From tonight’s JuNO meeting: Fauntleroy Place‘s new look

| Development | West Seattle news

(image removed at request of developer — see forthcoming post higher atop the page for new information, will be linked here when posted)

Update on the following – Eric Radovich from BlueStar explained the origin of the artwork that led to this post – he says it’s for massing, not colors or design – separate post to come atop the page.

One of the headlines from tonight’s Junction Neighborhood Organization (JuNO) meeting — Brian and Katie Tucker, JuNO members living adjacent to the Fauntleroy Place (aka “the Whole Foods project”) site, received and shared this new rendering from developers BlueStar, who don’t even have it on their own website, which still shows this one (FP changed architects a few months ago):

The Tuckers were told the latest plan is for these to be apartments, not condos, and that they will have fancy interior touches and rent for higher than the current WS average. More first thing in the am from the JuNO meeting, where a city rep talked more about the upcoming Junction parking review, and also from the Fauntleroy Community Association meeting, where the other half of the team is getting the latest on the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, among other things.

David March 11, 2008 (9:23 pm)

ROFLMAO

I SAW that coming. This is how EVERY single project in the history of Seattle works. The original drawing, which itself is usually a little suspect becomes MORE AND MORE of a singular generic square “block” of a building. By the time building starts, that original concept, with the 4 or 5 different heights/sections, will become ONE big single 6 story box of windows, with the mandatory little round aluminum ‘flair’ on the front corner. FUNNY (and sad)

They could have just photocopied this ‘design’ from nearly any other condo build in Seattle in the last 10 years.

rockergirl March 11, 2008 (9:23 pm)

YUCK! I would prefer the OLD design – at least it has some sense of style – new design is boring and looks more like a prison or something.

old timer March 11, 2008 (9:38 pm)

Looks like the old ‘bait & switch’ as they strip off the things that made it look like it might be interesting; setbacks, sidewalk awnings, balconies, a tower, varied textures and colors, and voila!
We have a blob of income generating pap! Well, maybe no income, but pap none the less. Maybe it’s been changed to low income housing, or an old peoples home?

flipjack March 11, 2008 (9:38 pm)

Yeah, Pretty sneaky. Man that latest rendering is pretty dang fugly…Wow, that’ll be the first thing you see entering the junction. I’m moving back to Petticoat Junction.

Jeremiah March 11, 2008 (9:47 pm)

Its not even built, and it looked dated.

Keith March 11, 2008 (10:08 pm)

The developers must’ve looked at the Jefferson Square “lifestyle Safeway” and figured hey, if people would live there, they’d be even more excited to live in the same sort of ugliness above a WHOLE FOODS!

GenHillOne March 11, 2008 (10:17 pm)

What happened to the curves? The tree-lined balconies? Rich earth tones? Varied roof lines? Wait…they added a crosswalk for those coming from the gas station, yes, that’s handy.

PSPS March 11, 2008 (10:23 pm)

It looks like a hospital with a corner grocery — and the grocery looks out of place! (The prison analogy upthread would hold true as well, except there are no bars on those windows along Alaska. They won’t come until a year or two after completion, and then it will look like a prison.)
These renderings crack me up with their silly pie-in-the-sky environment too. Notice how Alaska is adorned with a total of four cars with a few pedestrians casually and happily strolling down wide sidewalks. What about the 300 or more extra cars this monstrosity will house? They must be taking Oregon into downtown to work unless they all work at the grocery downstairs. The corner gas station has magically disappeared. The south side of this “creation” is nothing but a 40-foot high brick wall. How inviting.
Why not show those pedestrians up close so we can see their broad smiles and the bags of money they’re carrying. That would be a realistic as the rest of this rendering.

fiz March 11, 2008 (10:23 pm)

I’ll miss the West Seattle I’ve lived in since 1948, glad my children ‘knew it when’.

Kat March 11, 2008 (10:27 pm)

Can anything be done about this horrendous “bait and switch”? My gut reaction was BLECH.

JanS March 11, 2008 (10:38 pm)

there doesn’t even look like a damned balcony anywhere….and they want to charge more? Where the hell do they find these architects…Architects R Us?

acemotel March 12, 2008 (12:20 am)

It looks like SHA housing. Or tenements. Bring back the previous architects.

