Real-estate updates, Beach Drive and beyond

That’s yet another new sign on the big lawn in front of the “Painted Lady,” aka Satterlee House (inset right), in the 4800 block of Beach Drive, this time for Ewing and Clark, at least the third time it’s switched listing agents since we started watching it a year and a half ago. Current price, $2.2 million. As we reported earlier this month, the proposal to build three houses on that lawn is going before the city Hearing Examiner in a few weeks; the Landmarks Preservation Board has a say because the Satterlee House is an official landmark, and its ruling is what’s being appealed. One more Beach Drive real-estate note: The fourplex at 4131 Beach Drive is up for sale, $3,050,000, and the listing says it’s in the process of condo conversion. And regarding real-estate in general – it’s been reported that prices are falling more slowly in Seattle than the rest of the country; if you want to track West Seattle real estate, WS realtor (and WSB sponsor) Bill Barna is now offering a regularly e-mailed “market tracker” report. Click here to e-mail Bill for the Market Tracker; or you can see a sample version here. (He also has an automated “new listings e-mail” service that we find useful to monitor for local listings which might be worth noting here.)

dECIBEL February 27, 2008 (2:41 pm)

no more condo conversions!

Elizabeth February 27, 2008 (2:48 pm)

This house will NEVER sell for $2.2 million any time soon unless someone who is incredibly rich falls in love with it and doesn’t care that it’s not worth nearly that much (which would be wonderful). The house is in very poor condition and the prospect for developing the front lawn will likely not be resolved any time soon. Because the house is an historical landmark and has a recorded “view corridor” easement (meaning nothing can be built to block the view of the home from the street), the current owner/developer’s repeated attempts to build 3 huge houses on the front lawn have been repeatedly rejected by the landmarks board. They have implored him to propose 3 smaller “cottages” instead, but he is adament, couldn’t care less about the community, and is appealing the decision in his quest to make as much money as possible. It’s sad, really, because he could turn a very handsome profit by building the 3 small houses (and re-modeling and re-selling the main house), they could be built in a style that complements the main house, it would make for a very nice community for the residents, and it would spare an architectural gem for the W. Seattle community. But greed is greed. Let’s hope to god he doesn’t succeed and either sells it to someone else (for a realistic price) or gives in and builds the 3 smaller houses.

grr February 27, 2008 (3:41 pm)

I’m really suprized someone like ‘This Old House’ hasn’t come in and done a full remodel.

just curious…is the current owner trying to sell it WITHOUT the ‘front yard’?

lala February 27, 2008 (4:14 pm)

You know what they should do with all that space? Townhouses! There is SUCH a need for them in West Seattle. I mean, it’s so hard to find a townhouse or condo around here!

vp February 27, 2008 (5:26 pm)

The reason the real estate listing changed is the listing agent changed companies. The property is for sale as two separate pieces — the house and the front lawn, or as a single piece. Elizabeth is correct — the owner, Bill Conor, a developer, bought the property knowing it is a designated Historic Landmark, for which there are property tax breaks. He tried to build 6 townhouses and 2 carriage houses on the front yard and was not given a permit because he wouldn’t adjust the design to lessen the impact on the neighborhood. Now he wants to build 3 large houses and has consistently presented the same design to the Landmarks Board — for 2 years. Now he is suing the city because the Landmarks Board won’t give him a building permit based on the plans he’s presented. He has had offers for the property but is now trying to recoup all of his development costs to date. Anyone interested in preservation or, at minimum, a smaller impact on the yard should write a letter to the city.

nunya February 27, 2008 (6:15 pm)

Connor is a huge developer, they also own a large parcel in the Junction that includes the Rocksport. The original plan was a “demonstration” project.

Jack Flanders February 27, 2008 (8:18 pm)

My guess in the ‘classy’ developer here will let the house fall into such disrepair that it won’t be savable, then (sniff) he’ll sadly have to tear it town and replace it with 12 rectangular featureless town homes.

Herman February 28, 2008 (8:23 pm)

I think Jack is right. He’s going to hold the house hostage, effectively threating to let it fall down unless the city lets him profit from the front yard.

At this point I think he wants to get out, *IF* he can still make a ton of money. He paid about $900k for it. I’ve been inside and it’s probably worth about that much now. It needs a lot of interior work, and with a full remodel and the front yard I could see it valued at $1.5 – $1.8 million.

Sorry, comment time is over.