In February the initial Letters of Intent were due for projects vying for the $7 million (first round) Opportunity Fund, a part of the $146 million Parks and Green Spaces Levy specifically designated to community initiated projects. In total the Parks Department received 150 Proposal Letters from groups and individuals throughout the city. Of these, seven were proposals for projects in the Greater Capitol Hill Area, which range from outdoor cooking class space to vegetation management financing. Below is a short description of each of these projects:

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• 19th and Madison Neighborhood Park

Location: 19th and Madison

Cost Estimate: $450,000

Proposal Organization: Hearing, Speech, and Deafness Center

Summary: To acquire a small piece of land at 19th and Madison and create a peaceful park and community gathering space

 

 

• Capitol Hill Community Garden

Location: 510 Federal St.

Proposal Organization: Citizen

Cost Estimate: $337,000

Summary: To turn an abandon lot into an urban community garden space with an outdoor kitchen and meeting space to host cooking classes and events. [Acquisition process coverage here]

 

• Two New Gems

Location: 24th and E. John; 24th and E Thomas

Proposal Organization: Green Footprint Action Works

Cost Estimate: $1.5 million

Summary: To add two vacant lots to the existing string of neighborhood parks, i.e.Homer Harris

 

• Conservatory East Greenhouse Rehab Project

Location: 1402 E Galer St.

Proposal Organization: Friends of the Conservatory-Volunteer Park

Cost Estimate: $350,000

Summary: To rehabilitate Volunteer Park Conservatory’s East Greenhouse for multi-purpose use for horticulture support and public education programs

 

• John Street Enhancement Project

Location: E John and Summit Ave

Proposal Organization: Capitol Hill Community Council

Cost Estimate: $200-300,000

Summary: Improve streetscape to create connection between Olive Way commercial district and new park [previous coverage here]

 

• McGilvra Place Green Infrastructure

Location: 15th Ave and Pike St.

Proposal Organization: The Bullitt Foundation

Cost Estimate: $650,000

Summary: To restore an existing park, creating new open space with sustainability goals [related to this project]

 

• Volunteer Park Vegetation Management Plan

Location: Volunteer Park

Proposal Organization: Friends of Olmstead Parks

Cost Estimate: $150,000

Summary: Implement Volunteer Park Vegetation Management Plan

 

Quite the list, and certainly all worthy projects. The next step is the official Application Letter which is due April 1st. After that the Parks Department will go through a lengthy public recommendation process with City Council authorizing final approval in December. We’ll keep you posted as these projects move along.

 

[Full Disclosure: Josh is a member of the Capitol Hill Community Council and contributed to the application of the John Street Enhancement Project.]

The Bullitt Foundation, one of the Northwest’s leading environmental organizations, has teamed up with local developer Point32 (BelRoy, Art Stable) and architects Miller|Hull  (1310 E. Union, Garfield Community Center) to construct one of the most energy efficient building in the United States. And what lucky neighborhood will be home to this building? Well, three actually.

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The building, called the Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design and Construction, will be at 1501 Madison Ave, current site of C.C. Attle’s and a surface parking lot. While technically part of the Capitol Hill Urban Village, the site also abuts the Pike/Pine neighborhood to the West and the Central Area to the East and South.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Early Design Guidance Meeting for the project is set for this Wednedsay, March 17th at 6:30pm at the SU A&A Building, 824 12th Ave [map]. You can download the full EDG Proposal here. Below is a quick preview of the project.

View Bullitt Foundation HQ in a larger map

Going beyond LEED Platinum and the 2030 Challenge, the project aims to meet the goals of the Living Building Challenge, a rigorous set of 20 priorities not least of which are 100% on-site waste management and renewable energy generation. Perhaps the most prominent feature of the building will be a huge Photovotalic (Solar Panel) which will cover the entire roof and South side of the building. Chris Rogers, CEO of Point32 said that many people are skeptical about solar in the Puget Sound region, but this project hopes “to prove that the Northwest is a viable place for solar energy”.