Jiggers March 12, 2008 (2:34 am)

Why so little traffic in the picture?

Jiggers March 12, 2008 (2:38 am)

Also, let’s guess how much rent will be for a 660 sqft apartment their by the time they finish it? I’ll be the first to say around $1300 on the low end.

Sue March 12, 2008 (7:00 am)

I find it kinda funny – everyone complains that the Hancock/Shucks property is an eyesore (which it is). But somebody wants to build a building there and suddenly it’s so hideous and disgusting. Honestly now, is this really worse than what’s there now?
.
It’s not my favorite design in the world (and yes, I preferred the original), but if they’ll improve upon the lot and actually put a business in there that people will use, then it’s a good thing ultimately. And if that artist’s rendering of a crosswalk across Alaska on the west side of Fauntleroy is accurate, I will be *very* happy – I life on the west side of Fauntleroy, and it’s a pain to have to cross 3 ways just to cross Alaska there.

JoB March 12, 2008 (7:16 am)

is this their final plan?

Mr. JT March 12, 2008 (7:23 am)

This change in appearance is not unusual when construction bids come back over budget estimates. I question what cuts were made in the infrustructure / mechanicals / interior finishes….

Thomas March 12, 2008 (8:04 am)

David wrote: ” This is how EVERY single project in the history of Seattle works.”

This is in fact how every design or architecture project anywhere works: an initial design is proposed with distinctive and interesting ideas, it’s then shown to various people with more money and influence than taste. All of a sudden the design’s dumbed down and turned into a generic building, website, or whatever. The money-people are familiar with this kind of building, they’ve seen them built, they’ve been inside them, so this is the “safe” choice that they’re willing to fund. Anything else represents an expensive unknown, even if the community thinks they’d like it better.

WestSeattleMom March 12, 2008 (8:24 am)

And to think I listened to these people last summer at the WS street fair sell me a load of bull! Their story was all about adding to the livability of West Seattle etc etc. What a joke. The new design is UGLY! grrrrrrr

JM March 12, 2008 (8:36 am)

This looks like Whole Foods Inn & Suites… or Whole Foods Hospital (take your pick)

I’ll bet they’ll skimp on parking space width when it comes to designing the parking garage as well. Technincally they will fit the car… just don’t expect to be able to open your door to get out. I designed better parking for my Matchbox cars as a kid than some of these places do now for real cars with real people in them.

Andre March 12, 2008 (8:37 am)

I can’t believe that they are allowed to change it to something that differs so dramatically (massing, setbacks, elevations, materials, pretty much everything…) from what was approved by the design review board. If that is the case then what is the actual point of a design review?

swimcat March 12, 2008 (8:40 am)

The new design is pretty unappealing. It looks like a hotel, hospital or upscale projects. In fifteen years, when the housing market is better, it will probably be converted into condos too.

WSB March 12, 2008 (8:41 am)

JM, the couple who showed the rendering last night and have been talking to the developer say the parking garage design looks promising – with good in/out flow (Katie is on the JuNO board and this project is of course one of several of major concern for that neighborhood – if you are concerned about development in The Junction area, JuNO is an excellent group to get involved with).

Bayou March 12, 2008 (8:42 am)

How long do you think it will take for a car to miss that curve and end up in the deli section?

add March 12, 2008 (9:13 am)

Forgive my ignorance, I don’t know much about the design review process – does this latest rendering also have to go through a review or is this “it”?

JF March 12, 2008 (9:13 am)

Disgusting. I’ll have to figure out a new route to drive home so I won’t have to look at it.

Steve March 12, 2008 (9:26 am)

Old design better – new design sucks.

Chris March 12, 2008 (9:41 am)

One thing…it makes Schucks look awfully good.

MG March 12, 2008 (9:41 am)

What a bunch of whiners! West Seattle is changing, and imo, for the better. Do I like the new redesign? Not particularly. However, it will be a vast improvement over what is there now.

westseattleite March 12, 2008 (10:01 am)

It will definitely look better than what is there now, but do we know the reasoning for the dramatic changes? The original rendering was much more appealing.

villagegreen March 12, 2008 (10:10 am)

The economy’s tanking and this new design is what happens when you build a huge project during a recession.

