Ave building between Pike and Pine includes parking and loading space, 12,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor, and three floors of office space above.
Architects Phillip Bozarth-Dreher and Selberg said their goal was to preserve as much of the auto row-era building as possible per the landmark requirements, integrate the new part of the building with the historic part as much as possible, and integrate the building with the surrounding area by respecting the artistic vibe and active nightlife of the Pike/Pine corridor.
The project will utilize Pike/Pine’s preservation incentives that reward developers with additional building height in exchange for preserving elements such as historic facades and the bulk and scale of the existing street-level character structures.
Community members at the meeting voiced concerns about street congestion due to the loading docks. Residents of nearby Monique Lofts also had concerns about noise pollution and the obstruction of existing windows. Monique resident Steve Killey said that many of the building residents leave their windows open at night and an increase in neighborhood noise “would be devastating.”
The three Monique Loft residents who spoke raised the issue of windows and natural light being blocked by the current design.
“The biggest thing for me is wondering how well financed, intelligent people accommodate someone who owns a home and loves it and bought it because of a window – not just visually, but in terms of sound, and parking, and loading,” said one resident whose window would be obstructed by the current design. “Is there a way to respect all those things people are talking about? I would like people to consider how to keep it from being ruinous for the person who lives in that spot.”
The project will require several departures from area zoning requirement, including an allowance for two 10-foot loading berths in the garage and one 14-foot loading berth at ground level, as opposed to the three 14-foot ground level loading berths that are technically required, and an allowance to use the extra 10 feet of building height allotted for preserving a historic structure as office space rather than residential space.
The board’s main area of concern was the issue of parking and loading docks — the board supported having two of the loading docks in the garage rather than the street, and wondered if it was possible to have all three in the garage so the street could remain as unobstructed as possible.
When the project design was presented to Pike/Pine Urban Neighborhood Council in May, chair John Feit came out largely in support. Feit reiterated this at the design meeting Wednesday, saying that he supported all of the proposed departures from code.
The Kelly Springfield project will create 65,000 square feet of office space in two buildings on 11th Ave between Pike and Pine. Three stories of new offices over Kelly Springfield will be connected on the south side to a narrow five story office building that would fill-in the block’s current sunken parking lot. The project will include 31 parking spots in an underground garage. Plans include a newly reconfigured streetscape along 11th Ave that would replace a handful of parking space with landscaped “bulbs.”
The board passed the design onto the recommendation phase but suggested that the architects look at parking and the impact of loading docks on the facade, include more greenery as much as possible, and pay special attention to Monique Lofts and other neighborhood buildings whose windows would be impacted by the new structure.
The recommendation phase meeting has not yet been scheduled. In the meantime, the building serves as the home of V2, a temporary arts space administrated by Velocity Dance.
