Quick updates from land-use land

| Development | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

Several West Seattle projects turn up in the latest edition of the city’s Land Use Information Bulletin:

JUNCTION MEGA-PROJECT BEHIND PETCO: A land-use decision is in for this 7-story, 136-apartment, 5K-sf-retail project, to be called “Mural” (more info here on the developer’s website). Construction permits are the next step.

4116 CALIFORNIA: Land-use decision on a 4-story, 40-apartment, ground-level-retail building proposed here. (map)

3636 BEACH DRIVE: Application filed to officially reclassify this one lot into five; townhouse permit already issued for this site. (map)

WEST SEATTLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ADDITION: The land-use decision is in for a three-story structure adjacent to the church. (The project is explained on the church’s website.)

Jan October 26, 2007 (6:33 pm)

so, tell me again….change in the form of growth is a good thing….right? RIGHT?

grr October 26, 2007 (8:39 pm)

in many ways, it is, Jan. I won’t mind a few ‘taller’ mixed use buildings, but..damn…we gotta be able to have a little say in what they look like.

I keep using The Osborne condos as my benchmark. If they all had that much style and attention to detail, people wouldn’t complain so much about them.

Frank October 26, 2007 (10:11 pm)

Good is relative term when it comes to growth. It’s good if you are the land/building/business owner, developer and the city. All make money off of it.

For the people that live in the area it can be a mixed bag. There are new stores that can bring a varity of products.

But irresponsable growth and growth without management, i.e. unchecked growth, which is what we have going on here in WS brings huge problems with it. The disruption of roadways, the increased traffic on the streets surrounding the new developments, the loss of parking in those areas…etc. Remeber with the huge influx of high density housing in the area the traffic going over the two bridges in and out of WS will increase also. Not everone, much to the “mayor” and city council’s chagrin don’t take busses.

In fact the percentage of people using mass transit is the same as it was prior to the influx of people to the Seattle area; about 5%.

Has anyone looked at the plans and seen ANY improvements in releiving traffic congestion that is sure to happen in the surrounding areas? Because I sure haven’t seen any. There is 181 new residences being built in the above projects. If every one of the occupants have the average amount of cars, two, that’s an infulx of atleast 362 cars. Are the new apartment buildings going to provide the extra parking spots? Are there any new roads or improvements to the roads in those areas planned?

Sorry, but I’m more concerned about the movement of cars and safety of the roads than the looks of the new buildings.

Frank

Winthorp October 26, 2007 (10:21 pm)

The Osborne condominiums a benchmark? I nearly spilled beer all over my keyboard.
I think this building is an incoherent mess. A little bit craftsman, small patches of brick, massive stone arches (?!) blended together with glass blocks from a seventies office building. All that slapped onto one big blob (except for the undersized kind of interior courtyard) with almost not modulation changes at all.
There are so many great Northwest architects (http://www.pnwra.com showcases some of them) and all we can come up with are either Cobbesque Faux craftsman clones, dull stucco boxes or, well, the Osborne?

Winthorp October 26, 2007 (10:36 pm)

Frank, this is America! We’ll pile on the cars without wasting any thoughts on how to build an infrastructure until everything comes to a complete standstill. Kind of like the windstorm last year that knocked out power for a week plus — in the year 2006! I’m just waiting for the viaduct to collapse in the upcoming earthquake so that everyone can rally to support the ones that got squashed. America is great in dealing with disaster, but completely incompetent in terms of avoiding it in the first place.

Bonnie October 26, 2007 (10:48 pm)

So once they build this building in the parking lot behind Petco, where will everybody park when they visit the businesses? If I have to start paying for parking every time I go to the junction I might not go to the junction very often…maybe pick Westwood Village (or is it Town Center?) instead.

Jan October 27, 2007 (12:02 am)

Frank…definitely something to be concerned about. And we know somewhere down the line that the viaduct will become an issue again. Once again, I sure am glad that I work at home :)

grr…driving up Aurora Ave. today going to an appt., I realized that West Seattle isn’t the only area targeted with Fugly architecture. There is a complex going in at the south end of the Aurora Bridge on the east side called Domaine ($300K to $800K). The backside of this complex borders on Aurora, and is absolutely one of the ugliest buildings I’ve seen in a long time…but then, Aurora is Aurora, isn’t it?

Jiggers October 27, 2007 (1:09 am)

The space behind Petco is big enough for what? How big are the apartment units going to be? I can’t phantom a 136 living units there. 7 story’s?

jdp October 27, 2007 (10:39 am)

The parcel is behind Petco and includes the site of the old Dr’s office. In my opinion and I do not mean to offend anyone; I have never seen any Omni project that I like, they are mostly the faux-craftsman trash. Harbor Properties usually does a nice job on their buildings and pays more attention to the finished product, especially since this will be in their portfolio for apartments.

old timer October 27, 2007 (11:00 am)

I wonder just how big a space they will be taking.
The rendering sure looks like a lot more than just the petco lot. Is there a site plan anywhere?

That Harbor outfit sure has a good bunch of apartments going. They all look to be high-end and well located. Tenants would probably be an asset for the community where the buildings are sited.

The buildings should provide a great income stream for decades for the investors.

flipjack October 27, 2007 (11:42 am)

Ahhh, I can’t wait to be sitting in traffic akin to 520 when trying to get to and fro West Seattle. Now THAT’S progress. Maybe Microsoft will build a campus here!!

David October 27, 2007 (9:17 pm)

Just for a reality check…life is NOTHING but change. Sorry if that bothers folks, but tomorrow will be a little different than today. Sorry if once you “have” your slice of the pie, it doesn’t stay that way forever. West Seattle used to be forests and NO houses what so ever (say in 1700s). I’m sure the native Americans who lived here then didn’t really want a Safeway or the condos on Alki either…a bit too much change for them. But we took the land and built it anyway. And it sucks we lost the trolly (mass transit of the 1930s) and Luna Park…and so on. And West Seattle 50 years from now won’t be recognizable compared to what it is now. It’s tough…but not a thing you can do about it. We don’t live in a static museum, but a continuously changing world. :)

Jan October 28, 2007 (12:19 am)

David,when I find myself wishing some things were like they “used to be”, I try to remember this favorite quote of mine “It is peculiar how important something can be at one time and how totally unimportant at another.As we grow, our interests grow. We lose sight of situations we thought to be footed in concrete. Lovely or unlovely, nothing stays the same. It cannot. It grows into something newer and better, or it gives way where it is. Life is a living, moving force at every moment. We would not have that change – but to live happily, we must change. We cannot allow ourelves to crystallize. There is too much to shatter us if we cannot bend. To enjoy the present moment is to have the innate knowledge that the next one and the next one can be even better.”

Here’s hoping that these will all make our West SEAttle a bit better :)