DEVELOPMENT: 200+-apartment mixed-use building for South Delridge

| Delridge | Development | West Seattle news

(King County Assessor’s Office photos)

New in city files: The biggest redevelopment proposal yet for South Delridge. This past May, we mentioned an early-stage filing for 1704 SW Roxbury; the new filing shows that the planned apartment county has now quintupled to more than 200. That corner parcel, currently home to Meineke Auto Repair, and the vacant building to its north were bought within the past few months by an entity in which records show South Delridge’s busiest current developer – Craig Haveson of STS Construction (WSB sponsor) – is a partner.

The site plan included in the new filing says a 4-story building with “ground-floor retail” is planned, though the site is zoned for up to 55′, and 6 stories are mentioned on the website of Housing Diversity Corporation, whose CEO Bradley Padden is Haveson’s partner in this project. That website outlines the residential component of the project as a “214-unit development, 171 attainably priced market-rate units and 43 rent-restricted units through Seattle’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Program.” (No mention of whether any offstreet parking will be part of the project.) The architecture firm is Atelier Drome, whose site-plan document shows two other parcels to the north will be part of the project, though they are not yet on record as under the same ownership (Seattle Bible Church is those parcels’ owner of record).

Delridge Neighbor December 21, 2021 (5:50 pm)

What would it take to get some of this development action up here in North Delridge? I sure would love some more street level retail and a bit more urban vibrancy in our neighborhood!

Chemist December 21, 2021 (7:40 pm)

How about a Delridge urban village being created that’s North of Thistle?
My two cents … December 22, 2021 (2:08 pm)

https://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OPCD/OngoingInitiatives/SeattlesComprehensivePlan/UrbanVillageElement.pdfassume you are referring to a urban center or hub urban village? Either one will require amending the planning documents and process to add more of these types.

Dani December 21, 2021 (8:23 pm)

Be careful for what you ask for, this kind of development destroys neighborhoods

Foop December 21, 2021 (10:13 pm)

It does the opposite, actually.
StopCuttingDownTrees December 21, 2021 (10:34 pm)

Exactly. They also create urban heat domes that ultimately make our entire peninsula hotter each summer. This type of urban beehive is out of scale for our area and belongs in a larger commercial district like SODO or Tukwila.
- Ice December 22, 2021 (2:55 am)
  
  Making some vague, unsubstantiated claim about how this building makes the whole peninsula hotter, and then saying it belongs in another neighbor is a really ridiculous opinion that is grounded in pure selfishness, fear of change, and a willingness to disingenuously try to push what you don’t like in the world to the next neighborhood over.
  - StopCuttingDownTrees December 22, 2021 (4:37 pm)
    
    This regional heat map is the low temperature of a summer heat wave. The areas in blue are below 80 degrees. As you can see, the most-urbanized areas in orange and red are shown to be above 80 degrees for the overnight low. Anyone can get online and research urban heat domes and their disproportionate negative effects on denser, lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color. We saw this last summer with most of the deaths from the record heat happening in dense areas.

K December 21, 2021 (11:18 pm)

Awesome news! Can’t wait to see more housing and more White Center developments. It’s a great area that needs more people and tax dollars. This plus the new ownership of Westwood Village should bring welcome change to the whole SoDel and WC area. Thank you STS!

Graciano December 22, 2021 (2:57 am)

This should make traffic better in the area, needless to say the very limited parking.

sam-c December 22, 2021 (7:35 am)

Looking forward to this type of housing density in White Center area. (Any plans for salvaging that cool awning ? )

Terremoto December 22, 2021 (8:32 am)

Predictably, as Debbie Downer, I just gotta say, already traffic congestion at that point. Street parking for 5 cars. 200 apartments? Housing needed, yes. 200 at that location will create a traffic nightmare. I can foresee neighboring one-stories all meeting same fate, rather than interspersed – housing on steroids.

Kevin on Delridge December 22, 2021 (9:11 am)

The only things that will reduce congestion are suitable alternatives. Consider pushing for expanded transit, safe bicycle infrastructure, and zoning changes to help reduce traffic.

