Alki development: Shoremont demolition, building permits issued

More than a year after we published first word of a proposal to tear down the 85-year-old Shoremont apartments at 57th/Alki, key permits have just been granted for the site: This one is a building permit for five townhouses; this one is a permit for a single-family residence; and here’s the demolition permit. A rendering for the single-family home is viewable here on the website of owners/developers/architects Pb Elemental, who sent us one for the other units when we first wrote about their plans last March.

acemotel September 21, 2008 (10:33 am)

IMO, both are grotesque. And I LOVE modern. There is no beauty or grace in these proposed structures.

KT September 21, 2008 (10:43 am)

Holy crap is that whole project ugly!

Diane September 21, 2008 (11:15 am)

demolition permit says:
Demolish two 2-unit apartments by means of deconstruction per STFI.
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anyone know what STFI means?

Diane September 21, 2008 (11:43 am)

I am fascinated with the developer/architects downtown commercial, futuristic and intriguing tower TROPHY BUILDING
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“A slender 440′ luxury tower set on a 2,900 sqft parcel in the Denny Triangle/SLU area of Seattle.
The tower consist of 19 residential units, each unit featuring two complete floors with direct elevator access. Parking for 22 vehicles is included.”
http://www.elementalarchitecture.com/projects/mixed/trophybldg.html
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I’m not as crazy about their single & multi-family designs
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my big issue with the Shoremont property is tearing down a beautiful historic brick building to replace with sterile modern; seems they are using green approach, deconstruction, which is admirable; the ultimate in green, sustainable is to restore historic building to a new glory
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I’m very sad to see the Shoremont go and replaced with another ultra-modern along Alki

Mike Dady September 21, 2008 (11:45 am)

Subject To Field Inspection

http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Permits/Process_Overview/TypesofPermitIntake/STFI_Permits/default.asp

Diane September 21, 2008 (11:53 am)

thanks for the link Mike

GenHillOne September 21, 2008 (11:56 am)

Does the use of the word “deconstruction” mean that they’ll be recycling bricks, etc. or is it interchangeable with demolition? Seems like there would be some desirable elements here for re-use by others.

Diane September 21, 2008 (12:34 pm)

yes, deconstruction means carefully taking apart the building and finding reuse, recycling, minimizing waste that goes to the landfill
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to me the ultimate is reusing materials on site, integrating into new design, as in the Charlestown Court project; they will reuse bricks from back building, raise up the front building, and use the old bricks to follow through with the design of the front Tudors in the ground floor, into a beautiful and improved design
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last I heard the Shoremont, at best, is looking for someone else to take the bricks for another project; the new design is so ultra-modern, so not sure what materials if any from the deconstruction they can reuse themselves

nants September 21, 2008 (12:38 pm)

I agree KT and acemotel…that is uuuuugly! I sadly realize that the Shoremont has to be demolished, but couldn’t they build something that would blend more into the beach scene?

Beaboveit September 21, 2008 (12:52 pm)

It really is too bad that they didn’t integrate the old facade into a new design. These types of buildings seem to always stick out like a sore thumb in once lovely communities and I think actually take away from the charm.

Alki September 21, 2008 (12:58 pm)

Wow, this is really terrible, bland, ugly… yuck. Those Shoremont Apts are so quaint. I wish they could stay.

GenHillOne September 21, 2008 (1:06 pm)

Thanks Diane, I hadn’t seen your other post. I wholeheartedly agree on Charlestown Court and hope there are more who will follow. Unfortunately, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule so far.

Krystal September 21, 2008 (1:06 pm)

This new proposed building is gross! I also LOVE modern, and this blows. Keep the old building!

CMP September 21, 2008 (2:44 pm)

Did you see that this firm is designing the new townhomes at 41st & Edmunds too (MF-Permitting stage)? Ugly! I don’t know if a link was ever posted on WSB for it, but you can view it under their MF homes towards the bottom. It looks like they’ll blend right in with the modern ones on 42nd & Edmunds so I guess that’s kind of a good thing.

