(Image: Haley Blavka Photography/Save the Royvue)
A Capitol Hill apartment building once at the center of a community effort to save the 1924-era structure from being converted to microhousing has been sold.
The Bellevue Ave Roy Vue Apartments building was acquired by Seattle-based real estate investment firm Kite Partners earlier this month for $11.5 million, according to county records.
Nearly a decade ago, the previous owners of the 34-unit building, Alliance Multifamily Investments, and developers Anew Apartments had an agreement and plan in place to build over the Roy Vue’s garden and overhaul the three-story building to create 147 small efficiency dwelling units in the structure.
The Save the Roy Vue effort was formed to stop the project. Historic Seattle and neighborhood group the Capitol Hill Historical Society joined forces to nominate the property for landmarks protections.
The landmarks board granted the Roy Vue protection status late in 2018.
The designation cited the Roy Vue’s embodiment of “the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, or period, or a method of construction, its presence as “an outstanding work of a designer or builder” and because “of its prominence of spatial location, contrasts” of siting, age, and scale as “an easily identifiable visual feature of its neighborhood or the city.”
But the designation did not protect the building’s interior — only its exterior and garden.
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The designation required a controls and incentive agreement to be worked out between the city and the property’s owners.
Now, Alliance has sold the building it has held since it acquired the property for $1.4 million in 1986, according to county records. The price tallies up to around $340,000 a unit.
Residents say they are concerned about plans for what comes next inside the “saved” building. “While they won historic protections, the building can still be remodeled on the interior,” one tells CHS. “Sadly, the building missed being protected fully by one vote. The new owners have stopped filling vacant units and will likely begin construction on them after the sale closes this month.”
A check of city construction permits, for now, doesn’t show any plans for major work inside the 600-block Bellevue Ave E structure.
The sale is the latest twist in the stories of preserving Capitol Hill’s old — and storied — apartment buildings. A year ago this month, CHS reported on the “Substantial Rehabilitation” fate of Capitol Hill’s La Quinta apartments after residents had raised an effort to save the building. Others like the “Save the Madkin” effort have continued to play out.
The new owner of the Roy Vue is known for upgrading its investments.
Kite Partners says it specializes in acquiring and rehabilitating “underutilized” multifamily properties with goals of providing quality housing by modernizing older buildings with a focus on safety and environmental efficiency.
The firm was founded in 2022 by Kyle Kite, who was previously a lead for acquisitions at Lake Union Partners. He is also an adjunct professor for the University of Washington’s Master of Science in Real Estate program.
Kite has been busy on Capitol Hill. Last winter, it acquired E Howell’s 27-unit Hillcrest building and the 10-unit 1811 Apartments on 17th Ave. Any construction changes at those buildings has been limited to electrical work, according to city permits.
ridiculous history here to keep the building full of rich renters instead of making additional housing available to 100+ people
Strongly disagree! And, by the way, I doubt that any of the current tenants are “rich.”
market rate renters are rich
So someone paying market rate for a one bedroom apartment in Seattle, average about $2100 monthly, is rich? That will likely be news to them.
yes – richer than 95%+ of humanity
What’s your definition of “rich” exactly?
I’m going to make a wild guess anyone who has/makes anything more than Mr. Toad….
nah, lots of people making less than me are also VERY rich
anyone in the top 10% of income or wealth of humanity. anyone renting market rate in seattle (one of the wealthiest cities anywhere ever) is definitely definitely definitely rich
why not dig tunnels and have little cells along the side like bees? density is good but there are limits and you have to pick your battles. multi story multi family apartment buildings like this are fine if not maximum density. knock down single family houses, rezone along transit, and fill in gaps like parking lots and unused lots. there’s a lot more to gain that way and a lot less to lose.
nimby arguments are very unpersuasive – you just want more people without housing for “reasons”
Less tech-bros, not more housing. Solves a lot of problems, including those stupid scooters blocking every apartment entrance and street corner and colliding into me.
explain your math
I wonder what you learn on the Masters course in real estate ? It seems like with ever increasing prices, HOA and property tax only rental complex’s are going to be in any way affordable – renting out a $400k condo no longer makes financial sense when HOA alone is usually $600. So to that extent, owning a rental building maybe makes sense. On the other hand costs keep going up, and Seattle keeps adding laws that make it hard to manage…
It’s not the best outcome but not the worst. The building itself is protected and any work they do will be cautious for fear of that status. And though I haven’t been inside the Roy Vue (always admired it), let us all admit that buildings from this era often need serious work on the interior. I live in one myself just up the road and we’ve had project after project replacing outdated electrical stuff, plumbing, etc.
That said, new owners seldom result in a lower cost of living. Guessing it’ll get some new infrastructure, gussied up kitchens and bathrooms, and about a 50% increase in rent.
At least it won’t be totally replaced by some hideous box.
The urbanists will be complaining about this building not being destroyed and replaced with some micro-apartments. I’m also glad it’s not being replaced. I know we need additional housing but we also need to keep some of these beautiful buildings from that period as they were well made and it’s a constant reminder of what Capitol Hill used to be like and how far we’ve come. The masonry and the material, especially the old-growth wood used in the building aren’t something that you see in new constructions today.
“The urbanists will be complaining about this building not being destroyed and replaced with some micro-apartments.”
Really? Then what are they waiting for?
literally the very first comment on this article
the proposal from before left the building in place, just chopped up the gigantic units into smaller ones to allow more people access to housing
The rent increase might also be because of the project after project replacing outdated electrical stuff, plumbing, etc.
Typically these things are valued at 5% of annual profit after expenses, but given that a money market is paying 3.6% for zero risk or effort, it’s obvious that rent has to go up to make it worthwhile. Rental property management is such a horribly complex business that I find it hard to see the upside.
I hope if they rebuild, the architecture is more than just one big box. Why can’t new buildings have some character?