DEVELOPMENT: See the packet for tomorrow’s 5242, 5248 California SW Design Review

| Development | West Seattle news

(Rendering by Hybrid: How the project would look from California SW)

Tomorrow night, the Southwest Design Review Board takes its next look at 18 rowhouse-style townhouses proposed to replace the vacant strip-mall building at 5242-5248 California SW. The packet for the meeting is available here (57 MB PDF). The plan includes one offstreet-parking space for each unit and describes the site as “a mix of street-facing & courtyard townhouses.” The 6:30 pm meeting at the Senior Center/Sisson Building (4217 SW Oregon) will include public comment. The packet explains how the project incorporated feedback from its first review back in November 2017.

Frank Loyd Right January 24, 2019 (10:01 am)

The more I pass this rendering. the more I appreciate that this is not our typical “ugly box” development. It will provide an interesting contrast along this stretch of California Ave.

Raised in WS January 24, 2019 (12:29 pm)

Thank you for the rare positive response. I agree, I really like the design!

Fauntleroy January 24, 2019 (4:59 pm)

Zoned NC2-30 isn’t this required to have some retail engagement? Non-residential use on street front. We’re continuing to loose all our retail on California to townhomes and apartment buildings. Soon we’ll all have to resort to shopping at Westwood village as our only remaining stores. The WS community is loosing retail services left and right to more housing. Please advocate for retail engagement here. The project at Charlestown street is great example of design that works!

WSGary January 24, 2019 (5:05 pm)

Retail not Townhomes – Little value for community or neighboring residents.

Frank Loyd Right January 25, 2019 (10:39 am)

Regarding Retail vs housing, we do not need polemics.West Seattle is experiencing a burgeoning of retail, restaurant and live work options like never before. People posting comments here often complain about ‘live work’ units not being utilized as they expected.The cited Charleston project took away one restaurant (a West Seattle institution albeit) and replaced it with new housing and multiple new businesses. Other original California Ave single family residences long ago converted to businesses have been replaced with housing and multiple retail establishments.All of these developments make staying here on our now thriving peninsula more viable than ever.

WS Realtor January 24, 2019 (5:23 pm)

Glad to see these townhomes going in there. We need more real estate to purchase not more apartment buildings to rent.

WS Guy January 24, 2019 (5:25 pm)

Yeah this reminds me of the development up near, I think Hinds St.? Most of the new development on California are boxes that look like canyon walls, but that project has lots of ground spaces and depth. I hope this project turns out like that.