Energy Comparisons

Nonetheless, it will be challenging. They expect to produce roughly 22 kBtu/sq/year, nearly a 1/3 less energy than the requirements for a LEED Platinum building. Rogers said that they hope future innovations will provide them with more efficient PV panels, but until then building covenants will limit the energy usage of tenants. So sorry folks, no bakery at this site (Rogers says they use too much energy for baking).

The idea is to make the project a model for sustainable design with a host of progressive organizations and companies residing in the building and a number of features that will allow the public to learn and interact with the building. Confirmed tenants include the Bullitt Foundation, which owns the property, as well as the Cascadia Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, and the International Living Building Institute itself. The building will also contain a number of publicly accessible data reader boards which will display real-time energy usage. They also hope to host on-site classes to teach people about the design and construction process.

 

McGilvra Place Project

Another interesting feature of the building will be it’s interaction with McGilvra Place, the small “park” just to the West of the building site. Plans call for a small public plaza at the 15th Ave entrance which will integrate with and enhance the current 2,600 square foot green space. They also hope to incoporate their wastewater and stormwater treament system into the park to maintain the 100 year old sycamores as well as other new native plantings. This aspect is currently pursuing funding through the Parks and Green Space Levy Opportunity Fund.

 

Since it is still early in the design process, little is solidified on the physical look of the building. The photovotalic panels on the South side will be a major feature. Other than that, the team hopes to create a building that is uniquely Northwest by using local products and architectural elements. The proposal states that the team is “inspired by natural trees, filtered light, flowing water, and graffiti“.

Project: 1501 E Madison St  map

Design Proposal available

Review Meeting:	March 17, 6:30 pm
	Seattle University
	824 12th Ave  map
	Meeting Room
Review Phase:	EDG–Early Design Guidance
Project Number:	3011010 permit status | notice
Planner:

Lisa Rutzick

[Full disclosure: Josh is an elected representative of the Capitol Hill Community Council and an active member in the John Street Enhancement Project]

Last month, the Capitol Hill Community Council began a campaign to implement a bold plan for the Capitol Hill section of the First Hill streetcar.  While this progressive proposal has garnered some publicity in recent weeks, it is important to note that the group has also been working on some less grand, but just as exciting, projects as well.

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Last week CHCC officially applied for the Seattle Parks Opportunity Fund to enhance the streetscape along John St. adjacent to the future Unpaving Paradise P-Patch and soon-to-be-named park.

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Bioswale by SvR Design

The John St. Enhancement Project, led by community activist Chris Hoffman, was developed to improve the pedestrian experience along John St. between Olive Way and Summit and to better connect the Olive Way commercial district to the future P-Patch and Park. The plan calls for a narrowed street, limiting traffic to eastbound only, and designating the street a festival street so that it can easily be closed down for community events. Parking on the northern side of the street would be replaced by a ten-foot-wide bioswale and an improved sidewalk that incorporates community artwork. The entire project is estimated to cost between $200,000 and $300,000, much less than the $1.5 million limit for project applicants.

 

The Opportunity Fund is part of the 2008 Parks and Greenspace Levy which provided $146 million for Seattle park space. In addition to the Acquisition and Development funds, the Opportunity Fund provides $15 million “solely to community initiated park projects”. The first step in the Opportunity fund application process was the Letter of Intent, due February 1st. Project ideas are then developed and a full application is due on April 2nd. Parks will review all applicants and make funding recommendations in late 2010 with implementation beginning in January 2011.

Jewish Family Service has announced plans to build a new 19,000 square foot expansion building on the parking lot adjacent to their current offices at 1601 16th Ave.  Designed by Weistein A|U,  the new three-story structure will have ground level parking and two levels of office and assembly space above. JFS hopes to receive LEED Silver for the project.

Founded in 1892, JFS provides essential human services throughout the Puget Sound region with a diverse range of programs including addiction counseling, refugee assistance, and food bank services. Even before the economic downturn JFS was continuing to increase its client base and in 2009 it served over 11,000 people from its small offices in the Jessie Danz Building. Plans to expand were initially released in 2007 but as the recession took hold, construction was delayed and the size of the building was scaled back. The new design was released earlier this month and JFS hopes to begin construction in late 2010. Design review for the building is tentatively scheduled for March 3, 2010.

