Skidmore Janette character sketch for a project planned for the corner of 13th and John
A pair of development proposals about a quarter-mile away from each other on Capitol Hill’s 13th Ave will add a few dozen new housing units to the neighborhood and are making their way through the city’s design review process, though only one of them will appear before the East Design Review Board.
131 13th Ave E
A proposed project on 13th Ave E near the intersection with E John will come before the board Wednesday night in the body’s ongoing virtual review sessions.
On the block currently are a mix of single-family and multi-family homes. The proposal calls for tearing down an existing two-story building and detached garage. The structure was built as a single-family home in 1912, but has since been carved up into three apartments. The 1903-built home on the corner would remain in place and neighbor the new project.
Developer G2 Development proposes an eight-story building, with room for 46-48 units, depending on which development option goes forward. None of the options include any parking for cars. The development is just up John from busy Capitol Hill Station.
In a draft proposal from early September, architect Skidmore Janette has presented three possibilities, but the developer’s preferred option would create 47 units. In that preferred option, all of the units are two-bedrooms. Most, if not all of the units would have balconies. The developer would use different materials and include “articulation” meaning three of the building’s four sides would have sections pushed in or out, in order to break up the building’s mass. The fourth side, the one facing a rear alley, would be flat, though it may have differing materials or colors.
131 13th Ave E
Design Review Early Design Guidance for an 8-story, 47-unit apartment building. No parking proposed. Existing building to be demolished.
View Design Proposal (64 MB)
Review Phase
EDG–Early Design GuidanceProject Number
3038084 View Related RecordsPlanner
Crystal Torres — Email comments to [email protected]
The entry would be from 13th Ave. There would be a below-grade area for waste disposal on the alley façade of the building. There would be a common amenities area inside on the ground floor, and a rooftop deck. The building would have indoor space for bicycle storage.
The preferred option would need to be permitted to make a couple of departures from the zoning code. According to code, the building would be required to have a 10-foot setback for the parts of the building that are between 13 and 65 feet off the ground. The proposal requests that it be allowed to have on a 7 foot 6-inch setback along one side. The developer argues the extra 2.5 feet is needed to accommodate all the planned two-bedroom units. They further say they could build right up to the property line at the ground floor, but they do not, so they are still achieving the goal of the setback requirements by reducing the apparent bulk and scale of the building.
Additionally, in the case of this building, the portions of it above 65 feet should have an 11-foot setback, but there are areas where it has only a 10-foot setback. The developer makes similar arguments in favor of the extra foot that it makes in the request for a departure from the other setback requirement.
1724 13th Ave
The other proposal is going through a purely administrative review process as part of the city’s attempts to streamline the development process for smaller projects, so there will be no review board meeting.
The various design schemes considered in the proposal
This proposal is for a property between an existing condo building and the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral. The condo owners, operating under the name Washington Irving Apartments plan to tear down a one-story garage also on their property. In its place would be built a four-story building with 27 residential units and parking for 10 cars and 27 bikes.
The preferred option for the building, designed by architect Neiman Taber, would include 12 studio apartments, 12 one-bedroom units and three two-bedroom units. The 10 parking stalls would be underground and accessed from a new curb cut on 13th Ave, between the existing condo building and the new building.
Plans call for the building entry, and the solid waste room to be along 13th Ave. There will be an outdoor courtyard area between the new building and the existing church. And, believe it or not, there will be a rooftop deck. Residents of the existing condo building will have access to both of these common areas.
The exterior portion visible from the street will have a mixture of brick sections in the areas nearer to the existing condo building. There will be “Ceraclad,” a cement panel that can be treated to have different textures and styles on areas closer to the church. The Ceraclad areas will extend out a bit from the brick areas to break up the mass facing the street. Plans also call for some new landscaping along 13th.
Though the building will not go before the design review board, city staff reviewing the plan have asked for some changes, including finding ways to make the parking area less visible, and make the solid waste area more attractive from the outside. Staff also isn’t too keen on the Ceraclad, and wants some different materials used there which will fit in better with the area. They further suggest some other changes to the aesthetics of the building’s exterior.
You can track the project’s progress here.
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Great to see a development providing much needed 2 bedroom units that could potentially accommodate a family with a child. I know several people who’ve had kids recently and had to move of the hill due to lack of 2 or more bedroom apartments or Condos; even though they’d prefer to stay.
Oh my god, an apartment building with 47 family-friendly two-bedroom units! It’s a miracle. What is this, Europe?
Love it.
The new one next to the Russian Church will be “interesting”. Not that they ring every moment, but the church *does* ring their full set of REAL bells fairly often. The apartments on that side would be literally like 20-30 feet away from the tower, the upper units directly across form the bells.