First: A reminder that Conner Homes‘ two-building project in The Junction goes back for what could be its final round of Design Review (process explained here) this Thursday night, 6:30 pm, West Seattle Christian Church. After the March 12 review, all involved agreed to schedule this meeting as quickly as possible, including the two board members who technically were supposed to end their terms after the 3/12 meeting, but agreed to stay on till it was finalized, for continuity’s sake.
Speaking of board members, here are the two new ones who will join as of the following meeting (April 9th, Madison Middle School, 2988 SW Avalon and 4532 42nd SW): Norma Tompkins and Robin Murphy (screenshots from their appearance at the Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhoods Committee meeting earlier this month). While Tompkins is appointed as the “local residential representative” on the board and Murphy is appointed as “design professional representative,” both are trained architects, according to the biographical info in this month’s edition of city planners’ dpdInfo newsletter (see it here); Tompkins works as a production designer at Starbucks, Murphy works for the architecture firm Stricker Cato Murphy; both are West Seattleites.
One other note – Followed up on a WSB’er note asking what’s up now that more than two months have gone by since the last Design Review meeting for the redevelopment proposal at The Kenney (previous coverage of the project archived here).
We checked with Kenney CEO Kevin McFeely, who replied:
Basically, what is happening is that we are exploring the recommendations and suggestions that were discussed at the last meeting in January. This involves potentially moving the Seaview building to a different location on the campus and reducing the massing on the perimeter buildings to allow for a smoother transition into the neighborhood. At this time, I don’t have a sense when the next meeting will be, my hope is that it will take place within the next 4-6 weeks.
Once that next meeting is scheduled, you’ll find it on the city’s Design Review/Upcoming page for starters, even before the official notice appears in the Land Use Information Bulletin; our fellow development-watchers may be interested to note, that page’s format and features have just been updated. Upcoming reviews can be sorted by district, among other things, and meeting announcements now include the city’s own maps (like this one showing the location of Madison MS for the 4/9 meeting).
*A land-use permit has just been approved for 2328 Harbor Ave, a waterfront multi-building project, called West Bay (the drawing above is also on a sign at the site), where Berg Scaffolding is now. The decision, and information on how to comment, can be found here.
*The subdivision plan for a six-unit residential project at 5020 Delridge (map) also has been approved; more on the decision, and how to comment, can be seen here.
(rendering courtesy Weber Thompson) We reported after the last meeting last Thursday night that it was expected a special meeting date would be set April 2nd for the Conner Homes Junction megaproject to return to the Design Review Board – now that date is confirmed in the latest Land Use Information Bulletin – the meeting’s at 6:30 pm April 2nd, at West Seattle Christian Church (more room than the High Point Library where the last meeting happened, and no time limit). Here’s the notice; here’s our full report on last week’s meeting.
ALSO FROM TODAY’S LAND USE INFORMATION BULLETIN:
-Appeal hearing set April 24 for land-use decisions related to the Denny-Sealth project (here’s the notice)
-Official notices of two other Design Review meetings we’d already reported here – both on April 9, both at Madison Middle School – 2988 SW Avalon at 6:30 pm (here’s the notice), 4532 42nd SW at 8 pm (here’s the notice)
Over the past six days, we have brought you word of two lawsuits filed in connection with Fauntleroy Place, the idled development site east of The Junction, slated to include a Whole Foods store – if and when construction gets back into swing. Following our first report on the lawsuits last Friday, we shared the full documentation this past Tuesday for the suit filed by Christopher NeVan (here’s that story) against the other site owners, and now today, the full documentation for the suit filed by site developers BlueStar against the site owners has become available online (its lawyers had declined our request last week to provide the document shortly after its filing, but now it’s publicly accessible). The BlueStar suit alleges breach of contract; “unjust enrichment”; intentional interference with business relationships and expectancies; disparagement affecting business, trade, or profession; and defamation, and says BlueStar hasn’t been paid for its work since last August. Read the entire lawsuit here (33 pages); we’ll add an overview after we go through it. ADDED 3:30 PM: The toplines from this lawsuit:Read More
When we first told you last Friday about the lawsuit that developers BlueStar filed against Seattle Capital and its parent company in connection with the stalled Fauntleroy Place development, we also mentioned there was word of another lawsuit. We’ve now learned more about that lawsuit: It’s filed against Seattle Capital and Fauntleroy Place LLC, but for this one, the plaintiff is BAJ Capital, local investor Christopher NeVan‘s firm, which state corporation-information files listed as one of the “governing” parties in FP LLC along with Seattle Financial. It tells the detailed tale of what allegedly happened with the site and its ownership last year – we’ll be reading it a while to distill it, and we’ll link it here as soon as we can. The first 10 pages (which are followed by exhibits including the original 2006 LLC agreement forming Fauntleroy Place) accuse the defendants of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. This suit was actually filed a few days before BlueStar’s suit (which isn’t yet available in the public online court system). ADDED 1:17 PM:Here’s the lawsuit if you’d like to read it for yourself. (The one filed Friday isn’t available online yet.) 2:28 PM: We’ve summarized the complaint, if you’d rather read the toplines than wade through the whole thing:Read More
Last night, we published a short summary right after the design-review meeting about the Conner Homes megaproject in The Junction; now, here are full details on what was seen and said, and what happens next:
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The crowd reaction was a bit reminiscent of an evangelistic church service when Rene Commons (above) stood before the Southwest Design Review Board last night to show those photos she’s shown holding. Many people in the 50-or-so-member crowd murmured and mumbled “uh-huhs,” maybe just short of an “A-men.”