View JFS Building in a larger map

Last August, JFS received a significant boost in their capital needs with an award of $500,000 in federal stimulus dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The money will go to increasing storage and delivery capacity at their Morris Polack Food Bank, something that has been sorely needed as the demand for food services increases. The renovation work began in October and should be completed in early March.

The 2010 Design Review Season begins this Wednesday with an Early Design Guidance meeting for 302 Harvard Ave E. Currently the site of a 2-story apartment building called the Harvard Flats, the property was purchased by Capitol Hill-based WRP Associates in 2008. WRP is proposing a 7-story structure that includes around 70 apartment units,  up to 3,000 square feet of retail, and parking for approximately 60 vehicles. Perhaps as an homage to the existing mid-century beauty, the new structure will also be called the Harvard Flats.

 

Review Meeting:	January 6, 6:30 pm
	S U Alumni Relations & Admissions Buildings
	824 12th Ave  map
	Meeting Room
Review Phase:	EDG–Early Design Guidance
Project Number:	3008933 permit status | notice
Planner:	Lisa Rutzick

One particularly interesting thing about this project is that it is adjacent to an unusually wide section of Harvard Ave. As we recently found out, the historic reason for the large right-of-way was a streetcar that ran down Harvard from Roy St. Unfortunately, these days the street only facilitates speedy drivers heading South to Olive Way and, living very near this intersection, I have seen far too many instances in which cars nearly hit pedestrians crossing at Thomas St.

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The main obstacle to improving the area has been the eight surface parking spots on the East side of Harvard Ave, but with the new development,  those spots will presumably be moved to an underground lot. That would free up at least 1,800 square feet of road that could be improved to slow southbound traffic. The spot could also potentially host a community garden, display some public art, or just add a little greenery to the neighborhood, similar to the 12th and Thomas intersection up the hill (shown below). I have contacted WRP Associates to see if they might be interested in working with the community on this project but I have not received a reply. But what say you Hillites? Any specific ideas for improving this section of ROW?

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2009 was a tumultuous year for development in our little neighborhood on the hill. Unlike previous years, when it felt like new condo projects would swallow up every piece of culture and art around, the Great Recession put many development projects on “indefinite hold.” But there were some projects that did moved forward, and others that were optimistically announced. Sound Transit also radically changed the cityscape along Broadway. In the spirit of Year End Reviews, here is a recap of development on Capitol Hill in 2009.

Victims of A Global Recession

Vacant Apartments at Bellevue and Pine

Continuing a trend of 2008, many Capitol Hill development projects struggled in 2009. Brix Condos went to auction in September and The Summit followed suit earlier this month. 25 on the Park, a townhome project just East of Cal Anderson Park, went into foreclosure and is still waiting to be completed.

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Other development projects which were expected to begin construction this year have been put on “indefinite hold” including: 1623 Bellevue, 2026 E. Madison, 401 E. Pike St., 1605 Bellevue (now a vacant apartment building), and let’s not forget everyone’s favorite, the 500 E. Pine block, now known as the People’s Parking Lot. Overall, not a single project broke ground this year.

Progress Amid the Storm

Eleven Eleven E. Pike

But development did not grind to a complete halt in 2009. Major projects such as the Chloe Apartments and the Packard Building continued construction, both opening earlier this month, and the Kundig-designed 1111 E. Pike project opened over the summer. Work also continues on Joule and the Broadway Building as well as the unique townhomes at the Church of Christ Scientists on 16th. All of these projects are set to open in the first half of 2010.

