Thursday night’s Southwest Design Review Board doubleheader meeting was a lot shorter than the last one over which the board presided. That’s because the second review was about one aspect of a project whose team voluntarily came back to talk about it, even after getting an overall thumbs-up last time.

The project is the four-story, 80-unit, 52-parking-space Junction Flats mixed-use project replacing three old houses at 4433 42nd SW. Its board approval last August (official report here) included a directive for bigger balconies on the 42nd-facing east facade of the building. Project partner Brandon Nicholson, owner/developer for this as well as principal of architects Nicholson Kovalchick, explained that wouldn’t quite work because it would take a bite out of the light for studio apartments set aside as affordable housing.

Pitching for the board to compromise on the directive, he declared that Junction Flats is different because the team is all local – “completely different than any development you’ll see (from) out of town developers. We know this neighborhood, we know this market – my firm was based here for 10 years until we outgrew the space … Our fear is that many projects are being developed by out of town developers” with units too big, rents too high, or units too small, zero parking, etc. One-fifth of Junction Flats’ units will be held at Homes Within Reach program levels.

In addition, he explained, they are using federally (HUD) guaranteed financing, and on a tight timetable due to reviews associated with that. He and NK staff architect Courtney McCunney brought three options (detailed in the revised design packet) for trying to meet the spirit of the board recommendation, which focused not just on livability but also on the building not looking so “flat” up against 42nd, as board member Laird Bennion described it, also expressing concern about the uniform size of the windows and a resulting “monolithic” look. He said making it an attractive building would be the difference in its survivability over the long haul, instead of getting “scraped in 20 years.” Nicholson agreed, saying they’re getting a 40-year loan, so they don’t want the building to expire sooner, either.

No audience members chose to comment, but the board did take a look at written and visualized input sent to planner Tami Garrett by René Commons from the Junction Neighborhood Organization. Ultimately they asked NK to go with “a combination of option 1 and option 3” as shown in the revised packet, and the meeting ended. Watch the project via this city webpage; if you have any comments, on design or other issues, send them to planner Garrett at tami.garrett@seattle.gov.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

In the first of tonight’s two Southwest Design Review Board sessions, the 102-unit, 60-parking-space apartment building proposed at 3078 SW Avalon Way (map) has just been recommended for approval.

Architect Radim Blazej from Caron Architecture presented the revisions made to the project, which was going before the board for a third time; the previous meetings were in September 2012 (WSB coverage here) and November 2013 (WSB coverage here).

As city planner Garry Papers explained it toward the start of the meeting at the Senior Center of West Seattle – where the SWDRB has been having all its meetings in recent months – while the project still has a building-permit process to go through after this, public meetings are not part of that process, so this was the key opportunity for in-person citizen comment.

Blazej – going through parts of the revised design packet – recapped concerns voiced by the board and public at the previous meeting, including some aspects of the building’s Avalon-facing ground level, and reducing the 7-story building’s height as part of the transition from the single-family neighborhood behind it, to the north. He noted that the project is “pulling away from the alley” to provide more separation, even though other buildings on the block are almost all the way up against it.

“By compressing the building floor-to-floor” internally, they’ve reduced the height about three feet, Blazej said. It’s the top shaded area in the following graphic:

In response to concerns about whether the big windows envisioned for the ground-level units would bring privacy concerns, he said they’d raised the units and added some green-screening.

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With so many important meetings in West Seattle on Tuesday night, including three neighborhood councils, at least one PTSA, and the WS Transportation Coalition forum, few West Seattleites made it off-peninsula for a citywide meeting that was also of great interest. What turned out to be a raucous meeting – presented by the city but sparked by a citizens’ petition – focused on whether so-called “lowrise” zoning should be changed. Yes, the changes a few years ago had some “unintended consequences,” as acknowledged by the city Department of Planning and Development reps leading the meeting – taller “lowrise” buildings, among them. Seattle Channel did record this meeting as well, and the video has just been made available, so we’re sharing it above. Some supporting materials and links – first, the slide deck used by the city at Tuesday night’s meeting:

City presentation from low-rise-zoning meeting

(If you can’t see it embedded there, go to the city website to see the PDF.) If you’d like to read a news story about the event, go here to see what our fellow neighborhood news service CapitolHillSeattle.com reported about Tuesday night’s meeting. And as for what happens next – the city is continuing to take comments as it develops potential revisions to bring to the City Council; see the right side of the project webpage for contact information.

P.S. We know of at least one West Seattleite who spoke – you’ll see Morgan Community Association‘s Cindi Barker at the 66:30 mark of the meeting video.

P.P.S. And if you’re wondering what parts of West Seattle are zoned low-rise, see our original preview of this meeting, published last month.

