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Maybe projects that create cool new homes for neighborhood arts nonprofits should also be freed from design review. The Photographic Center Northwest will soon get that new home — and about 170 new neighbors in the new Focus Apartments — if a redevelopment proposal about to get a reshoot in the first stage of the city’s design review process can finally move forward.
The developer had proposed three alternatives at its first design guidance meeting back in September but none fully satisfied the Central Area Design Review Board. Now they’re back with two newly refined options.
The proposal for 900 12th Ave, at the corner of 12th and Marion, calls for removing the existing two-story building, longtime home of the photography center and the existing surface parking lot. In its place would be a new building spanning the blocks from 12th Avenue to 13th Ave along Marion.
CHS reported here earlier this year on the project and the opportunity for Photography Center Northwest to redevelop its long-held 12th Ave property.
900 12th Ave
Design Review Early Design Guidance for a 7-story, 171-unit apartment building with institution (Photographic Center Northwest) and retail. Parking for 42 vehicles proposed. View Design Proposal (29 MB)
Project Number
David Sachs
The new building is planned to rise seven stories. The center would have about 10,000 square feet space on the ground floor, with its entrance at 12th and Marion, across 12th from Seattle University. There will be about 600 square feet more for ground floor retail, and 169 apartments perched atop the center’s new digs. About 20% of the units are expected to meet the city’s affordable housing guidelines, though that number has not be finalized. There are also plans for underground parking for 44 cars.
The project is proposed by Seattle-based developer Vibrant Cities and designed by Link Design Group of Kirkland which has brought photography-inspired design concepts to the project they say presents special challenges due to its relatively narrow width and depth and required setbacks due to utility lines.
The developer’s new proposal involves a ground floor that’s fairly rectangular. But on the above floors, there’s various degrees of articulation to the building.
The corner at 12th and Marion would be stepped inward fairly dramatically at the second floor, as the building goes up, it would step back outward like an upside down wedding cake. The top floor would roughly match the footprint of the bottom floor.
There would be more of that kind of articulation along Marion, and a bit along both 12th and 13th, so there won’t be any long, flat facades visible to the public.
The project would require permission to have the upper level setback encroach a bit more out into the space than they should. Building codes call for an 8-foot setback for the upper floors of the building along Marion, and the developers are proposing a 6-foot setback in some parts. The developers argue the extra two feet will allow for larger units, and also allow for the more interesting articulation on the exterior.
CONCEPT 4 | THE HYBRID
CONCEPT 5 | THE CONVERGENCE (PREFERRED)
Additionally, the setback along 13th is supposed to be 15 feet, while the developers are asking for a 7-foot 10 inch setback. In this case, they say the extra space is to create a more uniform appearance and would avoid a weird empty space along that face of the building.
Inside, the ground floor would largely be space for the photography center. Additionally, there would be a small café space at the corner of 13th and Marion. There’s also space for typical apartment building stuff like a residential lobby, trash room and office space. Plans also call for a room for bike storage, a currently undefined “residential amenity,” a roof deck and a gym.
The developer is considering two options for access to the parking area. One would place the access point on 13th. However, that would result in the loss of a large street tree. Also, that option is not supported by SDOT. The other option, which is supported by SDOT, calls for placing the garage access along Marion at about mid-block, but a little closer to 13th.
Landscaping calls for street trees along all three street-facing sides of the project, and proposes to maintain the existing big birch tree on 13th.
Developer Vibrant Cities told CHS earlier this year it expects the new building to offer market rate housing along with Seattle Mandatory Housing Affordability and Multifamily Tax Exemption factors that could add affordable units to the mix. There is also a possibility of working with nearby Seattle University to offer school-affiliated housing.
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Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.
Living in apartments right next to Rhein Haus sounds horrid.
This is much improved thanks to the Central District Design Review board. I hope in this meeting that they indicate that giant sheets of cement board siding as a finishing material is not appropriate for a project that is demolishing an auto row era brick building on the best block of 12th south of Madison.
Okay, so I **do** agree that the city needs to stop allowing Hardiboard to completely cover buildings. It was meant as a material that makes buildings more cost effective, and allows for more expensive finishes elsewhere.
Naturally, cheap developers and city corruption mean they just slather it with Hardiboard, paint it gray with a lime green accent wall, and then call it “modern.”
Portland has better design because they mandate higher quality materials. Seattle can have the same.
But if you’re secretly trying to have some sort of throwback nostalgic architecture? Gross. No. Don’t advocate for that, and learn to like modernism, ffs. It’s not new, it’s been around for a damned century!
Who said throwback nostalgic architecture? My point was that I want to see higher quality finishing materials required and that the bar should be higher if you are knocking down a brick character structure.
The reference to “auto row” made me think you were advocating the usual “oh, let’s just slap on some fake craftsman gewgaws, paint the trim white and the building an institutional beige, and call it a day.”
I guess I was wrong and, yes, higher quality finishes should be required.
If we want that we need better city government, tho. We need to reduce regulatory capture and the associated city corruption —good luck with that, tho, I mean Harrell is such a joke….
The city should require tenant parking in addition to the retail lots and require charging stations for each spot. This reqmt should apply to all new buildings. It’s the only way to reach emission goals because renters will not be able to choose electric cars if there is no charging available at home.
That’s not really true. I know people who own homes that don’t have charging stations in their houses. They just park at lots nearby their houses when they need to charge up. It would be redundant and a waste of resources to have one charging station for every single car.
yes the way to meet climate goals is by incentivizing car ownership. Take the bus loser.
They can park their feet and bike inside their unit. Emission goals met.
Let’s hope they work somewhere mass transit goes in a reasonable amount of time. I work in Fremont and live on Capitol Hill. I’d like to move to be closer but it’s not feasible now. Mass transit to work means multiple buses and nearly an hour, driving is 12 minutes.