From the city’s latest Land Use Information Bulletin: Four months after the final Design Review Board meeting for 4502 42nd – the seven-story, 89-unit mixed-use building proposed for the corner of 42nd/Oregon (map)- its design review and “non-significance” status are final; read the decision here. The deadline for an appeal is May 18; this notice page explains how to appeal. Which is exactly what’s been done in the case of this project:

That’s the medical/office building proposed for 2743 California SW, just north of PCC. Its design review/DNS decisions have been appealed and – according to this notice – a hearing is set before the city Hearing Examiner (usually the 40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown) at 1:30 pm May 27th.

Just received a flurry of e-mails wondering about loud picketing at the Capco Plaza/Altamira Apartments site north across Alaska from Jefferson Square. Heading out to check; there have been short bursts of picketing at several West Seattle construction sites in recent weeks, and it’s previously been the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters targeting a subcontractor at a site (here’s our story from March; here’s our story with video from late February; we also saw and heard them, chanting via bullhorn, at an Alki remodeling site about two weeks ago). Often it’s a fairly short demonstration, although the one in late February went on for a few hours. (Added: Two e-mails say the signs indicate the target is K2MG.)

2:42 PM UPDATE: Went by just before 2 pm – unless they’ve come back since, it appears to be over.

2:10 PM WEDNESDAY: Just left in comments:

I am an owner of K2MG and I apologize to all of you who were effected by the Carpenter union protest at the Junction Construction site.

K2MG is an Open Merit Shop, which believes in allowing the employees the right to help in determining wages and working conditions. K2MG believes in the system of Free Enterprise and that, the employer must have concern for the general welfare of the employees and that there must be a fair compensation for work performed. Similarly, we believe that the employee has an obligation for satisfactory performance of assigned work.

The PNRCC claims they have a labor dispute with K2MG however; the description of a Labor Dispute is when the company’s employees are unhappy with their employer. K2MG can proudly say our employees are very happy with the wages they receive along with our benefit package K2MG provides. The Unions main goal appears to be to force our company out of business by their negative and untrue campaign to discredit our company and others like ours with intent to gain a larger market for the local and national Union drywall contractors.

A milestone tonight in Junction development: The 5th time turned out to be the charm for the Conner Homes two-building megaproject, which is now done with Design Review, one year and twelfth days after the first DR meeting on the project. The rendering above shows “scheme D” from the latest round of proposals for the till-now-undecided final element of the project – the shape/look of its western building, at California/Alaska. That shape, with a few changes large and small, will form the framework of the recommendations made tonight by Southwest Design Review Board members as they concluded their fifth — and now, it can be said, final — meeting on the project, which ended moments ago. About 50 people filled the room at one point – breaking several times into applause during the public-comment period, especially for West Seattle resident Rene Commons‘ impassioned presentation (second one she has made to the board) requesting architectural details that would at least give a nod to the area’s history.

Board members did make one stipulation that’s a major change from any of the four options shown: They want the retail facade along the southwest street-front of the project to be two stories instead of one story, in no small part to “mask” the higher stories from those passing by on the street. And they’re calling for some sort of strong element at the California/Alaska corner – maybe a vertical sign or some other “supergraphic” element, as board member Vlad Oustimovitch put it – to give the project some of the “quirky” West Seattle flavor to which Commons had alluded during her presentation.

On Tuesday, we showed you all four of the “schemes” now proposed for the western building in this two-building project (see them in this WSB story) in the heart of The Junction. Tonight, 6:30 pm, West Seattle Christian Church, members of the Southwest Design Review Board will look at them and decide whether the project will get the green light to move on to the next stage of the permit process. One person you can expect to see there is Rene Commons, who, at the third meeting, brought architecture examples she hoped the project team would take a cue from:

Commons has been working to be sure everyone knows about tonight’s meeting – she even made and distributed this poster:

(The city’s own signage is generally a bright green “NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING” flyer.) She explains, “I think West Seattle deserves more on this corner of our historic Junction. Our community recognizes that the building planned for this corner of the 4-way in the Junction is our quirky Times Square and a building of this size and magnitude should be designed better compliment the character of the small business quirky atmosphere of the Junction. I can embrace large structure like this if it is well-designed at street level and in context or improved context of the existing historical buildings in the junction. The Design Review Board really needs community support to guide the developer to get it right.” To see the full “packet” for tonight’s meeting – which, as we reported after meeting #4, was called expressly to deal with the “massing” and look of the western building — go here. If you’re going to tonight’s meeting, which like all Design Review sessions includes public-comment time, parking for WSCC is off Genesee, just east of the main church building at the 42nd/Genesee corner – look for the signs.

