DEVELOPMENT: Design Review Board going online, with 2 Triangle sites scheduled for August meetings

(Project-sites map as shown during February community meeting)

The last time the Southwest Design Review Board met was March 5th, just before in-person community meetings came to a halt because of the pandemic. Four months later, the city is working on getting the all-volunteer boards set up for online meetings, and two neighboring projects in the West Seattle Triangle are tentatively set for reviews in August: 4406 36th SW on August 6th – summarized as “a 7-story, 277-unit apartment building with retail. Parking for 188 vehicles proposed” and 4440 Fauntleroy Way SW on August 20th, summarized as “a 7-story, 209-unit apartment building with retail. Parking for 136 vehicles proposed.” Seeing those dates and knowing the board hasn’t been meeting, we checked with the Department of Construction and Inspections, whose spokesperson Wendy Shark told us:

We are hoping to launch the pilot of virtual Design Review Board meetings in August. At this time, these projects are intended to be conducted with the Board via an online platform. Details regarding the remote meetings will be forthcoming on the Design Review website.

You might also be wondering about big projects proceeding despite the bridge’s closure and uncertain future. These are part of the Sweeney family’s holdings centered on the current site of their longtime business Alki Lumber; we asked family spokesperson Lynn Sweeney, who replied, “We are moving forward with Design Review. I know there is a lot of uncertainty right now but we remain hopeful that our project will ultimately be well-timed.” We last spoke with her back in January, when these two sites were first entered into the city process; that was a year after the family announced they were “studying alternatives.” Our past coverage also includes February’s early community outreach meeting with the development team.

5 Replies to "DEVELOPMENT: Design Review Board going online, with 2 Triangle sites scheduled for August meetings"

  • AdmiralBridge July 9, 2020 (10:01 pm)

    Personally I’m hoping that the Sweeney family can find a different, more productive use for their properties that don’t involve exacerbating the transit and parking issues in West Seattle given the bridge situation.  More apartments than parking spaces, and hundreds of apartments when we don’t have a good transit situation yet strike me as “not helpful”.  Perhaps each buyer has to have a fitness test and commitment to bike?

    • WSB July 10, 2020 (10:53 am)

      Something just entering Design Review now might not even break ground for 2 years; construction may take 2 more. The bridge situation could be solved, or close to it, before the new buildings are ready to occupy.

    • zark00 July 10, 2020 (2:38 pm)

      I agree – there’s very little chance the bridge will be fixed/replaced in 4 years.  Major projects like this should be put on hold until the bridge situation is rectified.  They should explain to the developers that the reason they can not build is because the bridge needs to be fixed first – maybe that’s the pressure needed to get it done.

  • Westseattlebob July 10, 2020 (4:15 pm)

    Have we heard anything from the Sweeney family about a new location for Alki Lumber?? I’m going to miss it and really hope they don’t plan on closing it down.

  • S - in West Seattle July 15, 2020 (8:45 am)

    Any major construction in West Seattle should be put on hold until the Bridge is fix. With the access to West Seattle being really bad having Dump Trucks and things coming in on a daily bases will not help traffic. 

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