West Seattle development: Apartments out, townhouses in @ 3257-3303 Harbor SW

| Development | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

(King County Assessor’s Office photo)

Two and a half years ago, a two-building, 80+-apartment proposal for 3257-3303 Harbor Avenue SW [map] sailed through its first Southwest Design Review Board meeting. But it never came back for round two, and now city files indicate the plan has been scrapped entirely. A newly filed, early-stage plan for the site calls instead for 32 townhouses, in two rows between Harbor and 30th SW. Documents indicate the project will go through Administrative Design Review – no meeting, but a chance for public comment via e-mail, once the project proceeds further into the system.

This site already had a history before the now-dead apartment proposal – it had been owned by fugitive real-estate investor Michael Mastro, and had a development plan when it went on the market in 2007 under the working title Aqua Bella. County records show a bank took it over in 2010 and sold it to a real-estate firm in 2013.

P.S. Immediately west of this site, there’s a new proposal at 3239 Harbor SW for four townhouses and four live-work units.

ADDED: The new architect for 3257-3303 is Lemons Architecture, which also is part of the team for the not-yet-begun project at the former Alki Tavern site.

No November 15, 2016 (6:20 pm)

Great. I live in the condos next door. I don’t have a parking space so have to street park. There’s already no parking on 30th which means after these go up, there really will be no parking. I will be emailing my comments for sure.

cjboffoli November 15, 2016 (8:33 pm)

E-mailing your comments because you should have a free, guaranteed, full-time parking space on the public right of way and no one else should? Wow.
- WSB November 15, 2016 (8:51 pm)
  
  According to the preliminary site plan, they’re going for one space per unit. I don’t know if they’re *required* to have any – what’s on file so far also includes verifying whether they are in a “frequent transit” zone. – TR
- No November 16, 2016 (3:23 pm)
  
  Seriously Chris? LOL! Where in my statement did I say I wanted a space all to MYSELF. I’m simply frustrated with parking in this city. I’m done. BYE!
Pops November 15, 2016 (9:43 pm)

It sucks but now you’ll be living like everyone else in WS. :)

rob November 15, 2016 (10:58 pm)

we all get what we vote for locally that is. so unless we vote out the party that has been running this state for 50 years this is what the people of seattle have and king county have wished for the whole state. And thats who call the shots for the whole state

Pops November 16, 2016 (12:52 am)

Could not agree more.

Kimberley November 16, 2016 (12:21 am)

My concern is with the small streets that are already at times difficult to navigate. If they have access to the site off of SW 30th it’s going to cause issues for the rest of the neighborhood (we have no side walks, people illegally park all over the place already). A few years ago there was a chase through the neighborhood that resulted in a teen driving his SUV into our neighbour’s carport, injuring our neighbor. This was due to high rate of speed, dark streets and inability to see the sign for the curve (due to illegally parked cars).

rico November 16, 2016 (7:08 am)

Kimberly: Ask whether narrower streets do not, in fact, slow down traffic and make a safer street. We are seeing traffic projects all around West Seattle headed in that direction. Beach Drive, 35th SW, and SW Roxbury are three examples of arterials that are being re-striped, narrowed, and managed for mixed uses. It is counter intuitive, yet it is surely the present trend.

Residential streets are a challenge, but slowing down traffic is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of making such streets safe. Narrow streets do that.

We DO tend to allow more development, and denser development, than our present parking facilities can handle. I simply do not see City Hall taking effective measures to require developers to take measures to assure adequate parking for the structures they erect. The pressure will be to reduce the number of personal autos. While we expand West Seattle’s population in ways not seen since the middle of the last Century, there will be a constant tension created by our inability to handle all the cars the development brings.
- Kimberley November 17, 2016 (11:25 am)
  
  Rico – these streets are so narrow that buses, large trucks and fire engines have become stuck trying to navigate them.

John November 16, 2016 (7:20 am)

Kimberly,

A teen being chased, driving at a high rate of speed crashed and you blame it on dark streets and inability to see street signs?

Another, Wow.

Gill November 16, 2016 (9:09 am)

Map “https://www.google.com/maps/place/3257+Harbor+Ave+SW,+Seattle,+WA+98126/@47.5717988,-122.3729787,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x54904044deffdf0f:0x340ce3db0aa80fb1!8m2!3d47.5717988!4d-122.37079” is inaccurate for those of us not intimately familiar with the area as the addresses are further north on Harbor Ave.

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