When the Southwest Design Review Board meets this Thursday night (6:30 pm, West Seattle Christian Church social hall) to settle one last issue with the Conner Homes two-building project at 42nd/Alaska/California, the only thing that’s supposed to be up for discussion is what the western building will look like. Now, architects Weber Thompson‘s planned presentation is posted online, and there are four options offered – the one above is Scheme A; here’s Scheme B:

The view, if you haven’t figured it out, is looking south-southeast toward the building, theoretically from the Easy Street block; the hollow-looking gray rectangle on screen right is where ground-level retail would go. Then there’s Scheme C:

And Scheme D:

You can see the full planned presentation here; for more background, here’s WSB coverage of the 4 previous Design Review meetings:
Design Review #1 – April 2008
Design Review #2 – May 2008
Design Review #3 – March 2009
Design Review #4 – April 2009
Plus, here’s a comparably angled rendering of the same building from last meeting, for comparison’s sake:

That’s one of two West Seattle projects with actions listed in today’s semiweekly Land Use Information Bulletin: the finalization of Design Review approval for a 3-story office building at 2743 California SW, the parcel immediately north of PCC (notice here). Note: The lines in the image above are NOT part of the design, but were from the markup on an image we pulled from the official January DR meeting for this project (see the full presentation here – warning, it’s a massive file, 67 MB). Also on today’s list, approval for subdividing 4133 25th SW (map) into two lots (see the notice here).

As reported last week (quick version here, in-depth version here), the Conner Homes project at California/Alaska/42nd is going back to Design Review for the fifth time – with one last issue on the table: The overall “massing” (shape, etc.) of the building that’s right at the Walk-All-Ways corner. The city planner on the project, Michael Dorcy, just confirmed that the meeting will happen April 23 (6:30 pm, location TENTATIVELY set for the same place as last time, West Seattle Christian Church in The Junction).

Hat tip to the Daily Journal of Commerce for reporting new information today about the Whole Foods/Hancock Fabrics site’s prospective buyers, following our report yesterday that Seattle Capital confirmed a deal IS still pending. Following up today, we reached Matt Segrest, who was quoted in the DCJ story (only available by subscription) – and here’s the statement he provided WSB (note that the name “Fauntleroy Place” is not mentioned):

The West Seattle Whole Foods site is currently under contract to be purchased by Alamo Manhattan, LLC. The firm will lead an investment team to purchase the property. Alamo Manhattan will also serve as the developer for the project. The project will feature a 45,000 square-foot Whole Foods Market, a 15,000 square-foot Hancock Fabrics and 184 apartment homes. Construction of the project began in Summer 2008 and all shoring and excavation work has been completed. The project is temporarily on hold as Alamo Manhattan is evaluating the transaction. No significant design changes from the Design Review Board approvals are anticipated.

“We are conducting due diligence regarding the purchase of the property and continue to be excited about the opportunity,” said Matt Segrest, Principal of Alamo Manhattan. “Negotiations are currently underway with multiple investors on the project. We expect to select an equity partner soon and be positioned to restart construction in the third quarter of this year.”

A resident of West Seattle, Mr. Segrest views the project in both professional and personal terms. “Of course I’m interested in the investment side of the opportunity, as I think it is going to be the crown jewel of the Alaska Junction for at least a generation. Additionally, having a large hole in the ground at the most visible location in my neighborhood is undesirable for me as well as my friends and neighbors. The opportunity to invest in my own community and to make a meaningful contribution to its urban landscape is particularly compelling to me.”

Matt Segrest is the Principal of Alamo Manhattan, LLC, and has been responsible for over half a billion dollars in new development throughout the West Coast, including over 1,750 luxury apartment and condominium units and approximately 76,500 square feet of mixed-use commercial space.

We have a request out to the site’s original developers, BlueStar, for comment, as they had told us they hoped to continue developing the project post-sale, as well as saying their other proposed projects in West Seattle (the Spring Hill mixed-use building south of The Junction (which concluded Design Review last September) and Gateway Center at the old Huling Buick showroom site) were hanging in the balance depending on what happened with the Whole Foods site. Also, as for more information on Alamo Manhattan itself, no website yet but the parked domain alamomanhattan.com is registered to Segrest.

3:43 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Easton Craft from BlueStar. He says they cannot comment on the Whole Foods site purchase situation (as we’ve reported previously, they are suing the site’s current ownership), but, regarding the other two West Seattle projects: “We are certainly working on the other projects we have in West Seattle – clearly the economy has caused a delay but we hope to move forward as quickly as possible. We hope that as we move into the next few quarters we’ll see enough (economic) recovery to move forward.”

Five months after the demolition of that century-old house at 4532 42nd SW (map), the development that’s replacing it has what could be its final Southwest Design Review Board meeting this Thursday night — and the presentation is now available online, with images including this one:

The six-floor Golden Crest development is at left (at right, Capco Plaza/Altamira Apartments at Alaska/42nd). According to the presentation that’s now available (see it in its entirety here), its 35 residential units would range from studio to 3 bedrooms; they would be built over 3,000 square feet of commercial space and 54 “basement” parking slots. This project has already been through the “early design guidance” phase, so if board members give it the thumbs-up on Thursday, it’s done with design review.

