DEVELOPMENT: See the design packet for Thursday’s review of 1116 Alki
(‘Preferred option’ rendering from draft design packet by MZA Architecture)
Thursday night brings this year’s first – and so far only – scheduled meeting of the Southwest Design Review Board to look at a West Seattle development plan. It’s 1116 Alki SW, and the design packet for the meeting finally appeared online this afternoon, if you’re interested in reviewing it to comment on the plan – see it below or here.
This is the Early Design Guidance stage of Design Review, which means the board has to be shown three options for massing – size, shape, site placement of the building. Above is the project team’s “preferred option,” which would include 58 residential units in a six-story building with 92 parking spaces: 27 described as “mechanical,” 30 at ground level, 35 underground. The packet includes many other project details. The meeting is online at 5 pm Thursday (April 7th) and includes a public-comment period – this page has details of how to watch/listen/participate.
DEVELOPMENT: 3257 Harbor Avenue SW takes another turn
(Rendering by Steve Fischer Architects, for project approved for 3257 Harbor)
Another chapter in the long history of the development site centered on 3257 Harbor Avenue SW [map] – it’s back on the market, commercial real-estate listings show. We’ve written about it more than a few times over the past 15 years; it was once owned by disgraced developer Michael Mastro. The site subsequently has had multiple development proposals – in 2014, a mixed-use plan with 80+ apartments went into Design Review, and then two years later, that plan was scrapped and a 32-townhouse plan emerged. That plan went all the way through Design Review and land-use permitting but then went idle. Now the site’s on the market, with the plans for those 32 townhouses offered as part of the $5 million listing. A buyer could choose to start something else from scratch, as the townhouse project was approved under 40-foot zoning, and the site now has a 55-foot height limit.
VIDEO: 3405 Harbor Avenue project begins with West Seattle’s first apartment-groundbreaking ceremony since 2014
(WSB photo: HDC’s Brad Padden, STS’s Craig Haveson, Atelier Drome’s Michelle Linden)
It’s been more than 7 years since the last time a ceremonial groundbreaking launched construction of a residential project in West Seattle. That was for The Whittaker in 2014; today, it was for the first of at least eight West Seattle projects on which Housing Diversity Corporation and STS Construction Services (WSB sponsor) are partnering. This will be a 114-apartment building at 3405 Harbor Avenue SW (previously 3417 Harbor, when we covered its journey through the Design Review process). Before the shiny ceremonial shovels went into the ground, the project was explained by HDC’s Adina Eaton and Brad Padden, STS’s Craig Haveson, and architect Atelier Drome‘s Michelle Linden (whose firm is also investing in the project):
We asked Haveson a few followup questions, starting with a question about the “puzzle parking” he had mentioned in his remarks. This building was planned with 65 parking spaces, and Haveson says that’s only because they’re required by the city – while the project is in a “frequent transit” zone, that only partially reduces the amount of required parking, as the site is not part of an urban village. “Puzzle parking” enables more cars to be parked in less space, thanks to a mechanical system (explained here) that stacks and shuffles them. If traditional lot or garage spaces had to be built, Haveson says, this project wouldn’t have penciled out.
(Rendering of 3405 Harbor by Atelier Drome, looking SW)
The word repeatedly used for the future apartments, especially by HDC, is “attainable” rather than “affordable”; though there will be some 1- and 2-bedroom apartments, the focus is on smaller spaces. The target residents, Haveson observed, are more into experiences – if their rent is $100 cheaper, that’s “two more dinners out.” The partners also stress the location of this project, on the path to Alki and the Water Taxi dock, a bus ride away from the businesses in The Junction.
WHAT’S NEXT: As we reported four weeks ago, site work has begun; construction of a project this size typically takes at least a year and a half. We asked Padden which of the partnership’s seven other West Seattle projects – all listed on the HDC website – is likely to break ground next; he said 9201 Delridge Way SW and 4448 California SW are the closest.
DEVELOPMENT: Demolition day for 6016 California
A demolition crew is working right now at 6016 California SW [map] on the north end of Morgan Junction, starting with the house on the alley side of the lot, before moving on to tear down the small mixed-use building in front. The site is to be redeveloped with seven townhouses; the three fronting California will be live-work units. According to city permit files, the project will not include offstreet parking. This is a downsized plan for the site, which had a plan for 30+ microapartments five years ago; that was scrapped two years later.
