The design proposal for the development project that will create a new 50,000-square-foot grocery store, new apartments, and a massive underground parking lot on the site of the Capitol Hill Safeway was approved Wednesday night by the East Design Review Board.
In another marathon meeting for the body, the board debated some elements of the Weber Thompson design proposal before ultimately moving the project forward in the public process.
CHS reported here on the proposal from developer Greystar and the Weber Thompson development team to create two new five-story buildings including the new grocery, around 330 market rate apartment units, some new, smaller retail spaces, and an underground parking lot for more than 300 cars on the Safeway property at 15th and John.
The sign-off sends the project forward through permitting and land use approval that could mean groundbreaking in 2024 with the new building expected to open in 2026.
The project could mean a 15th Ave without a major grocery store at some point.
The 15th Ave E QFC space remains empty as the search for a new tenant continues after Kroger closed the location in a tiff over the city’s COVID-19 hazard pay requirements. Meanwhile, that building, too, will eventually be due for mixed-use redevelopment. In the meantime, property owner Hunters Capital has put the old grocery’s parking lot to use as a parking and staging area for crews working on its nearby mixed-use development that is replacing the old Hilltop Service Station.
There used to be two Safeways on the Hill. In the summer of 2006, its Broadway store was torn down to make way for the Brix condos.
During construction, Safeway shoppers will still have the 22nd and Madison location available.
Wednesday’s session stretched on for hours with several detours along the way with public comment on the development and board members quibbling over details of the project but ultimately agreed it should move forward.
Philip: Safeway store is wonderful. Says it would be good somewhere else but not Capitol Hill. Says it will create a soulless urban canyon that will destroy property values, access to the Four Essential Resources: sun, air, light, and on-street parking.
— Qagggy! (@Qagggy) February 16, 2023
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This will be the end of design review boards. Seattle Subway lost so much credibility last night.
I hope I’m wrong about that drive entrance being so close to an already difficult intersection. I don’t see how anything so obvious wasn’t addressed and revised.
Oh, yeah–he actually advocated for some things the community expressed concern about, and the industry types on the Board were sorely miffed.
Love the comment on twitter: “ Michael Cannon says we have to inspire people to use transit and make this bus stop a great destination.” I can just imagine walking there to hang out and meet new friends….NOT.
I will absolutely buy you a coffee, Dan, and sit with you at the bus stop.
We can try and avoid the food waste and other garbage strewn about, while having a conversation amongst people in various states of mental distress and inhale the pleasant mixture of cigarette and meth smoke.
It’ll be as pleasant as the above rendering would lead you to believe it to be.
That’s a bummer about the grocery desert that will temporarily exist there. The less able bodied may have a harder time trekking to Broadway or the other stuff near Madison like Trader Joe’s.
QAG is such an asset lambasting these idiotic comments that all boil down to “I don’t want any change whatsoever and also I am a parking-obsessed Boomer who thinks this kind of dated, low-rise development with a massive surface parking lot is the only kind of development that should be allowed.”
One thing I do like about Seattle, as compared to cities like SF, is that the design review, for the most part, will allow these fools to speak their mind/utter their incoherent nonsense and then politely say “thank you for your comments, they are incoherent or just wrong and are rejected, project approved.”
The sore point for me lately has been the PCC project in Madison Valley and the wholly-disgusting gaslighting group calling itself “Save Madison Valley.”
I mean, I’m glad this group eventually lost — and they totally, completely lost — but the mere fact they were able to postpone this needed development for so long with their bs nonsense is concerning for the future.
I’m still recovering from the “Four Essential Resources” – sun, air, light(also sun?), and… on-street parking. A yes, I recall the great off-street parking famine, so many taxpayer funded parking spaces were lost that year and the city never recovered…
This was a great night for Greystar’s investors and a sad night for Capitol Hill. Pre-pandemic there was a visioning exercise for 15th Ave. This is the largest and most important site. What happened?
No.
This design is great, it’s a great use of the lot and adds needed housing while preserving a grocery. More, it eliminates the dated eyesore that is the present structure and its ridiculous parking lot.