Her point was that the Conner Homes two-building, 7-story megaproject at California/Alaska/42nd needs architectural flair, given its prominent future position in the heart of the business district that is now branded as Downtown West Seattle.
And the desire to see more detail is part of why SWDRB members asked Conner and his development team, including architects from Weber Thompson, to come back for (at least) one more review.
A public notice is published today for an upcoming foreclosure auction that, according to online records, includes the lion’s share of one of Alki’s newer condo developments, 1350 Alki Avenue SW (built in 2008, which is also when the Google Street View image above was made). Of its 10 units, one is sold, according to this sales website and county property records. The foreclosure/notice of trustee’s sale document on the King County website (read it here) says that as of January, $5 million was owed, and says that what’s being offered at auction at the county Administration Building downtown on April 10th includes 9/10ths interest in the land and seven of the condo units.
A major followup this morning to our status report yesterday on the idled Fauntleroy Place/Whole Foods development at 39th/Alaska/Fauntleroy: WSB has learned that a lawsuit has just been filed. The firm that has been developing the project, BlueStar Management, is suing Fauntleroy Place LLC (the official site owners), Seattle Financial Group, and Seattle Capital Group (one of the governing parties of FP LLC). We are working right now to get a copy of the full complaint, but a watchlist of newly filed lawsuits summarizes this one as alleging breach of contract and defamation. Construction on the site has been idle since last fall, and Seattle Capital disclosed in late January that they were in the process of selling the site, though they have not been available for comment this week and the status of the reported sale is unknown. More to come; we will add comments and documents to this story as we get them. 11:12 AM UPDATE: BlueStar’s Easton Craft referred us to the company’s lawyers for comment, and we expect to speak with them soon. There also is word of an additional lawsuit linked to this project, also filed this week, and we are working to get details on that. 8:09 PM UPDATE: We have a statement from Susan Rae Fox at Ryan, Swanson and Cleveland, the firm representing BlueStar, in response to several questions we asked:
BlueStar Management, Inc. filed the action to recover unpaid management fees incurred in connection with the Fauntleroy Place project and is merely seeking to be fairly compensated for the project development services it rendered. BlueStar has been committed to, and worked diligently for the Fauntleroy Place project from the very beginning and was shocked and saddened to be summarily terminated in December 2008.
The action was filed after a formal request for mediation was rejected and was in no way intended to adversely affect any current activity on the project. BlueStar continues to believe that bringing Whole Foods to West Seattle as part of the Fauntleroy Place development will be good for West Seattle. BlueStar wants to see the project succeed and does not believe that the filing of this action is inconsistent with that goal.
Tonight’s Design Review meeting for the Conner Homes (owner Charlie Conner, photo left) project at California/42nd/Alaska won’t be the last. After a somewhat rushed meeting — High Point Library had to close at 8 pm, no matter what — board members agreed the project wasn’t quite ready for final design-review approval. Board chair David Foster told WSB afterward that they’ll work with city planners to see if that last meeting can be scheduled sooner rather than later – perhaps in three weeks (which would be Thursday, April 2nd). More details later on the concerns, and kudos, expressed for the project, what board members want to see in that next review, and what else happens now. (Monday morning note: Full article will be published separately no later than noon this afternoon.)
Some who closely watch the Fauntleroy/Alaska/39th site that has become better known as “Hole-In-The-Ground Foods” have pointed out that more of the idled construction equipment has moved off the site in recent days and weeks. So we launched a new round of checks, a month and a half since it was revealed the Fauntleroy Place site is being sold. First – we went to the Ledcor Construction site office across the street.
