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Design board looks at First Hill Apartments, Central District Community House project

The First Hill Apartments project set to rise above Union

The First Hill Apartments project set to rise above Union

The East Design Review Board Wednesday night will take up one project set to create new First Hill neighbors for the city’s first pavement park. Meanwhile, an important social services organization is set to begin the design process to create an important new facility in the Central District — and with it, 52 affordable places to live for its clients.

First Hill Apartments — 1320 University
It’s hard to believe the project name First Hill Apartments wasn’t already snatched up. But there you go. Once this University St, just off Broadway development is complete, the name will be off the board.

The planned seven-story, 36-unit building with around 5,000 square feet of commercial space is envisioned as having a “transparent and porous” street-level retail component that features “an integrated design between the building, sidewalk, and park, blurring the public and private areas,” following the design board’s guidance in the sessions first go round in March.

The project will neighbor First Hill’s University, Union, and Boylston pavement park, the first in a city initiative to carve out open space by using portions of streets.

The mixed-use building proposed to replace the Sayre Law Offices building is planned to include 4,000 square feet of commercial space below 36 market-rate residential units, with underground parking for 13 vehicles. The development team includes Cyzner Properties, the Berger Partnership, and Grouparchitect.

Design review: 1320 University St

screen-shot-2016-11-16-at-5-49-49-amCommunity House — 2212 S Jackson
Also on the docket Wednesday night is a project to create a new facility for the Community House Mental Health Agency in the Central District with floors of affordable housing above.

“The new facility will provide services including day treatment offices, serving kitchen, medical consultation rooms, and dining and multi-use space,” architects from Capitol Hill-based Environmental Works write. The new facility will also provide expanded administrative office and meeting space for Community House.

The site is currently home to a two-story service and administrative offices building.

The proposed development will rise to six stories with 12,012 square feet of facility space on the first two floors and four floors of affordable housing above for Community House clients in a mix of 52 studio-type units.

Design review: 2212 S Jackson St

The project objectives include “high quality, space-efficient housing units” and providing “outdoor space for the housing residents in such a way as to respect the privacy of adjacent neighbors.”

Funding for the project could include $750,000 requested from the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, and more than $1.5 million requested from the City of Seattle’s Office of Housing.

screen-shot-2016-11-16-at-5-50-02-am

Capitol Hill is home to another recent Community House development. The Caroline W. Apartments were built at 431 Boylston Ave E and provide more than 40 affordable units to tenants recovering from homelessness and mental illness.

The Central District project joins a wave of development around 23rd and Jackson including Vulcan’s 570-unit mixed-used project slated for the Red Apple property.

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DB McWeeberton (@DBMcWeeberton)

Some weird balconies on that First Hill wedge building. I can’t imagine them being much fun to sit on–pointy and super-exposed.

Cathy W.
Cathy W.
7 years ago

But you could pretend to be the King of the World!