We also saw a number of notable development projects announced this year. 224 Broadway, at Broadway and Thomas, was expanded to include nearly 2/3rds of the block,  set to replace the buidlings that house Bank of America, Noah’s Bagels, Pho 900, Cafe Septieme and the CH Chamber of Commerce,  as well as the parking lot where the Farmer’s Market takes place. Plans for a new mixed-use project at 11th and Pine, current site of the Spray King/Sun Electric building, were announced this year, with a proposal to maintain the historic facade. The Bullitt Foundation announced plans for a new headquarters at 14th and Madison, current home of C.C. Attle’s, which is set to be one of the city’s first Living Building’s. And finally, Seattle University gave us some details on their big plans for 12th and Madison. All of these projects, though, are in the early stages of planning and only the Bullitt project is scheduled to break ground in 2010.

Broadway’s Big Hole

Demolition of Jack in the Box

Perhaps the biggest development story this year was Sound Transit’s work on the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station, which includes 3-acres of land surrounding the intersection of Broadway and Denny. After a neat art display at the end of 2008, the old buildings on the site were relegated to the annals of history, with the Broadway Jack in the Box building being the last to fall in May. With staging, prepping, and utility relocation completed in 2009, Sound Transit will now move on to Phase 2 of the eight year process: Excavation and Tunneling. In January Denny St. will be closed between Broadway and 10th for the next six years (if not permanently), and 16 foot high sound walls should be going up in the next few months. The Capitol Hill Station, along with the University Station, is set to open at the end of 2016.

In addition to the actual station construction, work also commenced on planning for the Transit Oriented Development that will eventually sprout on the 3-acre lot. Sound Transit held three TOD community meetings and established a TOD stakeholders group which met monthly and is tasked with making recommendations to ST in the new year. Sound Transit also paved the way for  the extension of Nagle Place, which will possibly be the new home of the Broadway Farmer’s Market. In September the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce hired local design firm, Schemata Workshop to host a TOD Design Charrette which brought more than 70 community members together to discuss opportunities for the future site.

Looking Forward to the New Year

With some economists predicting an end to the Global Recession, we may see a slew of new development projects start up in 2010. But my guess is that things will remain pretty slow for the foreseeable future.  But perhaps this isn’t a bad thing. New buildings add to an already significant over-supply of retail space. Buildings such as John Court and Trace Lofts, which have been open for years, still have retail space that has yet to be filled. It will also give the community a much needed break from the traumatic displacement of popular businesses and character buildings. After a decade of nearly uninterrupted growth and change, maybe it’s good that Capitol Hill will get a few years to breath and rediscover itself before light rail dramatically reshapes things once again.

How progressive is Capitol Hill development? A Capitol Hill project on Madison was hoped to be the first construction in the state to achieve the lofty standards required to called a Living Building. That’s not going to happen. Instead, a different Capitol Hill project is now on track to be Washington’s First Living Building. It’s a hippie design geek wonderland up here.

Back in July, the Bullitt Foundation announced plans to build a “uniquely Northwest” Living Building at the current site of C.C. Attles, on Madison. Don’t worry. C.C.’s received a lease extension and are enmeshed in the planning process, we’re told.

The building is planned to meet the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge, and will likely begin construction in early 2011. Now it turns out that another building has been announced that would not only steal the title of first Living Building on Capitol Hill, but be the first Living Building in all of Washington State. From the press release:

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A team comprised of some of the region’s leading green building professionals have formed The Restorative Design Collective to build a cutting-edge green science building for the Bertschi School, an independent elementary school on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Working pro bono, the team is designing the new science building to meet the standards of the Living Building Challenge, a deep-green building program which encourages projects to achieve self-sufficiency by generating all of their own energy with renewable resources, harvesting and treating all of their own water on site, and operating at maximum levels of efficiency with a healthy indoor environment.

The Bertschi building, slated for completion in November 2010, hopes to achieve Living Building status by incorporating a rain garden, solar panels, natural ventilation, local materials, and “urban agricultural and sustainable education components.” As mentioned, the Restorative Design Collective has offered their services to Bertschi free of charge, saving the school an estimated $300,000.

It should probably be noted that the building will only be 1,350 square feet, significantly smaller than the mixed-use building planned by the Bullitt Foundation. Nonetheless, with two Living Building planned for Capitol Hill and only 60 Living Buildings planned or constructed globally, we are likely to have the highest concentration of Living Buildings of any neighborhood in the world!

