Industry site Building Design + Construction highlights Capitol Hill’s Broadway Building as an example of mixed-use done right in one of the hot trends in real estate development. Here’s one glowing description of the building from the brief post: “Seattle’s Broadway Building is a skillful blend of classic and contemporary styles. Deep roof overhangs shed rain and reduce heat gain from the western sun.”
We’ll buy that. But the post goes on to describe a Broadway Building that doesn’t really exist:
It’s also critical to accurately anticipate the needs of potential tenants. At the Broadway Building in Seattle, downsized office spaces cater to small-business owners who are looking to escape from the congested downtown core. In Chicago, the live/work units and street-level retail of 2000 N. Milwaukee go far to meet the needs of up-and-comers in a rapidly emerging neighborhood.
First, not sure about describing Seattle’s downtown as congested — that’s a pretty quiet congestion, if so.
Second, the main tenants of the Broadway Building’s first generation? Genki Sushi, Emerald Smoothie, zpizza, Panera Bakery and, soon, Yogurtland — each, part of a chain. Maybe the author was referring to the building’s park side where Rock Box, the chamber of commerce and, soon, Cure have Nagle Place addresses in the building. Or maybe the definition of small business should change and, as the article suggests, it really is notable that Yogurtland chose Broadway and not Westlake. We know there will be a few times this summer when we’ll be glad they did.
They’re talking about OFFICE space, not retail. There are small “boutique” offices all along the broadway side of the building, right above the retail spaces.
Wow. I lose good reader points. We should check in to meet some of these office folks. Here’s one: http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2010/07/01/broadway-buildi
…don’t really do anything for western sun. The sun’s too low in the west. Vertical shading will do the trick though.
I used to live in the BB, I was a little disappointed in the construction of the building. The walls were super fragile, all it took was barely bumping anything into it to leave a pretty noticeable dent. But the biggest thing was the windows/patio doors don’t seal all the way. During the Thanksgiving snow storm we had to quarantine our 2nd bedroom (where the balcony was) because it let in so much cold air. When the wind blew hard you could see the blinds moving even though the window was “closed.”
I was pretty disappointed with all that considering how much rent was in at that place. Would definitely not recommend living there to anybody.