To the people who say it’s better than what’s there now – that goes without saying. But why settle for crap just because it’s a step up from sh*t. Put the thing on hold and wait for more funding. Building another Jefferson Square should be a criminal act.

B March 12, 2008 (10:42 am)

There will be 3 floors of underground parking that will span the entire space of the structure underground. Another floor will be dedicated to residence so they won’t be competition for spaces. Last night we also had a representative from SDOT talking about the parking situation in West Seattle. This includes the junctions and surrounding neighborhoods. I would encourage everyone to attend the meetings which will probably start in August so your voice is heard before something is done. This blog is a great resource to find out when things are happening. If you live near the Alaska Junction JuNO is also a great resource at http://www.wsjuno.com/.

B March 12, 2008 (10:43 am)

Paul March 12, 2008 (11:03 am)

Agreed that anything is better than what currently sits on the space, however, why are all these designs so boxy? Is it because the price tag to the investors is way to big for design 1 so design 2 is much less expensive and then their pockets will runneth over with more cash? Also, true, who is going to be able to afford to live there? I rent out a studio in my house and my 5 year tennant can barely afford the 450 a month we charge for rent, which btw, includes all her utilities.

B March 12, 2008 (1:00 pm)

I could be wrong, but I think we’ll all be surprised at who will afford the rent. I work downtown and work with several young professionals who are looking to West Seattle over say…Belltown because it’s a lot more affordable. They will pay $1200 for a 1 bedroom “luxury” unit that would cost them $2,000 in Belltown. They like the fact that they can still walk to restaurants and bars but without the price tag.

Egantic March 12, 2008 (1:07 pm)

This is what happens when you design by committee…you end up with something totally watered down.

alki rez March 12, 2008 (1:11 pm)

WSB – help us out here, I’ve never seen a post that begged response so much. What is the best way for this group of (more than) concerned WS residents to voice our opinion of this awful design? ‘B’ – are you a part of JuNO, if so, can you help us out here? Is there a person at the city of Seattle that we can contact?

As for the comments, forget the ‘well, its better than Schucks’ argument, this is our ONE CHANCE to guide this project to make it something West Seattle can be proud of. And no, sitting back and being cynical is not helping either.

Jiggers March 12, 2008 (1:12 pm)

I like change but let’s do it right. Shucks building is a dump like the Hamm building. I’m all for a new look, I just wished it was Trader Joes instead. It also seems that this project is taking years just to get underway. Let’s move it already so it can be finished whatever its going to look like. Its like getting light rail done. it takes 20 years!!

flipjack March 12, 2008 (1:13 pm)

Wow, I can’t believe people who will take the stance “well, it looks better than what’s there…” What’s there is a ghost town getto. OF course anything would look better, but is that how you set your standards?? Like ” Well I was living in Hell, but the boredom and monotonousness of Limbo is better than where I was.
HAhaha…man.
People whine and complain, because they respect themselves and the community they live in enough to get pissed over some developer taking a big concrete dump in the middle of their neighborhood.

I AM A LOSER March 12, 2008 (1:20 pm)

I can’t afford to shop at high end grocery outlet. I can’t tell any taste difference between a Safeway tomato and a Whole Foods to’ma’to. The only difference I see is in its outrageous price markup.

WSB March 12, 2008 (1:43 pm)

I’m trying to find out what the status of this is. There was a Design Review Board meeting scheduled last month – then it was abruptly canceled – the development company told me at the time that it turned out not to be necessary – the city planner is the person for starters who really would have the answer, so I’m going there. Will advise when I figure out something.

MG March 12, 2008 (1:59 pm)

“People whine and complain, because they respect themselves and the community they live in enough to get pissed over some developer taking a big concrete dump in the middle of their neighborhood.”

There is a huge difference between “whining and complaining” and “respecting themselves and the community”….if people are so pissed over the development of these “boxy” establishments, then quite whining and complaining and do something about it. And posting in this forum isn’t the answer.

WSB March 12, 2008 (2:00 pm)

Just talked to BlueStar, who says the drawing is massing only, NOT colors/design/etc. They have asked nicely that we take it off the site and while we are not necessarily legally obligated to do that, I am choosing to do so and will post an updated note atop the page.