DEVELOPMENT/REAL ESTATE: 3 beach notes
Three quick updates tonight:
4022 BEACH DRIVE: Almost a month after the heavy equipment showed up at this redevelopment site, demolition was finally under way when we passed by this morning. As we noted in February, the 107-year-old house is to be replaced by four townhouses, each with a one-car garage.
1116 ALKI: The official notices went up this week for the upcoming Southwest Design Review Board meeting we told you about three weeks ago, the board’s first look at the proposal for 1116 Alki SW. The meeting date and time are the same – Thursday, April 7, 5 pm, online – and the link for participating in the meeting (which will include a public-comment period) is now available here. Though the city description calls the proposal a ’65-unit apartment building,” project materials online describe it simply as “residential” and include potential configurations that could have fewer units. This project is planned for a site that currently holds six houses.
2516 ALKI: The building that includes Duke’s Seafood Restaurant on Alki (WSB sponsor) has a new owner. An investment firm just bought it for $4.8 million, according to online records. The seller was a company to which Duke’s owner had sold it in 2015 for $3.3 million. Records show the new owners are part of an Eastside firm that has at least one other property in West Seattle, the Westwood Vista apartments just south of Westwood Village. According to a news release from the brokers who handled the recent sale, Duke’s has a “long-term lease” in the building, which also has a top-floor residential unit. There is no redevelopment proposal for the site currently, but it’s zoned for 4-story mixed-use.
DEVELOPMENT: Work under way at 3405 Harbor Avenue SW apartment-project site
The development site at Harbor/Avalon is being cleared, as work begins for the six-story, 114-unit building that’s been in the works for three years.
(Rendering by Atelier Drome Architecture)
This project now goes by the address 3405 Harbor Avenue SW (previously 3417) and is being developed by Housing Diversity Corporation with West Seattle-headquartered STS Construction (WSB sponsor) and Atelier Drome Architecture. HDC announced today that it’s closed a $25.7 million loan to finance the 3405 Harbor project, which is described as “91 attainably priced market-rate units as well as 23 rent-restricted units through Seattle’s Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) Program.” HDC, STS, and Atelier Drome are collaborating on a half-dozen other West Seattle projects, as noted on the HDC website, all projects we’ve been covering – 214 apartments at 1704 SW Roxbury, 96 apartments at 4448 California SW, 76 apartments at 9201 Delridge Way SW, 48 apartments at 6007 California SW. 39 townhouses at 2501 SW Orchard, and 24 apartments at 9038 21st SW.
Back to 3405 Harbor – documents in city files indicate the construction should last just over a year and a half, and that the Mandatory Housing Affordability fee paid for this project was just under a million dollars.
DEVELOPMENT: First Southwest Design Review Board meeting set for 1116 Alki Avenue SW project
(‘Preferred option’ rendering from draft design packet by MZA Architecture)
Almost two years after we first reported on a development proposal for 1116 Alki Avenue SW [map], the project on Duwamish Head is set for its first Southwest Design Review Board meeting. We last mentioned the project one year ago, when the developers ran a survey as part of the Early Community Outreach process. The project is described on the city website as “a 6-story, 65-unit apartment building (with p)arking for 102 vehicles” but the draft packet for the upcoming meeting features three massing (size/shape) options that max out at 58 units with 87 offstreet-parking spaces. The project is to be built on a site that holds six houses, four of which are more than a century old. The SWDRB meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, at 5 pm, online; watch here for participation information when it gets closer. You can also send pre- and post-meeting comments to theresa.neylon@seattle.gov, to reach the city planner assigned to the project.
DEVELOPMENT: Beach Drive demolition imminent
Thanks to the texter who tipped us that the backhoe has arrived at that destined-for-demolition house, 4022 Beach Drive SW [map], a particularly visible spot because of its proximity to Weather Watch Park and La Rustica. Online records say the 107-year-old house, sold late last year for $925,000, will be replaced by four townhouses, each with a single-car garage. The 5,000-square-foot lot is zoned Lowrise 2. One other note of interest: The city’s Shaping Seattle map now includes information on how development projects are dealing with the Mandatory Housing Affordability requirement (either incorporating affordable unit[s] or paying a fee that the city will invest in affordable housing elsewhere); it shows that the developers of this project will be charged a $106,000 fee.