Five West Seattle development notes this morning:

FIRST LOOK AT EARLY DESIGN FOR EX-CHARLESTOWN CAFE SITE: After tonight’s unrelated doubleheader, the Southwest Design Review Board‘s next scheduled meeting is now set for January 30th (instead of the originally published 23rd), and 3824 California SW, proposing 30 townhouses and live-work units for the ex-café site, with 30 parking spaces, is one of the projects (here’s the official notice). We first told you about the plan last June, but there was no public hint of the design until now – its Early Design Guidance packet is available online for public perusal; see it here. Remember that this stage is just the “size and shape” (massing) stage; what you see above is the developer’s preferred massing – light blue represents live-works facing California, darker masses are townhouses behind them – pending discussion at the meeting two weeks from tonight, which also includes Early Design Guidance for 4505 42nd SW, 50 apartments and 16 parking spaces (here’s that official notice).

3005 HARBOR AVENUE: Today’s Land Use Information Bulletin announces the land-use application for 3005 Harbor Avenue SW (map), proposing a four-story, 8-residential-unit project replacing an 97-year-old house. Comments are being accepted through January 29th; you can use this form, linked from the application notice, if you’re interested in commenting.

6536 24th SW: This potential eight-house site (map) was first mentioned here last month. Today’s LUIB includes formal notice that comments are being accepted for the proposal to split its two parcels into eight.

TWO MORE FORMAL DESIGN-REVIEW NOTICES: Both mentioned here before, but in case you missed them, from today’s LUIB, the official notices for two projects that return to the SW Design Review Board on February 6th – 4400 SW Alaska and 3210 California SW.

2 HOUSES AFTER A LOT SPLIT: This has NOT hit the LUIB yet, but a new land-use application is in for two houses on the site of one at 4022 19th SW (map), where a lot-boundary adjustment was approved last year.

Three development updates in our continuing coverage of what’s being built/planned:

WEST SEATTLE’S SECOND FOOTPRINT: The second “microhousing” – studio apartments clustered around shared kitchens/gathering spaces – complex to open in West Seattle apparently will carry the same brand as the first. This weekend, 3266 Avalon Way SW – the tall skinny building one door east of the 35th/Avalon 7-11 – appeared online as Footprint Avalon I (the corresponding webpage has been gutted since we saw it Saturday night). That would make it a sibling to Footprint Delridge, the two buildings that started renting recently across from Southwest Youth and Family Services, now now advertised as renting for $855 (with the footnote, “Not aPodments”). To the Avalon I name – that could mean 3050 Avalon Way SW, the only other microhousing project on the drawing board for that apartment-lined street, will turn up as Footprint Avalon II (it’s still in the permit process). Footprint also is behind the microhousing building in the works for 5949 California SW.

JUNCTION FLATS DESIGN: Another doubleheader when the Southwest Design Review Board meets this Thursday night – 3078 Avalon Way at 6:30 pm (as previewed here a week ago), 4433 42nd SW at 8 pm. The latter project, Junction Flats, now has its design packet available for public preview; it’s proposed for 78 apartments, two live-work units, and 52 parking spaces, on the site of three old houses across 42nd from Hope Lutheran.

See the full packet here; public comment is welcome at the meeting, which will be steps away from the project site, Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon).

FROM THE LAND USE INFORMATION BULLETIN: Two decision in on smaller projects previously mentioned here – a four-house project has won land-use approval at 4522 Delridge Way SW; here’s the decision. And the lot split at 3947 SW Kenyon, where two homes are proposed to replace one, has been approved; here’s that decision.

P.S. After a break, work resumes tomorrow (Monday, January 13th) on the California/Alaska/42nd Equity Residential project. There’s still a lot of excavating to do, so the tower crane for that site isn’t due until March.

One night after we reported on a 1920s-era California SW brick building that is facing demolition again, we have an update on one that apparently is not.

Some interior work that has just begun at 2141 California SW (map) is drawing lots of attention – a half-dozen people pinged us about it today alone. You’ll recall this was the longtime home of Admiralty House Antiques, closed last summer when owner Fred Dau finally retired. He brought in an estate-sale expert to sell off its quirky contents, and told us in an interview that he then hoped to sell it quickly. Within a month, we reported that a sale was pending and a development proposal had emerged – leaving the former store intact while building three residential units behind it, facing SW Walker. We have kept watch on public records since then; there was briefly another proposal, to tear down the store and put up a mixed-use building, but that then was superseded by yet another plan, back to keeping the commercial building and adding three units behind it, two townhouses and one live-work. A sale finally closed in December, with the site bought for $775,000 by an LLC registered to West Seattle-based financier/developer Dan Duffus, who has built other projects nearby, including the live-work units that are home to Mind Unwind and Caffé Fiore one block south. The workers who were on site today said that the building’s being split into two commercial spaces; we don’t know whether tenants are already signed up.

