Tag Archives: development

Retrofit relocation? First Hill tenants push back on seismic work that would ‘evict the whole building’

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(Image: John Winthrop Apartments)

Retrofit plans

By Brenna Gauchat

Residents from the century-old John Winthrop Apartments on First Hill met last week in the Cal Anderson Shelter House community space to discuss the possibility they might be evicted.

Alongside the Puget Sound Tenants Union and residents from sibling buildings, they brainstormed ways to stop the new owners of their building from relocating residents as the structure undergoes earthquake safety retrofitting.

“We’re not against earthquake retrofitting, we’re just against this BS process that they’re using to do this,” one John Winthrop resident said. “Like a loophole to just evict the whole building.”

In April, Nordic Falk and Seattle real estate entrepreneur Kevin Falk acquired the 1020 Seneca building in a $11 million deal and began structural renovations in its unoccupied units. At the same time, the building’s new owners also applied for a permit to retrofit the rest of the building, which included a request for a Tenant Relocation License as the work would be invasive and make a unit “uninhabitable,” according to the firm.

Residents at the John Winthrop have pushed back. Out of the 62 occupied units, one resident said more than half have joined in trying to find a solution to keep tenants from being uprooted, temporarily or permanently.

Others are watching.

Nordic Falk’s retrofitting project only applies to the John Winthrop but the resident said there was a “massive turnout” at Wednesday’s meeting. Neighbors were seeing the union’s event posters on the street and came to bring ideas based on their experiences in other Capitol Hill and First Hill apartment buildings.

“One thing that we were saying [in the meeting] is, okay, so you want to do the earthquake retrofitting? Just do it one by one and then as people naturally move in and out, you can keep going,” the John Winthrop resident said, just one of suggested solutions brought to the table that evening. “There’s so many avenues, I feel like this actually will end up being successful.” Continue reading →

A Seahawk and Amazon are building a 7-story affordable apartment building on Capitol Hill — UPDATE

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UPDATE: The project has provided this updated rendering of the design from Atelier Drome

A Capitol Hill development plan on ice since 2021 is ready to break ground as an affordable project backed by a development team that pairs “Super Bowl champion and former Seattle Seahawk” Cliff Avril and Amazon.

The Pointe at Thomas development will rise seven stories on land at 11th and Thomas currently home to a 1963-built, nine-unit apartment building.

The renewed 67-unit project is now moving forward under C&A Development, a joint venture from Avril’s CA Family Properties and the Cohen Properties investment firm.

According to the announcement, the Pointe units will be available to households earning between 40% and 80% of Area Median Income, $46,000 to $92,000 for a one-person household. Under the Amazon funding and affordable program, the units will be under covenant to remain affordable for 99 years. Continue reading →

Council notes: New recycling processing contract for Seattle, Social Housing Developer charter changes

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(Image: SPU)

The weekly full meeting of the Seattle City Council includes a vote a new contract for processing Seattle’s 215,000 to 220,000 tons of municipal recycling per year.

  • New recycling processing contract: Already blessed by council president Joy Hollingsworth and the utilities committee, the full council Tuesday is set to approve a new a new five-year processing contract with Waste Management that will pay the company in the range of $6 million a year for its services.. The agreement, which includes two three-year extension options, is slated to take effect in April 2027 following the expiration of the city’s current contract with Rabanco. While the contract will not begin operations until next year, Seattle Public Utilities is seeking City Council authorization now to grant Waste Management sufficient lead time to build out a new recycling material receiving facility and deploy advanced sorting equipment. Continue reading →

More changes for Capitol Hill groceries and the neighborhood’s community of corner shops as City Market has new owners in $7.5M land deal

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(Image: King County)

Here’s hoping City Market’s signs will continue (Image: @sarah_f802)

A $7.5 million property deal will further change Capitol Hill’s grocery and corner market landscape. The new owners of 1722 Bellevue Ave at the base of E Olive Way as it curves off Capitol Hill are also taking over the much loved City Market grocery, according to city and state permits.

The changes for City Market line up with a May real estate deal to acquire the 1919-built, 5,073-square-foot grocery building from its longtime family ownership.

The new owners also operate a mini mart in Lacey, according to state records.

None of the involved parties including longtime City Market owner Kurt Vold have responded to CHS’s questions about the changes.