DEVELOPMENT: Approvals for 9 houses east of Puget Park
From today’s city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin, key approvals for nine single-family houses east of Puget Park. The lots carry addresses on Puget Way just south of SW Alaska [map], from 4704 through 4726, in a greenbelt-adjacent neighborhood uphill from West Marginal Way. Documents indicate the houses will each have parking for two vehicles. The proposed development has long been in the works – you can see the city notification signage in the Google Maps Street View image above, which is timestamped June of 2019, and city records show documents going back a year before that. The land-use approvals open a two-week window for appeals (deadline March 3rd), as explained in the notice.
DEVELOPMENT: Morgan Junction 34-unit ‘stacked townhome’ project advancing
(Early rendering from 2021 presentation to MoCA)
From the latest city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin, the townhouse project planned for 6314 41st SW [map] has advanced to the next major step in the planning process. We’ve been reporting on this HALA-upzoned site for two years – first, a larger project was planned; then, one year ago, the developers presented a revised plan to the Morgan Community Association. That’s what’s moving through the system now – three 4-story buildings with 34 units total, and 14 offstreet-parking spaces. Though the city website continues to label this an “apartment” project, the developers told MoCA last year that it’ll be a mix of small townhouses and flats that will be sold, not rented; the project is described on their website as “34 stacked townhomes in the heart of West Seattle.” They’ve given the project a name, too – Callie. The project is going through Administrative Design Review and passed the first phase, which is why it’s advanced to the application stage. That opens a new public-comment period; this notice explains how to comment. January 26th is the deadline.
DEVELOPMENT: First ex-Kenney-parcel project moves to next stage
That’s the sign up at 7142 47th SW [map], where today’s city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin includes a notice that a comment period has opened for a townhouse proposal. That’s notable because it’s the first of the surrounding parcels sold off by The Kenney to move to the application stage of redevelopment. As we first reported in November 2020, the proposal on this site is for five townhouses. At that time, records didn’t show a completed deal for this site and the others that The Kenney had put up for sale with an asking price of more than $5 million, years after previous ownership scrapped a massive remodel/expansion plan. But now records do show the changes; most of the parcels are now owned by entities related to Seattle Luxury Homes, which we noted in that previous report as the prospective developer. We checked all the sites’ records to see if any other projects are proceeding; the only ones we’ve found are a plan to turn part of 7141 Fauntleroy Way SW into a nine-space parking lot behind an existing house, and to convert the duplex at 7150 46th SW into a three-unit apartment building. Meantime, if you want to comment on the application for the five-townhouse plan at 7142 47th SW, today’s notice explains how; the deadline is January 19th.
DEVELOPMENT: New plan for long-stalled site at 5249 California SW
(WSB photo this morning, with tagging pixelated)
What might be the longest-stalled development site in West Seattle has a new plan. At 5249 California SW [map], the small commercial building that was previously on the site was demolished almost a decade ago. The foundation for a new mixed-use building was put in six years ago, and some framing followed. After that, the site went dormant, and as reported here a year and a half ago, the property went up for sale. County records don’t yet show an ownership change, but city records show a new early-stage proposal – nine townhouses, with five offstreet-parking spaces. The site plan shows that two of the townhouses would face California SW, with the other seven lined up in north-south orientation, rowhouse style, behind them, and parking off the alley.
DEVELOPMENT: 200+-apartment mixed-use building for South Delridge
(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).
DEVELOPMENT: 12-townhouse project for South Delridge
South Delridge continues to be West Seattle’s redevelopment hotspot. The newest project of note is a 12-townhouse plan for the 9400 block of 18th SW. Technically it’s listed as two projects – 9440 18th SW and 9444 18th SW [map] – but they’re next to each other, and the same project team is involved. 9440 18th SW is proposed with seven townhouses in one structure; 9444 18th SW is proposed with five townhouses in two structures. They’ll replace this century-old house:
(King County Assessor’s Office photo)
The architect for the townhouses is Scale Design NW. The project is in the Early Outreach for Design Review phase, so look for community comment opportunities to come.
DEVELOPMENT: 9218 18th SW finishes Design Review in three meetings
Southwest Design Review Board members’ final meeting of the year was their third look at 9218 18th SW, a mixed-use proposal for a triangular site in South Delridge.
