As you likely have heard by now (if not, catch up on our archive here), the nonprofit Fauntleroy retirement center The Kenney has a $150 million redevelopment project on the drawing boards – one that would demolish almost every building on the site, even the century-old Seaview (above), famous far and wide for its cupola (which The Kenney promises would return somewhere in the project). Two weeks before its architects and developers return for the next Design Review meeting, neighbors and community leaders gathered at Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) last night to talk about their concerns about, and hopes for, the project, while also getting insight into the process the project must follow before any sort of green lights are given:

The meeting was organized by the Morgan Community Association and Fauntleroy Community Association, who hatched the idea after listening to neighbors’ questions during the first Design Review “early design guidance” meeting (WSB coverage here). MoCA’s Steve Sindiong and FCA’s Bruce Butterfield facilitated; Kenney CEO Kevin McFeely spent a lot of time answering questions and presenting updates; and city planner Michael Dorcy outlined the process this complicated project has to go through:

Here are the key points from the meeting:

*McFeely is continuing to update the “Frequently Asked Questions” document on The Kenney’s website (keep checking for it here).

*McFeely says The Kenney has been operating in the red for several years now: “Our occupancy is down; we’ve had to dip into the rainy-day fund to pay our bills and keep going.” He says occupancy is currently in “the low 80s” (percentage, with a current capacity of more than 200, hoped-for capacity after the redevelopment project is around 400) [12/12 addendum: McFeely clarifies that the “low 80s occupancy” is for the Seaview building, not the rest of the campus; Seaview is at 81 percent]

*McFeely reiterated a point made at previous meetings, that the new generation of retirees will not want to move into the current Kenney apartments, which average 300 to 600 square feet; he says they want bigger units, up to 1200 square feet. Some in the crowd nearly gasp at that one. Skepticism is expressed that, with the economic doldrums, boomer retirees will really continue in that vein. McFeely says the demographic analysis was done by consultants three years ago (adding that they didn’t think it would take this long to only make it to this early stage of the development process), and audience members use that as further evidence that the data may be out of touch with what retirees will be looking for in the near future – though McFeely answers by saying the consultants are indeed re-evaluating: “Everything they have brought back to us shows us we’re on the right path.”

*Michael Dorcy explains the Design Review process (and hands out copies of the Community Guide to Design Review, which you can get online by going here). We learn a few things we didn’t know before, despite having covered scads of design-review meetings – such as, a board quorum is not required at an “early design guidance” meeting but it is at the “recommendations” meeting.

*For The Kenney’s project in particular, Dorcy explains that other city departments will be involved — SDOT and the Seattle Design Commission will have to sign off on the “street vacation” that will be proposed for a section of the property that’s technically a “street end”; the Department of Neighborhoods will have to review a landmark application for the Seaview and any other buildings on-site that are more than 50 years old (McFeely says consultants are helping with this application and he just received a report he will be reviewing shortly). Some rezoning also is likely to be involved here, and that ultimately also involves the City Council and Hearing Examiner.

*MoCA videotaped Dorcy’s presentation – we’ll inquire as to what they plan to do with the video (post it online, perhaps) – MoCA’s Cindi Barker explained that it was a rare chance to get some insight into process from a veteran city planner

*Some attendees expressed concern about the fact that the project is often examined in Design Review with a configuration that would require rezoning, but no decision on that rezoning would have been made prior to the DR Board vote; Dorcy said he is hoping that the Design Commission will at least get to consider the potential street vacation before the final Design Review vote on the project

*Other concerns: Would a rezone on part of The Kenney property set the stage for rezoning of other nearby parcels at some point later?

*Advice from the experts: Dorcy says it’s most effective to have a spokesperson for a group who will lay out all the concerns, rather than multiple individuals who just get up and throw out different comments; also, he said, know the “guidelines” that Design Review board members (all city-appointed volunteers) have to follow (you’ll find them in the DR guide)

*McFeely says they’re still assembling the presentation for the next Design Review meeting, including addressing the concerns and questions that board members had at the last one. He had no new drawings to show, freely admitting the ones from the previous meeting “scared a lot of people .. they’re just big blocks and big spaces”

*What happens if this project is not approved? While reiterating yet again that he didn’t intend to be engaging in “doomsday” scare tactics, McFeely said, “If we do not go forward, we could be forced to merge with another organization, might be bought out by another entity, a commercial one, we have no idea what might happen … we have no intention of letting that happen. In order for this to be a financially viable organization, we need to have that many people (400) on our campus.”

*More neighborhood concerns: Construction traffic, appropriate density, appropriate zoning, fears that the surrounding blocks will be developed

*Major concern about the fate of the cupola, which Chas Redmond from MoCA called “iconic.” One neighbor said, “Like the Space Needle is to Seattle, that’s what the cupola is to this area. I think it should be a definite part of the new structure.” A woman adds that she does have one concern: “If they keep the cupola and raise the height, will it be 7 or 8 stories? As much as I appreciate looking at it from everywhere, I’m not sure I WANT to look at it from everywhere.”

*McFeely again: The Kenney plans to build “flexibility” into the project, “so we don’t have to go through this MASSIVE of a project again”

*Area resident Vlad Oustimovitch offers his perspective, having been on the Design Review Board when the last Kenney project was reviewed: First, he, like others, stresses that The Kenney is “an important part of our extended neighborhood.” He calls the Seaview building “a precious gem,” and says that the last project included “departures” that were approved on the basis of The Kenney saving historic buildings including the Seaview: “To actually see The Kenney coming back and say they are going to tear
down all those buildings for which they got the departures just six years ago, that’s a very big change … there is something that is important about a not for profit in its community … a moral obligation to fit in its community … and not destroy it … I’m just a little bit shocked by all of this.”

*One attendee wants to make sure that a “recreation” of the Seaview building would look similar to the way it looks now: “If the Seaview is resurrected, I would like to see it LOOK like the Seaview and not like … JC Penney’s, Southcenter.” Another was concerned that new buildings not block views of Puget Sound from nearby Gatewood Elementary: “The kids need to see there are islands in Puget Sound and it will block that view if you go that high … the fact we have a ferry system .. we want our kids to grow up and appreciate the environment they live in …your architects are responsible to study it better.”

As the meeting concluded, Sindiong challenged the approximately 50 people in attendance to organize among themselves to be vigilant about the project. Many took it to heart and started huddling immediately afterward.

Since there was some discussion of how to find important links about the project, here’s a small list:
Official city project page
Official notice of next Design Review meeting (8 pm 12/18, Madison Middle School)
WSB report on first Design Review meeting
Kenney presentation from first Design Review meeting
E-mail for Michael Dorcy, to whom you can and should send all project comments
FAQ on The Kenney’s website
Community Guide to Design Review (how it works)
Companion publication, guidelines for multifamily/commercial projects
City process for street vacations
Application process for rezoning
Archived WSB coverage of The Kenney’s project