City Market fills an important spot in neighborhood shopping needs somewhere between large scale QFCs and Safeways and convenience marts and service stations. The shelves include grocery staples, along with limited fresh produce, and an offering of prepared foods and sandwiches. In fact, the Daily of Journal of Commerce referred to City Market as a “deli” in its brief on the property sale. Seattle’s City Market has operated independently and was not part of the larger “City Market” brand operated by Kroger.

In 2022, City Market’s closure of its Crystal Clean neighbor brought a deep round of nostalgia to the neighborhood as readers mourned the passing of the last laundromat on Capitol Hill.

The family of a late longtime Capitol Hill grocer will benefit from the sale. Continue reading →

Seattle’s plan to stop environmental appeals from stalling housing legislation

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Seattle’s efforts to streamline its land use process will include a proposal aimed at cutting more bureaucratic red tape and preventing environmental appeals from stalling affordable housing.

Introduced by the Seattle City Council’s land use committee chair Eddie Lin, newly proposed legislation would amend the Municipal Code to alter how the city’s legislative actions including major rezones and amendments are handled. Continue reading →

Seattle City Council holds public hearing on mayor’s plan to speed zoning changes including Central District YMCA and church proposal

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A day after legislative victory with the City Council’s approval of her plan to speed up creation of new shelters by allowing larger Tiny House Villages in the city, City Hall on Wednesday will host a public forum on the mayor’s plan to use a set of surgical upzones to speed up “taller and denser” development changes in Seattle.

Opening the way for mixed-use development that emphasizes commercial space along with new apartments on a block just off the growing 23rd Ave corridor is part of the plans.

CHS reported in April on the proposals from Mayor Katie Wilson’s office outlining a set of areas proposed for block by block upzoning including a block of the Central District. Continue reading →

As council organizes support for mayor’s plan, Seattle’s path to ‘Taller, Denser, Faster’ zoning changes isn’t actually that fast

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The timeline for “Taller Denser Faster” isn’t really that fast

The Seattle City Council’s comprehensive plan committee Thursday heard details of Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposals to make “taller, denser, faster” zoning changes in the city.

The committee is considering passage of resolution supporting the push from the mayor’s office. It wasn’t clear Thursday if all the committee members were dedicated to the “faster” part of the equation. Continue reading →

As Seattle development slowdown continues, a new mixed-use apartment building is ready to open on Capitol Hill

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One of the few new mixed-use apartment buildings to rise on Capitol Hill during the ongoing development slowdown is ready to welcome its first residents.

The seven-story Tanager Apartments now rises above the cluster of music clubs and bars it was designed to puzzle-piece together with at 14th and Madison. Chop Suey, the Madison Pub, and 14th Ave bear bar Diesel remained open during the construction.

Finishing work has included large, colorful murals on the building’s faces and above Chop Suey’s own wall of artwork.

“Inside the community, thoughtfully designed brand-new homes offer a variety of floorplans to fit the way you live,” reads the pitch for the new market-rate project. “Enjoy inviting shared spaces including a landscaped courtyard and rooftop decks, perfect for gathering, unwinding, and taking in the city from above.”

A second-floor one-bedroom above 14th Ave will run you $2,004 a month. You can get a seventh-floor one-bedroom above the internal courtyard for $1,800. UPDATE: As noted in the comments, these listings are for only the affordable units. Standard unit prices have not yet been listed. Continue reading →

Prime for ‘high-rise zoning,’ former First Hill home of Museum of Museums hits market

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The First Hill property home to the shuttered Museum of Museums is for sale.

The Seattle DJC reports that the block of the Swedish First Hill campus at 1401 Madison is being dangled for developers.

“CBRE recently put the block on the market, unpriced. Because it’s part of the Swedish MIO campus area (think: major institutional overlay), it has high-rise zoning,” the DJC reports. “So an apartment or condo tower could in theory be built up to 200 feet.”

The half acre of land and old medical buildings are being listed as construction is completed on a new “north tower” at Swedish. Continue reading →

Central District YMCA and church land part of mayor’s plan to speed up Seattle ‘taller and denser’ zoning changes

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A proposal to speed up near-term development of new housing while the city continues to pound out longer-term changes to its growth plan includes a block of the Central District.

Mayor Katie Wilson announced her plans to speed up Seattle “taller and denser” zoning changes earlier this month.

Wednesday’s busy Seattle City Council land use committee meeting includes the beginning of debate on a set of proposals that would surgically upzone areas of the city “to support near-term investment in additional housing supply” while “while broader, more holistic changes to implement the new Comprehensive Plan work their way through the process.” Continue reading →