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Redevelopment lined up to replace Capitol Hill ‘drive thru’ All Seasons Cleaners

UPDATE 6/8/2018: All Seasons is sticking around:

Starch? Sure. Redevelopment? Not yet — All Seasons owners say they’ll hold onto E Olive Way property

Original report: It’s no Wash Land laundromat but there will be plenty of people across Capitol Hill sad to see a neighborhood dry cleaner make way for a planned E Olive Way development.

All Seasons Cleaners has held a special place in Capitol Hill culture over the years as home to a regular streetside flea market just off Broadway. It’s also a well regarded dry cleaner. According to new plans, the property is being readied for demolition to make way for a planned seven-story mixed-use project.

Designed by NK Architects, The Euclid Olive is in the earliest phases of planning to create a 45-unit building with 3,200 square feet of ground floor commercial space and a 16-vehicle underground parking garage on E Olive Way just west of Broadway across from Capitol Hill Station.

According to county records, the old “drive thru”-style dry cleaners building dates to 1932. All Seasons ownership acquired the property in 2007 for $1.8 million. For now, they continue to hold it and the dry cleaner shop continues its business.

The new project is a long time from construction. There is no design review session yet scheduled for the building. The property does not appear to be subject to any covenants regarding soil contamination that has sometimes been a factor in development involving other dry cleaner properties in the area.

The new project comes as construction is finally set to begin this spring on more than 400 apartment units, community plaza space, and retail above Broadway’s Capitol Hill Station and in the midst of a general slowdown of development activity in the neighborhood.

As for the neighborhood flea market that pops up outside All Seasons, there should still be a few years of thrifting ahead for you to enjoy before Euclid Olive rises.

 

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Seba
Seba
6 years ago

A block from the light rail station and only 45 units. It really is no wonder our housing shortage and car-centric culture aren’t going anywhere.

Carolyn Dunne
6 years ago
Reply to  Seba

I bet the parking was the limiting factor here. They’re only applying for 16 onsite spots, which is abysmal for 45 units in general but likely to most units allowed relative to parking under Seattle laws.

Likely the investors are seeing home prices soar with rent starting to level out (still ridiulous rents but it isnt raising 5%+ each year) and want an ROI within a couple years before the housing market bottoms out, selling them as condos rather than investing in additional parking and having more units available. I noticed that the largest buildings closer to Melrose in the Pike Pine corridor had a large amount of their build time devoted to the garage creation so there were more spots available. (Excelsior had to invest in a sign saying non-residents couldn’t park in their garage, which might be cutting into their anticipated nightlife parking revenue.)

However, this might only be the plan if it’s named a landmark. I bet more units will go in if they don’t have to spend money keeping parts of a historic building intact.

Bob Knudson
Bob Knudson
6 years ago
Reply to  Seba

Well, that’s 45 units that aren’t there now. “Density at any cost” advocates don’t seem satisfied unless there is a skyscraper planned for any new development site. Enough is enough.

Eric
Eric
6 years ago
Reply to  Seba

The new building on the corner of Broadway and Denny has 44 units and only a bare handful of parking spaces. So in reply to Carolyn, I don’t think that the number of units is limited by the number of parking spaces. Most likely the limitation is on the height of the building..

Andy
6 years ago

Wow end of an era! I think i’ve been using them for more than 15 years. The flea market used to be part of my Sunday routine on my way down to the old gaybucks.