WSB September 21, 2008 (3:41 pm)

Actually we did post about that a couple days ago, mostly because the name of the development caught our eye, “The Incline on Edmunds.” (second part of this multi-part post)
https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=10510

Please note, re: Shoremont and Incline, as we have noted in previous coverage — drawings like these are sometimes “massing” renderings more than the absolute final product – meant to convey the general size and shape more than every design detail — but projects like these currently do not go through public Design Review (not big enough), so we don’t get to see the final plans unless architects post them on their sites or otherwise share them (which Pb kindly did at our request when we first corresponded about Shoremont earlier this year; we had not heard anything since, until the permits mentioned in this post were all granted this past Friday, which we found out in our daily check of the city’s “Daily Permit Issuance” list) – TR

STEPH September 22, 2008 (7:53 am)

Wow. Where is the Southwest Seattle Historical Society when you need them. Pat?
http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org12805.jsp
Can’t this building be saved? It would be a shame to tear down such a beautiful building.

modern nulu September 22, 2008 (9:32 am)

What kind of MODERN do these critics who LOVE modern like? How about some examples?
Why is it such an affront when someone builds modern in West Seattle?
Before the deconstruction of the old HighPoint, the community was polled and overwhelmingly voted against “anything with a shed roof”. As a result we now have a whole cookie cutter community frozen in an ersatz era of sameness. Just compare HighPoint architecture to the redevelopment in White Center off Roxbury.
People risking their own money to build forward looking housing rely solely on the market. And the market speaks when these “grotesque”, “ugly” and high cost houses are sold. Indeed, “modern washing” is becoming as popular as “green washing” as West Seattle sellers are converting their phony “Tudors” and “Craftsmans” to “Moderns” by throwing on some geometric Hardie Panels.
Pb Elemental, around for only a few years, has made an impressive mark on our city. Check out their modern,livable and affordable housing in areas as diverse as South Park, White Center, Georgetown and Rainier Valley. Who else is doing modern with the same commitment?
Apparently unknown to our West Seattle critics is the surging popularity of modern architecture, “Dwell Magazine” apparently is banned from our peninsula and provincial attitudes.

villagegreen September 22, 2008 (10:27 am)

I love modern architecture and find the really depressing and ugly buildings to be the fake Craftsmans that dot this entire city.

In a perfect world I’d like the Shoremont to stay as it is, but if it has to come down I’d much rather it be replaced with a forward looking structure than some feeble attempt at approximating a bygone era. I’ve been commenting on it for years, but these fake Craftsmans really are the blight of this city and people are now finally starting to realize it.

James Ellison September 22, 2008 (2:25 pm)

My name is James Ellison and I head up Modern Dwelling which is the in-house acquisition and marketing firm of Pb Elemental Architecture and LEAD Construction. If anyone has any questions or concerns about this project please feel free to email at james@dwellingre.com. Along Alki Ave SW and Harbor Ave SW in recent years there has been a tremendous amount of redevelopment, not all of which has been particularly positive. The Shoremont unfortunately has been neglected for quite a while and when we purchased the building at the beginning of this year (2008) it was almost fully permitted for a completely different project. A development that would have caused many of you commenting on this blog to be even more upset. When our firm purchased the building we had various consultants look at the current structure to see if we could make the numbers work to keep the building and do a complete renovation, but unfortunately we were not able to get there economically. Since then we have been working with a few organizations who have offered to move the building to another location and are open to discussing similar options to anyone who might be interested. Our firm is dedicated to sustainable modern design and green building applications and this project will be not be treated any differently. If the building does have to come down we will be recycling the bricks and possibly trying to reuse some of the materials from the building in the new development and possibly some of our other projects. Also keep in mind that they renderings of the project that you have seen from a previous posting are from an older scheme and doesn’t accurately represent what will be built. As soon as we have the new renderings I will forward them to the blog administrator so he/she can share them with the local community. Again, please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions or concerns. We are excited to be developing this project in the Alki neighborhood where myself and my family also live.

cmt September 22, 2008 (2:59 pm)

Good luck on your project and sales. The units will appeal to the buyers you will be marketing it too. It is different but look down the avenue or up to the point and it will fit. It certaining is not a cookie cutter.

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