Meanwhile, the Bullitt development also got some important news when the City Council last week approved a pilot program to support Living Building projects in the city:

A “living building” is the next generation of “green building,” made of sustainable materials and using only as much energy and resources as it is able to generate on-site. The pilot project will allow up to 12 unique “living buildings” to be developed in Seattle over the next three years. Seattle’s land use code doesn’t currently allow for the unique characteristics required to meet living building standards, so the City Council gave the Department of Planning & Development the authority to grant developers the flexibility they need to meet project requirements.

Councilmember Sally J. Clark said, “Living buildings could become the next quantum leap forward in development, and based on what we learn from this pilot project, some living building standards could become the new status quo for development. In the face of ever-growing demand for energy, water, and non-renewable resources, that’s a direction I’m planning to take our built environment toward.”

Buildings taking advantage of the pilot program will compete in the “Living Building Challenge” contest, sponsored by the International Living Building Institute, and must meet at least 60 percent of the challenge’s prerequisites. The first living building project, proposed for Capitol Hill, could receive final approval for construction in 2010.

The Bullitt project will likely be a 6-story mixed-use building with the ambitious goal of being a model for future Living Buildings throughout the world. It also received significant publicity because it would have been the first Living Building (as identified by the standards of the “Living Building Challenge”) in Washington State. The project is currently in the design phase and because of some of the important technicalities of what constitutes a “Living Building” (ei. treating sewage water on-site), needed to get specific City Council approval before construction. The developers have a timeline of beginning construction in early 2011 and likely finishing sometime in 2012. There will be plenty of community meetings and design reviews to come before that.

In the meantime, students from the University of Oregon are collaborating with Bullitt to help envision the new project. And they’re looking for feedback in the CHS Forums:

Hello Seattle,

For my final two terms at the University of Oregon, I am working on the design for the new Bullitt Foundation Headquarters on Capital Hill. We are working with Miller Hulll Architects and Point32 in the new design at 1501 E Madison St. The building will also include residential, commercial and retail space. The entire design will meet the Living Building challenge and it is our goal to produce a net-zero building.

I have done a fair amount of research and learned quite a bit from articles online, but I don’t haven’t heard much from residents living in the area. Being that I live in Eugene and can only visit Seattle, I don’t have a good sense of the communities view of the location or what is needed in the neighborhood. So I would like to ask for some honest feedback from anyone with an opinion, or anyone who is just interested in the project.

Do you know about the project? Do you live in the area? What would you like to see integrated into the design (e.g. Community rooms, public spaces, restaurants, urban gardens, etc.)? Have you frequented the bar that is currently on the site and do you have an opinion about its being moved?

Any other suggestions are appreciated!

It’s an academic exercise but the information will make it back to Bullitt so drop into the forum to leave a comment or sound off here.

Seattle’s pride in being a vibrant urban metropolis is tainted by the fact that our street food scene is limited to near-rogue efforts threatened by aggressive health department enforcement. Due to a number of strict regulations imposed in the 1980’s, Seattle’s street food has been reduced to less than 10 trucks and a battalion of hot dog vendors. But in the last year, due to consistent pressure from citizens and media outlets, the City of Seattle has finally decided to reform it’s anachronistic street food system in order to spur economic vitality and pedestrian-friendly streets.

At December’s Capitol Hill Community Council meeting, Gary Johnson from Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development, filled us in on some of the specific reforms that City Hall hopes to implement in the coming year.

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While it won’t make the streets a free-for-all to any entrepreneur with ambitions, it will be a huge step forward in bringing us more in line with our annoyingly cool sister to the South.

Here are the main changes being proposed:

Eliminate required 200-foot park setback. This would be dropped as vending has been shown to activate and improve park safety. This is also means that the failed Wandering Wieners as sole vendor in Cal Anderson park was likely the last of its kind.