(3266 Avalon Way microhousing project, photographed today)
Neighborhood activists face off against the city Department of Planning and Development tomorrow before the city Hearing Examiner, in their challenge of a ruling related to the proposed city rules about “microhousing.”

As reported here two months ago, the challenge is to the department’s “determination of non-significance” – a ruling that the proposed rules do not need a separate environmental-impact review. More than 50 documents are already in the case’s online file; among them is deputy Hearing Examiner Ann Watanabe‘s dismissal of parts of the appeal. The challenge is led by an advocate from elsewhere in the city, but as noted in November, the 10 groups supporting the appeal include two West Seattle groups, Morgan Community Association and SeattleNERD (Neighbors Encouraging Reasonable Development). The hearing examiner usually issues a ruling within two weeks of a hearing.

The city mentions the appeal in a DPD-website update about the microhousing rules, published last Thursday, saying, “This process must be complete before we can begin discussing the new rules for micro-housing with City Council. But as soon as it is completed, we will work with the Council to begin briefings.” The DPD update projects the rules could be adopted by March. They would not affect projects already on the drawing board or under construction, which in West Seattle number at least three, 3266 Avalon Way SW (under construction), 5949 California SW (for which permits are issued but construction has not yet begun), and 3050 Avalon Way (proposed but no recent activity), in addition to built-and-now-leasing Footprint Delridge.

Tomorrow’s hearing, open to the public, is scheduled to start at 9 am on the 40th floor of the city Municipal Tower downtown.

The revised design proposal is now public for the first of seven projects going before the Southwest Design Review Board in the next month and a half — 3078 SW Avalon Way, 102 apartments and 60 parking spaces (in a zone that does not require any), scheduled for review on January 16th. The neighbors north/northeast of the project, in the single-family neighborhood mostly along 32nd SW, have been intensely involved in the process of vetting this building, with big turnouts at both preceding meetings, in September 2012 (WSB coverage here) and in November 2013 (WSB coverage here), and forming an advocacy group. The new “packet” – which you can see in its entirety here – says 3078 Avalon is now proposed to be three feet shorter than previously proposed, and: “The courtyard has been redesigned and increased privacy and interest have been added at the street level, as well as facing the single-family neighbors.” The 3078 Avalon review is first up in another doubleheader, 6:30 pm January 16th, at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon).

This time last year, the latest wave of West Seattle development hadn’t yet resumed its rise; one measure – just one project went before the Southwest Design Review Board in the first two months of 2013. So far in 2014, a different story; between now and February 20th, seven reviews are scheduled – including one just added to the schedule, 2626 Alki Avenue SW, at the corner of 59th and Alki (map).

That’s the project first reported here in Alki Community Council coverage last June, after architect Roger Newell came to the ACC for an early public presentation. Its Early Design Guidance meeting before the SWDRB is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, February 20th. It’s now described in the city Department of Planning and Development files as “3-story structure containing 14 residential units, 5 live-work units, and 3,250 sq. ft. of commercial space,” with 28 ground-level parking spaces, accessed off 59th (Newell explained in June that they can’t have an underground garage because of peat issues at the site). Documents submitted to the city by the architecture firm further explain that, fronting Alki, the building will have 4 apartments over 5 live-work units which in turn are over commercial space, and behind that, 10 apartments will be on two floors over the parking area. Three buildings are to be torn down at the corner of 59th and Alki and to the northeast, currently holding an office, pet-services shop, medical-marijuana dispensary, and restaurant, plus second-floor apartments in two of those three buildings.

The February 20th meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle, where the SWDRB usually meets these days; formal notice should appear within a few weeks in the twice-weekly Land Use Information Bulletin.

Two development notes so far today:

2646 SW HOLDEN: First, a followup on our report last Saturday about the 18-house proposal for an acre and a half between SW Holden and SW Webster: The comment period is now officially under way, with an announcement in today’s Land Use Information Bulletin. The notice is here; the direct link to a comment form takes you here. The notice says comments are being accepted through January 15th.

5936, 5938 CALIFORNIA SW: Second, another project in north Morgan Junction that’s been making its way through the system since late November, replacing a 90-year-old house at 5936 California SW with two townhouses and three single-family houses.

The five 3-story units, with five offstreet parking spaces, are covered by four permit applications – the townhouses (fronting California) are here; the westernmost house is here (5938 A); the middle house is here (5938 B); the easternmost house is here (5938 C).

The lowrise-zoned site was sold four weeks ago to a builder in the Blueprint Capital co-op (whose website already lists the three houses as “under construction”). It’s a busy area, with two other nearby (but not related) projects of note: On the west, this site is almost directly across from the future microhousing site at 5949 California; on the east, it’s a few doors down the alley from the six townhouses proposed on church-owned land.