Golden Crest is to be reviewed at 8 pm Thursday at Madison Middle School, following the board’s 6:30 pm “early design guidance” look at Transitional Resources‘ 4-story proposal for 2922 SW Avalon (no presentation online yet but here’s the city permit page).

During the City Hall revenue-forecast briefing we covered yesterday, city Finance Director Dwight Dively noted some reasons for cautious economic optimism. This morning, we’ve got more proof a long-idle site along California SW — cleared in 2006, and with townhouse permits issued one year ago (WSB coverage here) — is finally about to see construction work. First, Anne from Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) tipped us that a telltale sign (a porta-potty) had shown up at the site. Now, there’s a brand-new permit for temporary power to the site. The permits granted for the site span four addresses from 6021 to 6031 California (map), and if our math is right, they add up to 6 live-work units and 8 townhouse units. ADDED 9:36 AM: Just went by to check, and in fact, a backhoe is at work on the site right now:

(from left, DPD’s Michael Dorcy, board members Vlad Oustimovitch, Christie Coxley, Deb Barker, Joe Hurley, David Foster [standing])
Thursday night, after a 3 1/2-hour meeting of the Southwest Design Review Board — the fourth on the Conner Homes two-building California/Alaska/42nd project — ended with a decision to have a fifth meeting, we published a quick summary. What follows here is the long version — who said what and why, and what that fifth meeting is for.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

That mockup from one of the previous meetings on the Conner project — in which participants took the basic mass of the western building and imagined some different form and flair — is part of the reason why Design Review Board members want architects to come back one more time: This building, particularly its uppermost section, still doesn’t resemble what they’re hoping to see at the most prominent corner of the business district that is the heart of West Seattle.

Thursday night’s three-and-a-half-hour meeting settled the other remaining major issues, including whether that building would keep its residential entry on California as proposed and would keep its parking-garage entry/exit on 42nd as proposed (answer to both: yes).

Read More

That’s one of the new images we’re seeing as the Conner Homes two-building project along Alaska from California to 42nd comes back for its fourth, and potentially final, session before the Southwest Design Review Board; more than 30 people are in a meeting room at West Seattle Christian Church, where Jim Westcott from Weber Thompson architects has shown some of the “architectural detail” that the board and members of the public asked about last time. That detail will include panels and trim on balconies, as well as different colors of brick; another major issue to be settled, will the developer be allowed to have the parking-garage entrance/exit on 42nd, instead of on the alley as per city policy? More details on all this later, and when there is a decision, we will post it here (with a detailed article to follow afterward). 9:25 PM NOTE: Meeting’s still going, after almost 3 hours, in case you were wondering. Betting at this point it won’t be over before 10. 9:47 UPDATE: The board’s decision: The project is going to have one more Design Review meeting, meant to be “focused.” When that was proposed, a lawyer for Conner Homes said, “This project has been through 15 hours of public meetings,” and the two veteran board members who are about to end their terms snapped back that this is such an important project, what’s another meeting? Plus, Foster noted, “You could have done a better job” adding later, “Give us your best work.” They’re proposing April 23rd, which would be a regular DR meeting if there were any projects to decide (and right now, for that night, there aren’t – we’ll confirm the date/time/place as soon as city planners finalize it). The main remaining concern, the issue on which that meeting will focus: The form of the west building — the one at California/Alaska — looking for a little more modulation, a little less of a “monolithic” feel, more interest to the facades along the street. “I know you’re frustrated,” said outgoing board chair David Foster to the project architect, “but you’ve come a long way.” FRIDAY MORNING NOTE: Working on the detailed article now; two other things we wanted to note from the hearing toplines – the board did agree to let the project keep a residential entrance on California SW, instead of having retail entrances there, and they also agreed to grant a “departure” to allow the entry/exit for the underground parking garage to be on 42nd SW, though city policy usually requires such entries to be on alleys.

1 year, 2 buildings, 4 meetings, and it may all come down to tonight – or not. The most closely watched project in The Junction — Conner Homes‘ proposal for 2 buildings along the south side of Alaska from California to 42nd and one big garage beneath them both — returns to the Southwest Design Review Board tonight, almost a full year after its first turn before the board. Though Design Review is not the final stage of the process in which public comment is allowed, it IS the only stage in which you can stand up and offer your comments (relevant to design issues) in person. Here’s our coverage of the previous review March 12th; the one before that, May 2008; and the first one, April 2008. The city’s official project-status page is here. Tonight’s meeting is at West Seattle Christian Church, 6:30 pm.