You’re 100% wrong.
These “visioning processes” are always a waste of time, and are nearly always co-opted by those seeking to block any change whatsoever.
Number of people expressing a desire for no change whatsoever: 0.
Is this what you are talking about? https://www.boardandvellum.com/portfolio/15th-avenue-east-community-workshop/
It looks like these were well-intentioned workshops born out of a partnership between an architectural firm and non-profit community design firm… based on the timing I’m guessing the the pandemic and financial uncertainty that went with it likely sidelined this work. Another reason why a social housing developer with the sole purpose of providing community oriented housing would be a welcome addition to the city, rather than hoping that private developers engage with communities.
My point is that this should have been so much better. Adding new housing is critical, but we also need to build a vibrant city with good design, good public spaces and local small businesses. People have been brainwashed by the developers that started the Seattle for Everyone gaslighting campaign into viewing housing and good design as conflicting goals. Greystar is not on your side fighting against red tape. They are out to maximize their profit. The community and design review board gave that to them, but what did we get in exchange? Apparently all we get is a generic development that could be anywhere and a bench at the bus stop. The street level windows will be covered with posters and the secondary entrances will be closed. The retail spaces will be rented to national chains that don’t compete with any of Safeway’s revenue streams, if at all. Pedestrians will be stuck navigating two parking entrances on 14th as they walk along a blank wall. This was the moment when the community had leverage to raise the bar and create a community center. We blew it! I don’t understand how so may self-identified urbanists do not see the full picture. A great city is not just about density. The density is already set by zoning. It will all be built out to the zoning envelop regardless of your cheerleading. What we need to focus on is building places that people want to live so they put down roots in the city rather than moving to the suburbs.
You and the people like you are the cause of the homelessness problem in Seattle. Honestly not sure how you can sleep at night.
Too nit-picky. This is going to be a huge improvement over what’s on that property today. It will provide much-needed additional housing, it will eliminate surface parking which is a terrible land use in such a walking-friendly and transit-rich neighborhood, and it will provide multiple small retail spaces along 15th.
Yes it will. That is great. But why is that enough? It is depressing that the bar is so low. People really need to get out (of Seattle and the States) more.
The city and state just spent a bunch of money updating Miller Community Center less than a 10 minute walk away from here… but I get the sentiment, there could/should be better buildings with spaces for local businesses. Here’s hoping that the social housing developer can create spaces like this, since they will be focused on serving the cities residents rather than making a profit.
Density for the sake of density definitely doesn’t make sense, it requires transit-oriented and walkable neighborhoods with nearby amenities. I wish that there were more small grocery stores and corner stores, but the reality is that the majority of people shop at these bigger stores, so having a Safeway here will be an asset to those who live near it and reduce the need to drive/transit to these stores in other neighborhoods. Seattle, and most other major cities, have also artificially forced low-density development for the majority of the city in single-family-home zoned areas. This inflates land values and rents and increases urban/suburban sprawl. Minneapolis removed SFH zoning shortly before the pandemic and was one of the few cities to see relatively low inflation in housing prices post-pandemic (half the national average: https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/twin-cities-seeing-second-lowest-rate-of-inflation-in-the-country-according-to-latest-consumer-price-index/89-37dc36ff-3fdd-43d2-9eaf-c1c443b28fba). More duplexes, fourplexes, and apartments that can fit small families throughout the city and create vibrant communities will also help people stay in the city.
How do you define “vibrant”? Does it mean “well-off people spending their disposable income”? Does it mean “noisy”? Is it synonymous with “heat island effect”?
You wrote “and most other major cities, have also artificially forced low-density development for the majority of the city in single-family-home zoned areas. This inflates land values”
So, the land value of a parcel in a “single-family zone” will drop if it’s rezoned to allow 4 townhouses?
I should have said it inflates housing cost, not land value, by making available housing more scarce.
As for vibrant communities, I think one where you can walk to most destinations, have a mixture of low and medium density housing with access to parks, shops, and transit.