Set “clear path of travel” standards for carts on sidewalks. Replace maximum cart dimensions with standards to ensure clear sidewalks for persons with disabilities and easy access to area business.

Create street use permit for mobile trucks. Currently only trucks serving construction sites are regulated [outside of private property]. This would expand the definition [of food carts] to allow SDOT to issue street use permits where mobile tucks propose to operate from the right-of-way, similar to sidewalk cafe or other street use permits.

Set standards for design, litter pickup, and hours of operation. Allow SDOT to set guidelines for cart dimensions and design, and standards for trash clean up, and hours of operation consistent with area businesses.

Setback from restaurants. Require food vendors to be 50′ from adjacent food service, unless with written permission from the business.

Improve notice requirements for the public and area businesses. Require public notices of pending applications for mobile food vendors in the right-of-way and require food vending applicant to notify all adjacent businesses in person.

Mobile vending from the street. Allow SDOT to designate public places (such as Occidental or Westlake Parks, or on-street locations) for mobile vending

Although some of these things don’t sound particularly food cart friendly, I think the most important things are that SDOT could designate specific food vending areas, where any mobile food vendor, push cart of truck, could apply for use. This is very similar to the street food squares in Portland. Also freeing up the cart dimensions would allow vendors to have push carts that meet their food handling needs, instead of a standard size that really only works for a few items (namely hot dogs).

During his presentation, Johnson consistently referred to Portland and their success with food vending. He specifically mentioned an interesting micro-enterprise program in PDX that he hopes to introduce up here. The program, run by Hacienda, helps immigrant families start mobile food vending services as a way to increase economic stability (more on that at their website).

Johnson wasn’t sure on the timeline for changes to actually get implemented but said they are working to have things finalized in the next few months. If you have any questions or comments about food vending reform, send them to Marshall Foster, Office of Policy and Management, or Gary Johnson, Department of Planning and Development.

(H/T to the DJC)

Two seven-story buildings, with a combined 115 residential units, are planned for the corner of Thomas and Harvard Ave, just West of Broadway and less than a quarter mile from the future Capitol Hill light rail station. Both projects come from Capitol Hill-based WRP Associates, who’s website describes their work as, “urban live work architecture”. The firm, founded in 1986, has developed a number of urban infill projects throughout Seattle, including the 2004 Capitol Court building on 19th between Mercer and Republican.

View WRP Projects in a larger map

 

The Harvard Flats

On the Northeast corner, currently a 2-story apartment complex, WRP has plans for a 75-unit residential building with 3000 sq ft. of ground floor retail and 60 below grade parking stalls. The building, called Harvard Flats, would be the firm’s largest project to date and is scheduled for completion in 2012. The Early Design Guidance meeting will be held on January 6th.

 

Across the street to the South, WRP has proposed another building, The Westside, to replace the current surface parking lot. The building would have 45 residential units above “2 commercial loft spaces” and 2 levels of below grade parking. Although their website states a proposed completion date of 2010, the project has yet to go through design review and the land use application was last filed in March of 2007. WRP has yet to comment.

The Westside

Update: Michael Jacobs of WRP sent along a little more information on these two projects:

We still plan on having the Westside project completed, however it is currently on hold. The completion date will more than likely be beyond Fall 2010. The date of completion for the Harvard Flats is still tentative.

Both projects will be apartments, not condos. The goal with these projects is to provide quality, affordable housing for the working class of Capitol Hill.

I just read the posting you made on the blog this morning. I must correct you, the Westside has already gone through the design review and permitting process.

A DPD search turns of the property turns up a land use application from March 2007 (valid through Dec 2010), and a construction permit from November 2007. The project was not listed in the Design Review Archives.

Joining the ranks of Press and  Brix , The Summit, a remodel condo project at 900 Summit Ave E, will go to auction next week along with two other Seattle condo projects. The building’s 14 one and two bedroom units range from 531 to 795 square feet and minimum bids start around $100,000.

The auction will be held Saturday, December 12th, at the Sheraton Hotel downtown. More info at www.seattlepropertyauction.com .

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