After a 2021 with almost no design review sessions for area developments, 2022 will begin with a major project coming before the East review board in February as the set of two five-story buildings planned to rise at the site of the Capitol Hill Safeway will face Seattle’s public process.
“Option 3 is a two-building scheme that creates is configured to provide an impactful Grade related courtyard along 15th Ave E that aligns with the E Thomas St,” lead developer Greystar says of its preferred proposal in the draft design review packet submitted in December. “Above the Grocery store, the generally S-shaped Building A provides a blend of broader, yet articulated, facades and smaller facade elements. The western courtyard space above the Level 1 grocery store faces south, breaking up the building massing. The Eastern Courtyard above the Level 1 grocery store faces north and connects to the grade-related courtyard that aligns with Thomas.”
You can view the full draft design packet here.
CHS reported in October on the continuing plans to redevelop the grocery store site and the developer’s meeting with architects and community members with the Pike/Pine Urban Neighborhood Council to discuss priorities for the project.
Representatives from the development team of architectural firm Weber Thompson, Pine View Development, and development and construction firm Greystar said they expect at least two years of planning and “entitlement” process will be required for the project to run Seattle’s public process gauntlet including multiple rounds of design review and then another two years of construction before the project opens for new residents, new small businesses, and a new Safeway grocery store.
Early plans showed two, five-story residential buildings rising along the 15th Ave E side of the project mixed with first-floor commercial spaces separated from the grocery by an “internal pedestrian plaza.”
The draft proposal submitted in December and scheduled for review in February is said to have incorporated community feedback. It calls for the two, 5-story buildings, with a total of 386 apartment units and retail, plus underground parking for 387 vehicles — about twice what the current surface lot at the corner provides.
The developers also told PPUNC they are digesting work from a series of 15th Ave E neighborhood design workshops organized three years ago by the street’s resident designers at Board and Vellum and Environmental Works. The design guidelines from the process mixed a general wish to preserve the quaint and quirky vibe on 15th with a desire for new and plentiful commerce on the street.
Representatives for the development team have said design issues also prioritized included how to make the nearby bus stop and street crossings safer, how best to connect to nearby Williams Place Park, and which “Capitol Hill” a project at the busiest intersection of 15th Ave E should most relate to — leafy and relatively quiet 19th Ave E or bustling Broadway.
The design review process is ostensibly limited to details of land use and architecture but frequently becomes a rare opportunity for community members and neighbors to air grievances about everything from parking to noise and the environment despite the board’s focus on elements like bulk, scale, and setbacks. Through the pandemic, the process has continued even as the pipeline of active new projects around Capitol Hill trickled to a near stop.
There have also been efforts to streamline the expensive, time consuming review process. Under emergency rules passed in spring of 2020 to help keep design and landmark reviews on track during the pandemic restrictions, for example, publicly financed affordable housing developments qualify for a fast track path to construction and will not need to pass through public design review.
This situation is playing out on Broadway where plans for a seven-story affordable housing project that will require demolition of the 118-year-old, two-story commercial building currently home to the Jai Thai restaurant, a collection of businesses including a Mud Bay pet supply store location, plus 14 upper floor apartment units is moving forward on the design review fast track.
The 1410 E John Safeway project will face review starting on February 9th. You can submit public comment here in the meantime. Learn more about submitting design review public comment here.
Design Review: 1410 E John St
Design Review Early Design Guidance for 2, 5-story buildings, with a total of 386 apartment units and retail. Parking for 387 vehicles proposed.
February 9, 2022 5:00 pm
EDG–Early Design Guidance
Project Number
Abby Weber
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