(WSB photo: STS Construction Services team with ceremonial shovel-turning)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“See you back here in 21 months for the grand opening!”
With that, Craig Haveson of West Seattle’s STS Construction Services (WSB sponsor) ended the speeches and moved on to the shovel-turning at this afternoon’s groundbreaking ceremony for the mixed-use project that his company and Housing Diversity Corporation are about to start building at 4448 California Avenue SW in the heart of The Junction.
During the event, we learned more about the project, including the status of the “lodging” mentioned in pre-construction documents, and the financing that has made this team the only one doing major construction in West Seattle right now (they’re also building Keystone at 9201 Delridge Way SW, near STS HQ, and recently opened Harbor Flats at 3417 Harbor Avenue SW, and have a 17th/Roxbury site in reserve).
We first reported on plans for 4448 California back in 2021. The project got final Southwest Design Review Board approval in August 2022. Demolition happened last week, and after today’s celebration, Haveson told WSB that construction will begin immediately.
Though for now they’re constructing the building as “88 units of new workforce housing” – explained as a type of housing that hasn’t been built much in recent years, which have been dominated by either “luxury apartments” or “government-funded affordable housing.” Without this type of housing in the mix too, Housing Diversity Corporation’s Bobby Tiscareno contended, “Seattle has tragically not come close to meeting demand.” (18 of the apartments will be rent-restricted because, like most other midsize-to-large developments in the area, this one is participating in the city’s Multi-Family Tax Exemption program.)
Speakers also exhorted the location as a reason why it made sense to build without including off-street parking: You don’t need a car to live in the area. The location’s “walk score” is 98 of 100. Frequent bus service is close, and the planned Junction light-rail station is a few blocks away. “We’re building housing for people, not cars,” declared HDC’s Tiscareno. The development firm’s CEO Brad Padden talked about Seattle rule changes, including parking requirements, that are enabling this kind of project:
About the “lodging” that is mentioned in project documents, as reported here previously: It was explained today that the eight-story building was designed and submitted for permits so that would be possible, but, STS’s Haveson said, they are still seeking a partner to operate part of the building as a “boutique hotel.” That’s part of what he explained during his time at the podium, also noting the path to construction had been a “long and winding road”:
As an all-apartment building, the unit mix is listed as 75 one-bedrooms, four two-bedrooms, five three-bedrooms, and four studios. They also are actively working to sign commercial tenants for 3,100+ square feet of space on the ground floor.
The financing that’s allowing this to go forward, despite what project-team members note is a “difficult” climate for building, is summarized in the project announcement as:
An innovative financing structure combines C-PACER green financing with traditional construction debt from First Fed Bank. The C-PACER financing will support sustainability initiatives, including energy efficiency, renewable energy implementation, water conservation measures, and resilience improvements.
Financial partners include Nuveen Green Capital and “private market impact investment platform” Citizen Mint (also partners on the Delridge project). Nuveen Green’s Aidan McLaughlin observed that it took a lot “to get two deals done in this environment,” with market factors such as construction costs and rents being perceived as “Kryptonite to lenders,” but the project team’s creativity, problem-solving, and belief in the region helped them achieve what others couldn’t.
Another development partner: Longtime local entrepreneur Rich Bianchi, whose family has long owned the site, where his real-estate firm operated for decades. He spoke at this afternoon’s event too, primarily providing some history:
Bianchi and his family took their turn with the ceremonial shovels too:
And now it’s on to the future, with the project – designed by Atelier Drome (WSB sponsor) – expected to be complete in a little over a year and a half. Here’s the latest rendering:
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