AMD December 22, 2021 (8:49 am)

I’m so excited for this project! There was a proposal for a similar development at 16th/Barton a few years back that was scrapped, so I’m encouraged to see there are still developers who understand the needs of the neighborhood and are pushing for more of this type of building (apartments and ground level retail). More of this, please!

Snowskier December 22, 2021 (9:47 am)

Glad to see future reactivation of the block and more foot traffic for the neighborhood with a project that is on multiple transit lines including the new Rapid Ride H. Kudos to STS for taking on this project less than a mile from their offices, that counts as hyper local in my book.

John Meckle December 22, 2021 (9:59 am)

Is that area safe ?

AMD December 22, 2021 (10:34 am)

It hasn’t been tagged as at-risk for landslides or anything else that would make developing the site unsafe so yes, unless you know something the engineers don’t.
- miws December 22, 2021 (10:52 am)
  
  AMD, +1 —Mike
- Westwood December 22, 2021 (12:02 pm)
  
  Clearly…this was John’s not so subtle attempt to throw shade at the neighborhood.
  - My two cents … December 22, 2021 (2:26 pm)
    
    Is there any neighborhood on our peninsula that is “safe”? Seems that we hear and see reports of various criminal activity across the board.
East Coast Cynic December 22, 2021 (1:07 pm)

Are you inquiring about safety with regards to violence, e.g., one or two shootings on 16th Ave SW in the past year or so, and arson, e.g., a couple of fires to businesses on 16th Ave SW? Those might become issues to the future residents.

shotinthefoot December 22, 2021 (10:43 am)

Nice to see actual affordable housing being built, but I’d like to remind Atelier Drome that working class families who will live here have jobs and children and other family obligations that often require cars. If you think the less than stellar transit is going to serve 200 units you’re dreaming. Put in parking. Put in enough parking. Please. It’s going to kill this neighborhood to have potentially 200+ cars with literally nowhere to park. People need cars. Cars need parking.

Reed December 22, 2021 (11:08 am)

This area is surrounded by residential streets with plenty of parking for cars.
- shotinthefoot December 22, 2021 (11:27 am)
  
  Hey Reed, Know how I know you don’t live in the area? There isn’t parking for over 200 new cars on the nearby residential streets. Many, if not all of those houses were built without driveways or garages and require street parking.
- East Coast Cynic December 22, 2021 (1:09 pm)
  
  And such parking space will disappear when those 200 or so units go up imo.
  - Reed December 22, 2021 (2:08 pm)
    
    Too bad. All of the surrounding residents is single family homes should park their vehicles on their property. If not, the street is public space and first come, first serve.
    - WSB December 22, 2021 (3:13 pm)
      
      Single-family houses don’t “surround” this site. It is commercial property on all but the west side.
BlairJ December 22, 2021 (11:23 am)

Maybe reserve some of the parking for car sharing, reducing the number of parking spots required. There were times when I was younger and couldn’t afford a car, when occasional availability of short term use of a car would have been all I needed.
Jason December 22, 2021 (1:48 pm)

Shotinthefoot – just to clarify, the architect does not make the decision about parking. The city ultimately drives those decisions through the code requirements the architect must follow. Even when there is flexibility the decision lies with the developer who is spending the money and evaluating how parking (or not) will impact the financial viability of the development – the architect does as directed or they lose the project. Signed, Sensitive architect that doesn’t like getting blamed for the decisions of others.

rob December 22, 2021 (12:31 pm)

this is great news for all us in the building trades. more work to help us support or families.

SoDelResident December 22, 2021 (12:43 pm)

So excited for this. As someone who lives in the immediate area, has a car, and works north of downtown, I can’t wait for more ground level retail within walking distance. Rapid Ride H is coming late next year and is by far the fastest, most economical (tunnel toll increasing each year), and least stressful way to get downtown.

And yes, please save the awning

Jethro Marx December 22, 2021 (1:49 pm)

I like the awning too! I confess I am most curious about the new name people keep trying to coin for the neighborhood. Who is behind it and why? It feels like a name version of gentrification. Welcome, new neighbors, but please leave the trendy names on the real estate flyers.

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