DEVELOPMENT: Junction, Alki project Early Design Guidance re-tries to be reviewed tonight

| Development | West Seattle news

Tonight (Thursday), the Southwest Design Review Board will consider two projects’ second tries at the first phase of the DR process. Both reviews at the Senior Center/Sisson Building (4217 SW Oregon) include public comment, so if you’re interested, here’s a look at the “design packets” for both:

3015 63RD SW, 6:30 PM: While this was originally proposed as a 3-story, 15-apartment building, the new packet says the owners will be seeking a rezone to allow four stories with Mandatory Housing Affordability (which they would incorporate into the project). That would require 22 offstreet-parking spaces under the Alki “overlay.” City reports on its first review eight months ago are here.

4508 CALIFORNIA SW, 8 PM: As with the night’s first project, this one is a second go at the Early Design Guidance phase of Design Review, meaning the discussion is meant to focus more on the building’s size and shape than on the fine points of its proposed appearance. This project is proposed for a seven-story building with ground-floor commercial, a level of lodging, and five floors totaling about 74 apartments, plus ~17 offstreet-parking spots, to replace the commercial building that holds Lee’s Asian and Kamei restaurants as well as the former West Seattle Cyclery space. Here’s our report on the project’s first review three months ago.

just wondering November 1, 2018 (9:03 am)

17 parking spots for 74 apartments at 4508 CALIFORNIA SW?

WSB November 1, 2018 (9:53 am)

The zoning does not require any.
CAM November 1, 2018 (10:08 am)

And if you look carefully at the SDOT information about the proposed RPZ addresses on that block won’t qualify for parking permits for the blocks surrounding their home. Despite the fact that they likely pay as much to live there as the single family home owners on surrounding blocks.
AP November 1, 2018 (11:10 am)

Ridiculous. I can tell you that my street in Pigeon Point now resembles Cap Hill in terms of parking with the ten $750k places added where three bungalows used to sit. The people buying these homes have two cars, minimum. I don’t live downtown for a reason, and parking is one. I realize apartments are different, but the city seems to think people don’t have cars and it’s just not true.
- John November 1, 2018 (1:14 pm)
  
  @AP I assume you have only one vehicle and never park it on the street.Unless you do, you are no different than the new-comers that you single out.All this issues can be solved by monetizing all street parking. This would be fair across the board…you use it, you pay for it.
- KM November 1, 2018 (2:05 pm)
  
  I believe city is well aware people have cars, but has decided a policy of subsidizing them or requiring others to do so is not equitable or going to solve any of our transportation or climate issues.
chemist November 1, 2018 (3:30 pm)

funny thing, the drawing doesn’t have a bike room that looks big enough for the ~68 long-term bike parking spots that will be required for 74 apartments (plus some more for the retail). The council increased the bike parking requirements at multifamily housing from 0.25 to 1 per unit (with a 0.75 per unit requirement after the first 50) back in april and there is no “frequent transit service” adjustment. Did this project qualify for the old bike parking codes?
- Que November 1, 2018 (3:47 pm)
  
  Funny thing, the vast majority of people who actually use their bikes park it in their living space, not in a garage or “bike room”.
  - chemist November 1, 2018 (4:08 pm)
    
    The new requirements can not be met by in-unit bike parking (I think PDX has that allowance) nor is the bike room to be grade separated in a way that would require hauling a bike down stairs or using a parking garage ramp shared with vehicles. The design criteria pretty much dictate 4x more spaces at ground-floor bike rooms compared to what most apartments have had.But, I just looked it up and the 4508 project filed for a MUP in late March so they probably only need to provide around 19 bike parking spots instead of 68.

hj November 1, 2018 (11:25 am)

What is a “level of lodging”? Like a hotel?

WSB November 1, 2018 (11:54 am)

The property owner, local entrepreneur Leon Capelouto, also had that in his most-recent completed project, the AJ at 42nd/Oregon. I have never seen how it’s been marketed but it was described at the first Design Review meeting as more of a weekly (or so) thing, what the Residence Inn used to be about, that sort of operation. – TR

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