Just discovered: New development plan for another Huling site

| Development | West Seattle news

This filing just appeared on the city Department of Planning and Development website – no dates on the entry but the project number is among the latest few issued – an application for development at 4755 Fauntleroy, the former Huling (and fleetingly Gee) site on the west side of Fauntleroy just south of the Fauntleroy/Alaska Shell station, same Huling spot where we took the shown-above sign-removal photo three months ago. The city webpage describes the application as:

Approx. 360,000 sf over six floors with 2 levels underground parking. 244 residential units (approx.) with retail @ grade.

The filing is devoid of other details, except for the applicant, listed as Jim Lee, with an address and phone number that appear to trace to Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects in Pioneer Square. No sale records for the property at this point, but we recall at least one other area development that popped up this way, before the deal even closed. Meantime, of course we have now added this to the clickable Junction/Triangle development map. 10:58 AM UPDATE: This application apparently is really new – called DPD to see if they could tell us which planner’s been assigned to it, and they said it hasn’t even had an “intake appointment” yet.

Frank May 20, 2008 (9:16 am)

NICE!!! NOT!!!!
With this project I came up with a total of 1010 residential units being placed in a 8square block area from N – Dakota, S- Edmonds, W- Calif, E – 35th. If someone wants to double check, post it here, I just did a quick count.
Can anyone tell me if there has been any plans to increase the road capacity of the surrounding streets???
How about the parking in the area???
Are all these people who move into these builds coming to own cars? How ’bout more than one car??
Even if we assume (dangerous, I know) that there is at least one car for each resident, and we KNOW that there will be some that own two cars, there is a potential of between 1010 and 2000 cars using the roads in the Junction area. Roads that are ALREADY congested to the point of failing.
Growth and development is a good thing, but growth and development done in a irresponsible manner benefits NO ONE and drives people out.

big gulps,eh? well, see ya later. May 20, 2008 (9:36 am)

Don’t you know. Everyone will just take the Monorail! Nobody has cars. They will just ride their bikes down the death run that is biking from west seattle to downtown and the I-90…

JanS May 20, 2008 (10:03 am)

perhaps this little 8 block area with all it’s new residents can secede, elect it’s own mayor, etc…a true “urban village”…

TeresaP May 20, 2008 (10:14 am)

If West Seattle keeps building like they are planning to, it will be hell to pay. Builders might give the impression to our city officials that this is “good” for the community but in the end it is just about someone making lots of money.

Our neighboorhood is being ruined as we sit back and watch with our hands tied. Going to the junction will soon be like going to Bellevue Square in the fews days before Christmas. An absolute nightmare.

Al May 20, 2008 (11:01 am)

Good Lord B.G. Biking is not that bad. Have you even tried it?

Onya May 20, 2008 (11:38 am)

The blog does a great job of letting us know when planning and review meetings are on these projects. Please go and make your voice heard. JuNO is doing a lot to make sure that these builders are held accountable to what the community feels is best for our Junction. I was amazed at how a small group of concerned citizens could change the face and impact of the Connor Homes project. Demand that builders have on site parking for their workers, that retailers have stated in their lease contracts that their employees park in their garages and that there is at least one parking slop alloted per bedroom in new builds. Don’t be discouraged. If we stick together we have a bigger voice on how our community changes and grows.

MSW May 20, 2008 (12:23 pm)

The cynical side of me says that the plan is to make the Junction so dense that people will be force out of their cars and use mass transit. The city will conveniently not invest in upgrading our road infrastructure to achieve this purpose. They will make it so miserable for us to drive that we will be force to take alternative modes of transportation. It’s a win-win for the city, they get us out of our cars and don’t have to spend money on upgrading our crappy roads. Meanwhile our nice neighborhood becomes another Condo Ghetto like Ballard. This is what rampant development is all about, build it big and build it fast before anyone can stop it. The city along with their developer partners are systematically trashing our neighborhoods for profits and new property tax revenue. The neighborhood ends up holding the bag with more crowding and traffic congestion.

ZS May 20, 2008 (12:43 pm)

OK, but what about the road infrastructure in and out of West Seattle? Can the bridge handle all this new traffic, and what about the disappearing viaducts?

And the joke that is Seattle public transportation, will that be improved? It seems every time there is a new proposal for transportation (light rail, street cars, monorail, etc.) they always ignore West Seattle. They have no problem, however, building excessive residential units and have no problem placing jails, an excess proportion of low income hosing, etc. in West Seattle.

Jack Flanders May 20, 2008 (12:43 pm)

Biking is ‘fun’ but not at all practical for all but a small number of people. You have to be physically fit (no leg/back/health issues), no passengers, no cargo other than one fits on your back, no distance (say more than 10 miles), and the willingness to bike up/down hills in 40 degree rain. There ARE folks (god bless them) that can and will do that. But can we stop pretending that’s a ‘realistic’ method of transportation for the region. Please, get out and bike if you can/want!! But that’s not going to take a statistically significant number of cars off the street. We need a train/subway/monorail at some point. Buses help, carry more people in the same ‘space’ but get stuck in the same traffic jams too. NO major city on earth gets by without a separate independent mass transit system (subway usually).