They’re still open (though prominently posted as “not hiring”), they describe the project as “on hold,” and they say the equipment was moved to another job site where they needed it. Next – a check with Seattle Capital, which spoke with WSB for our late January report; no callback yet – the main contact is out of town. After that – a check with BlueStar, the original developer. Eric Radovich says they cannot comment on where things stand now, but they are still hopeful they will be chosen to continue with the project under its new ownership – and he reiterates that their other two West Seattle projects, Spring Hill (5020 California) and Gateway Center (the optioned Huling Buick site immediately across from Fauntleroy Place), are up in the air depending on what happens with Fauntleroy Place. We also contacted Whole Foods‘ regional spokesperson Vicki Foley, who replied with this:
I contacted our Regional Construction Project Manager and he said that although we know that the ownership of the project is most likely changing, Whole Foods Market has a fully executed lease with benchmark dates that we are expecting the LLC to honor regardless of ownership.
Tonight could be the last Design Review session for Conner Homes‘ two-building, 7-story project at California/Alaska/42nd, and that means potentially one of the last in-person public-comment opportunities on the first major redevelopment project in the heart of The Junction. If you missed our report Tuesday, here’s the link to the presentation that’ll be shown tonight; the meeting’s at 6:30 pm at High Point Library (map). Lots of other major events tonight too – please check the WSB West Seattle-wide Events calendar for the full list.
We showed you new images like that one last Thursday (WSB coverage here) when Conner Homes brought the “alley vacation” portion of its Junction megaproject (California/Alaska/42nd) back before the Seattle Design Commission. Now, two days before its next Design Review meeting here in West Seattle (6:30 pm Thursday @ High Point Library), that entire planned presentation is available online – download it here (15 MB PDF). Many are images we’ve shown you during and after the past few Design Commission presentations (courtesy of architects Weber Thompson), but there’s lots of additional detail you’ll want to see if you’re interested in this closely scrutinized two-building project at the heart of The Junction. Here’s another image, showing the east building on the Alaska/42nd corner:
We saw them this morning on our way to a story interview – didn’t get a photo, didn’t see them when we headed back the other way, but perhaps they were just on break (we’re checking again now) because we have since received several e-mails (thank you!) asking about them, and that’s why we’re mentioning it: The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters was protesting another West Seattle worksite, with drums and cowbells in addition to picket signs. This time, it’s the Avalon Center construction site at 35th/Avalon; the signs said they’re protesting Rain City, a contractor firm. Last time they were spotted here, a week and a half ago (WSB coverage here), they were protesting a scaffolding company at an apartment building undergoing renovations south of The Junction. (Update – no sign of them again at 1:45 pm, so we’re concluding at this point they’re done for the day.)
Two West Seattle items in the city’s latest Land Use Information Bulletin: On Alki, immediately south of Cactus on 63th SW, a land-use application has just been filed for two 3-story buildings totaling 7 units. Here’s the notice, which has links for comments to be submitted, through 3/22.
Second: In South Delridge, a decision is in approving a land-use application to build two 4-unit townhouse buildings on a 9,500-square-foot lot at 8605 Delridge (map) that currently holds one house. Read the decision here.
SPEAKING OF TOWNHOUSES: The proposed changes to the Multi-Family Code (zoning), involving townhouse design and more, will be the subject of a briefing this Wednesday, 9:30 am at City Hall, before the City Council’s Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhoods Committee. Here’s the committee agenda (which also includes a rezoning request for some High Point Land); here’s our report from January.
(added 5:12 pm, newly released rendering of proposed western Conner project building at California/Alaska)
That’sConner Homes boss Charlie Conner speaking briefly to the Seattle Design Commission this afternoon at City Hall, before commissioners’ third review of the “subterranean alley vacation” that’s needed for his project to have one underground parking garage shared by its two proposed 8-story buildings at California/Alaska/42nd. Any kind of “alley vacation” — allowing a land owner to take public property — generally requires the owner/developer to offer some kind of “public benefit” in return; as Conner recapped in his remarks, that’s the part that commissioners hadn’t been so sure about, though they signed off on the design concept during an earlier meeting. The extensive discussions of the previous reviews — which we covered here and here — were not replicated today; project architect Peter Greaves of Weber Thompson recapped a few elements in which he had responded to commissioners’ previously voiced concerns, and the commission gave its approval with few comments/questions. This isn’t the final approval for the alley vacation; SDOT’s alley-vacation specialist Beverly Barnett told WSB after the meeting that her work on it is not yet done, and once her department has a recommendation, it goes to the City Council’s Transportation Committee. The Conner project has an even bigger date before then – next Thursday, 6:30 pm at High Point Library, what could be the final Design Review Board look at the entire project. We have images from today’s presentation, courtesy of Weber Thompson, and will add them later this afternoon.
ADDED 5:06 PM: For starters, here’s the full Conner presentation (5 MB PDF). Also just added the first image from that presentation at the top of this report – a new rendering showing what the western building of the project might look like.
