After the Southwest Design Review Board took its first look at the 4448 California SW proposal last week, we wondered about the status of other planned West Seattle Junction projects that have long since finished Design Review but aren’t under construction yet. Our first followup is about 4747 California SW, with a development team including Husky Deli proprietor Jack Miller, whose legendary Junction shop would be the building’s major commercial occupant.
The SW Design Review Board gave its final thumbs-up to the project in a meeting two years ago tonight, on July 19th, 2019. At the time, Miller told us that if all went well, they might be able to start construction about a year later. But now two years have passed. Miller’s partner in the project, West Seattle-residing developer Ed Hewson, told us last September that the project was still “moving forward,” albeit “slowly.” We just checked in with him again. “Our project is definitely on the shelf for a little while but certainly not cancelled,” Hewson told WSB. “Currently this is a casualty of the bridge and Covid, which has put enough of the dent in the West Seattle rental market for anyone to start any new apartment projects of any size.”
There’s one major project close to wrapping up, Legacy Partners’ Maris at 4722 Fauntleroy Way SW, but Hewson notes it “probably started just in time to get a construction loan, but might not have been feasible after January 2020. We are hoping they have great success and make our neighborhood attractive to lenders again despite the slow-go on the bridge repair.”
The 4747 California SW plan was approved as a proposal for 73 units, 45 offstreet-parking spaces, ~5,000 square feet of retail, in a 7-story building (though the site is zoned for 9). Hewson added, “We love the Husky Deli plan and can’t wait to get started when the West Seattle world gets back to normal!”
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