P.S. I LOVE biking, just saying you’ll never get more than 5% of the overall traffic out of their cars in January to ride their bikes to work.

big gulps,eh? well, see ya later. May 20, 2008 (12:47 pm)

Sorry to offend AL. I was just comparing the biking from here to that of a bike frendly city…Portland… no offense dude

John Berti May 20, 2008 (12:51 pm)

Isn’t this all part of Mayor Nickel$$$ environmentalist plan? Choke the streets with cars (see didn’t I tell you it would happen citizens!), then you must OBEY and ride the bus. Oh I forgot, while the rapist developers add thousands of units let’s tear down the viaduct at the same time. Recipe for dizazsta. WE NEED A DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM IN WEST SEATTLE NOW AS WELL AS A LIMIT ON NEW UNITS ADDED. The pols need to wake up and hear the people. Write Nickel$$$ and the City Council. VOTE THE BUMS OUT!!! LOCAL RULE FOR WEST SEATTLE!!

Kayleigh May 20, 2008 (1:07 pm)

I wish I could bike and I admire the folks who do. But although I am possibly fit enough, I can’t really carry all my work clothes, shoes, toiletries and hair dryer for after the shower (provided my employer has a shower; we do now but we may not in the future…)

I agree that bikes are not the solution.

What about tax breaks to companies when they allow telecommuting?

old timer May 20, 2008 (1:20 pm)

The transportation problem was there before this additional potential 1000 units.
Maybe West Seattle could fund it’s own transport system.
A scheduled shuttle that would link Alki, Admiral Junction, Alaska Juncton, Morgan Junction, High Point, Fauntleroy Ferry, Westwood, and White Center, from the White Center terminus, we could have an express service to the Downtown Transit Center @ King Street via 1st Av Bridge and 4th or 6th Av.; somewhere away from the Spokane/I-5 mess that is soon to become intolerable.
Yes, transfers, but maybe tight scheduling, and departures- awaiting-arrivals operations, and dedicated lanes could make things work smoothly.
Not the best scheme, but we have to start scheming.
We are NOT going to get much help from Metro or Sound Transit with our distinctive and unique transportation issues.
BRT, presented with much hoopla, and not until 2010 at the earliest, promises to be more of the same quasi-service, while cutting some useful on-peninsula connectivity.
I don’t know how, but the transit solutions are going to have to come from us.
The folks we elected/appointed are not up to the task.

Johnny Davies May 20, 2008 (3:29 pm)

I would like to announce that my opinion on the matter of these massive developments is currently available for sale.

I do have my own opinions, which I have expressed openly before, but I am willing to shelf those ideas and in place become a mouth piece for the AMAZING changes developers are making in our area.

Should any developers be interested, I will outline a plan to create and communicate positive opinions to my neighbors & community. On your behalf I could secretly attempt to sway my peers. Since no one seems to like what you’re doing, I’ll spread the joy that is your massive overcrowding. Urban density – I think its great idea! Ugly? Bah! You’re going to plant a tree out front, right? I love your ideas. We need more people here. It makes sense. I know its crazy but you’re the best.

I’m just riffing here – it’d get way better when I really focus on it. Some call it guerilla marketing.

Seriously, you need AT LEAST SOME PEOPLE supporting what you do. Why not buy me? You are about making money and you obviously have money to burn.

Jim May 20, 2008 (4:57 pm)

I for one applaud the new development. Did people really like the eye sores that were the car dealerships?
I think the idea of urban density is a good one. Althogh I do believe that it is important as a community to make sure the new development comes with our input…..show up to those community design reviews!!

Booger May 20, 2008 (9:26 pm)

I kind of miss the new cars as they came out. I don’t miss the Huling/Gee sales people, and won’t miss the eye sore buildings. I do worry about the traffic impacts.

Sue May 21, 2008 (10:14 am)

For some insight on transit plans/concerns for West Seattle, you might want to take some time to watch the video I linked to in the Forum. https://westseattleblog.com/blog/forum/topic.php?id=909
.
Having sat in on this panel, I found it insightful as to why certain things are done the way they are, even if I don’t necessarily agree with all of it.

NIMBY May 21, 2008 (11:58 am)

How dare land owners exercise their rights! We must prevent owners from realizing their property rights immediately! We must complain that we decided to live in crummy community in a mid size MSA on the internetz via a blog designed to…complain! Then we should complain at the DPD meetings and get annoyed when we learn it’s only an aesthetic meeting. When the building is then designed by a community, we will then complain architects have no idea what they are doing availing ourselves of any fault. Yes this is what we must do!

Oh yea, a transportation study is required for projects you noobs.

DALYDBL May 21, 2008 (4:19 pm)

I guess if it has to be so gigantic I hope that the residential part of it doesn’t consist of apartment rentals, but condos instead.

KCL May 22, 2008 (7:08 pm)

Having checked out the architects website that is associated with this project, I am excited about what this area could become and the fact that this firm builds green building. Development is inevitable but let it be done in a fashion that we can all be proud of and if it is enviornmentally concious to boot . . . Awesome!

ZS May 23, 2008 (10:37 am)

I am happy about the new development too. The key is we need transportation solutions in and out of West Seattle to realistically accommodate the population growth.

What we have right now does not work for the existing population, so it will only get worse with growth. How are the developers going to pitch high-end apartments in “congested” West Seattle. I can see it now “Views of the downtown skyline – only an hour away”.

Does anyone have a projection on population growth in West Seattle?

Sorry, comment time is over.