In January, CHS broke the news that the inevitable redevelopment of the Hilltop Service Station property would be carried forward by a developer with neighborhood roots.
Hunters Capital has plans for a five-story, 75-unit development at the corner of 15th and Mercer that are just being formed.
Saturday, the developer will meet with neighbors in a community session to discuss the early plans for the project.
The meeting will be held Saturday, February 23rd in the Miller Community Center multipurpose room from 11 AM to noon. You will have the opportunity to “join the project team and their architects to discuss the vision and approach for this new project in the neighborhood” as part of the city’s new early outreach efforts around new development.
One of the charms of the 15th Ave E commercial area is that it’s generally low-rise, and this makes for a very nice neighborhood feel for the street…..as opposed to taller buildings which can be cold and dehumanizing. A 5 story building will be out of scale for the area, which is a pity, but I suppose it’s necessary from an economic point of view.
King County taxes property on highest and best use. I have property on that block that had assessment rise by 40% in 2019. With such little land in Seattle zoned for multifamily the days of charming low rise commercial streets are numbered. Bob, I agree with your assessment of the situation.
I understand people’s frustration over taller buildings. But the only way to avoid this and still address the housing shortage would be to allow increased density in SFH zoned areas. If you only allow development in only a small area then that area has to have dramatically increased density to address the problem.
Personally, If prefer to see existing older homes in SFH areas get converted into duplex or triplex configurations. That would be far cheaper than trying to build all new homes… so you get more affordable housing and displace less people from existing stock. In an ideal world, an empty nester on a fixed income could have their large lot home converted to a multiple family residence so that they can retire in place and gain income from subdivision of their home. Then you’d be creating affordable units without displacement or over reliance on pricey new builds.
“I prefer to see existing older homes in SFH areas get converted into duplex or triplex configurations. That would be far cheaper than trying to build all new homes… so you get more affordable housing and displace less people from existing stock.”
Much of the townhouse boom depended on the destruction of shared rental houses that were the most affordable market-rate units available, with displacement of the working class renters. It was obvious 20 years ago that it was a bad idea.