The meeting carried on despite the four participating board members – all West Seattleites – dealing with power flickers related to that night’s big outage. Board chair Scott Rosenstock was joined by members John Cheng, Alan Grainger, and Johanna Lirman. From Caron Architecture, Radim Blazej gave the presentation, explaining that they’re planning a “very lively street-level” commercial aspect on the ground floor, fronting both streets. Changes made during the Design Review process cut the number of units from 56 to the current 48. He said that they received a last-minute “zoning correction” that changed how the entry will work. He also listed changes made in response to board feedback in the previous meeting (WSB coverage here), including window additions to the east and south facades to lessen “blank facade” problems. No parking is required, but they’re providing underground parking – 28 spaces. He also noted the new public-art installation that’s adjacent to the project site, saying it’s sort of a “mini-park.”
Most of the board discussion focused on the entrance revision, and agreeing that if it led to a requirement for a zoning exception, they would support that. They also wanted to ensure there’s differentiation between the residential and commercial entry spaces, perhaps some combination of plantings and lights. No public comments were offered, either before or during the meeting. But if you have something to say about the project – not just design, but any other aspects – you still have time to email comments to assigned city planner David Sachs, at david.sachs@seattle.gov.
Big Seattle Fire presence by the bridge, but it’s not an emergency
(WSB photos)
Thanks for the tips! Lots of SFD firefighters on Harbor Avenue SW just north of the West Seattle Bridge, but it’s not an emergency – it’s “live-fire training.”
The house-turned-office building on this site is set for demolition as part of the 115-apartment project planned for the site (3417 Harbor SW, which cleared Design Review a year ago, and got land-use approval last spring). Property owners sometimes provide access to awaiting-demolition buildings for SFD. training, especially to help new recruits get experience; the department put out a call for properties earlier this year.
The crews at today’s site were too busy to offer many details but we have an inquiry out to downtown and will add any other details we get.
ADDED: SFD responded shortly after we published this. It’s set to continue tomorrow (Tuesday, December 7th) as well. And spectators are welcome as long as you stay on the sidewalk.
DEVELOPMENT: 2 approvals at Southwest Design Review Board doubleheader
At its second-to-last scheduled meeting of the year, the Southwest Design Review Board took its second look at two West Seattle mixed-use projects. Here’s how the Thursday night reviews went:
4440 FAUNTLEROY WAY SW: Two weeks ago, the board gave its final approval to the first of two mixed-use buildings that comprise the Sweeney Blocks megaproject in The Triangle [map]. Thursday night online, they approved the second (westernmost) building. Architect Jenny Chapman from Ankrom Moisan outlined this building as 222 units, 13,000 square feet of retail, and 150 offstreet-parking spots. She noted the first review in August of last year approved the massing (size/shape) in a “stacked-lumber” concept evocative of the site’s legacy as Alki Lumber. She passed the baton to David Cutler of Northwest Studio to talk about the streetscape, with a proposal for “boardwalks” along the ground floor, on 36th SW:
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DEVELOPMENT: Next Design Review Board date set for 9218 18th SW; packets out for next week’s look at Triangle, Junction projects
Updates on three West Seattle projects going through the Design Review process:
9218 18TH SW: Today’s city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin includes the next date for this South Delridge project [map]. It’ll go back before the Southwest Design Review Board on December 2nd. Here’s our coverage from back in April, when the project passed the first phase on its second try. The project is proposed for five stories, ~48 apartments, and ~28 offstreet-parking spaces (none are required). Participation for the 5 pm December 2nd online meeting is here (which is also where you’ll find the design packet when the meeting gets closer).
Before then, two projects go back to the board next Thursday (November 18th), and you can preview their design packets now:
4440 FAUNTLEROY WAY SW: Last week, the board reviewed one of the two buildings comprising the Sweeney Blocks megaproject in The Triangle. At 5 pm Thursday, they’ll consider the latest proposal for the other one, 4440 Fauntleroy Way SW [map]. This is proposed as a 7-story mixed-use building, with ~217 apartments and ~153 offstreet-parking spaces. (Here’s our coverage of its previous review in August of last year.) Viewing/commenting info for the meeting is here.
4448 CALIFORNIA SW: At 7 pm Thursday, the board will move on to this Junction project [map], proposed for 7 stories, ~96 apartments, ground-floor commercial space, and no offstreet parking. (Here’s our coverage of their first review in July.) The packet is above and here. Viewing/participation info is here.
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