ADDED 6:36 PM: Jump ahead for more images made public today, and a few more details from this afternoon’s Design Commission meeting:Read More
That video by WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli captures what happened on the day last November that 4532 42nd SW (map) — a huge house with a lot of history, including time spent as one of West Seattle’s original hospitals — met its demise. The newest date written onto the Southwest Design Review Board‘s calendar is for the next review of the project that will replace it, seen here in a rendering from its last SWDRB review last June:
4532 42nd SW is now the second project on the SWDRB agenda for April 9, 8 pm – location TBD – first one that night, at 6:30 pm, is 2922 SW Avalon (featured here yesterday). But there’s a West Seattle Design Review meeting *before* then, too – a week from tomorrow, at 6:30 pm March 12 at High Point Library, the Conner Homes Junction project gets its next look (and part of that project, its “alley vacation” request, has a third hearing before the Seattle Design Commission at City Hall downtown tomorrow). Side note: We cover the Design Review scheduling, reviews, and votes closely because this is a rare step in the development process, for some projects, when the public gets a chance to speak out at a public hearing. For details on how that works, you can check out the Community Guide to Design Review.
(January 2009 rendering of Conner project alley area, courtesy Weber Thompson)
Will the third time be the charm for Conner Homes as it takes the “alley vacation” portion of its West Seattle Junction megaproject back to the Seattle Design Commission? That group has to sign off on such requests (as do SDOT and the City Council) and already has seen two presentations by Conner’s architects, each time asking for an encore (WSB coverage: January 2009 and November 2008). Now, they’re set to make another presentation at 2 pm this Thursday during the commissioners’ all-day meeting in the Boards and Commissions room at City Hall downtown (map). In this case, the “alley vacation” isn’t the classic case of a developer wanting the actual alley, but instead, requesting the right to use land UNDER the alley, to connect what otherwise would be two separate underground garages for the two buildings at California/Alaska/42nd. (Meantime, as mentioned here last month, the entire two-building project also is set to return to the Southwest Design Review Board on March 12 – 6:30 pm, High Point Library.)
In August 2007, before Pegasus Pizza moved out of 2758 Alki and next door into the former Coyotes/Chez Million/Point/etc. space, there was a proposal for a new ground-floor restaurant/top-floor “offices” building to be built at that site (here’s our original report). Today’s Land Use Information Bulletin has just arrived with word of a different application for 2758 Alki (here’s the notice; here’s the project page) – this time, 3,000+ square feet of “retail” at ground level, two residential units above. There are a few more West Seattle projects in the LUIB (added 1:30 pm): 1111 SW Holden, 1 lot approved for subdivision into 4; 9028 18th SW, 1 lot approved for subdivision into 3; 5980 26th SW, application to subdivide 1 lot into 2.
New tree-removal rules made it through the City Council today – read on for the official news release with details about the restrictions and the potential penalties:Read More
(1254 Alki in the right foreground, 1252 and 1250 to the left)
Last November, we reported on 3 side-by-side houses for sale on Alki Ave in the 1700 block (that listing’s status is “withdrawn”). Today, we thank Shauna for tipping us to a new three-fer listing, in the 1200 block (map): $6 million dollars for what’s billed as a “20-unit condo site” in this CL listing (which also poses the question, “What will the demand be in three years?”). The addresses (linking to online property history) are 1250, 1252, and 1254.
UPDATE ON “TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT” BILL: We have been keeping an eye on this one as it’s come up in some of the neighborhood-council meetings we cover, though so far its potential effect on West Seattle is unclear: If you’re tracking the “transit-oriented development” bill sponsored by 34th District State Rep. Sharon Nelson, the Daily Weekly reports it failed a committee vote today, though that’s not the final say. It’s also up for discussion tonight at a workshop sponsored by City Councilmember Sally Clark at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center.
The city has set a “tentative” date for the Conner Homes Junction project’s next Southwest Design Review Board meeting – potentially the last one, if the board approves of the proposal: March 12, 6:30 pm, location TBA (added later: the site is now set – High Point Library). This is the two-building project, California/Alaska/42nd with an alley between the two; the image above is one of several we published from the most recent city Design Commission meeting related to the “alley vacation” proposal (because of the underground parking garage) that’s part of the plan. That commission has seen that street-level portion of the project twice since the last Design Review meeting on the entire project (WSB coverage here, from last May; official city report from the same meeting is here), and still has to review it again before SDOT can consider signing off on that component.
Speaking of board members, here are the two new ones who will join as of the following meeting (April 9th, Madison Middle School, 
Over the past six days, we have brought you word of two lawsuits filed in connection with Fauntleroy Place, the idled development site east of The Junction, slated to include a 
Tonight’s 
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