Six West Seattle development notes/updates today:

3239 CALIFORNIA SW (map): A demolition application is pending for this commercial structure because of a development plan that’s been making its way through the system since spring. The site is part of the block that was upzoned in 2010 to NC2-40 and is across the street from the proposed 3210 California SW. Documents on file with the city include a proposed subdivision of the site into three lots; a site plan filed in spring proposed 2 live-work units fronting California with four single-family homes behind them, but the newest site plan just shows 4 single-family homes, two fronting California, two behind, height listed as 40′. The proposals are filed under three addresses – in addition to 3239 California SW, there’s also 3237B California SW and 3239B California SW.

4147 CALIFORNIA SW (map): Applications have just been filed this week proposing to demolish two single-family homes at this site, building a mixed-use building – described as one residential unit over 3,900 square feet of commercial space, fronting California – and a new single-family home behind it. It has not been formally announced yet, so watch for that, at which time a comment deadline likely will be set.

6536 24TH SW (map): An application was filed last week to split two parcels into eight at this site between 24th and 23rd north of Willow. Other documents in the city files indicate plans to build eight homes, with at least 16 parking spaces, next year, if approved. Documents also note there is a “small wetland” on the site, so there is additional environmental documentation on file.

7313 BAINBRIDGE PLACE (map): While construction is already well under way at this three-house project north of Lincoln Park – we reported on the site clearing 2 1/2 months ago – the plan to split it into three lots has just been approved. The notice in today’s Land Use Information Bulletin includes links for reading the full decision and finding out how to appeal it.

DESIGN REVIEW REMINDERS: Today’s LUIB also includes the formal notice of the next Southwest Design Review Board meeting for 3078 SW Avalon Way (8 pm January 16 at the Senior Center of West Seattle, as reported here three weeks ago; we’ve also noted that five other Design Review meetings are coming up in January/February).

MARKETING MICROHOUSING: You might have noticed the banner up in front of the first microhousing project to be completed in West Seattle, 4546-4548 Delridge Way SW (map).

That’s across from Southwest Youth and Family Services and Delridge Playfield, first mentioned here in fall 2012 when “boarding house” applications turned up in city files. It’s now being marketed – we found this recent listing with interior photos and a $750 pricetag. The two-building complex is officially Footprint Delridge, part of a new microhousing brand (same one that’s planning to develop 5949 California SW in Morgan Junction) – here’s the Footprint marketing website; the Delridge-specific page is here.

That’s our section of the official zoning map for the city of Seattle. You can see the city map in its entirety, including the color-coding explanation, by going here. Take note that the olive-green areas are “low-rise multifamily.” What’s allowable in that zoning is an area of interest/concern, literally, in neighborhoods around the city, including ours, as multifamily development intensifies, particularly in that zone, which is often adjacent to single-family areas. So if you share that interest/concern, from whatever viewpoint, you’ll want to make plans to be at a citywide meeting on January 14th, regarding possibly changing the rules.

We first heard about this from the Morgan Community Association, which has been working on development-related education lately as new projects start popping up in its area, mentioned it first. The meeting was sparked by a coalition called Seattle Speaks Up, which petitioned the city about the zoning rules and explains the meeting here.

As for the city Department of Planning and Development, this is from a note DPD sent today:

On January 14th, we’re holding a citywide meeting to talk about the citywide issue of building height limits in Lowrise Multifamily zones. We want to hear from residents and others about how buildings built recently in lowrise zones are fitting into neighborhoods. We’re evaluating possibilities for reductions to allowable building height.The meeting will be held on Capitol Hill at Lowell Elementary School 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM.

The city’s full description of the meeting’s purpose is here. An even-fuller description of the potential “code correction” project is here. A map to the meeting site is here.

In addition to the five projects tentatively scheduled for Southwest Design Review Board meetings early in the new year (reported here last week), add one more: The fourth review for 3210 California SW – currently planned as a five-story, 149-unit, 168-parking-space mixed-use building – is on the lineup for 8 pm Thursday, February 6th, at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon). Here’s our report on its most-recent review and an ongoing petition drive seeking a non-design-related public meeting.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The developer planning to build a 30-unit, no-offstreet-parking building in Morgan Junction says it will be a duplicate of a 30-unit, no-offstreet-parking building the same architect designed for a North Seattle site.

After Mark Knoll explained that last night to about 30 people who came to hear from and talk with him about 6917 California SW (map) – the plan first reported here two months ago – we took a field trip today for a firsthand look at the “duplicate” building.

Ironically, we discovered, that building (same architect but different owner/developer) in Roosevelt is directly across the street from a big parking lot.

The lot has more than 150 spaces open to the public (but not free), and its streetfront is in turn lined with free public parking (mostly diagonal). The Roosevelt building also is a few blocks from a planned station for Sound Transit light rail, something West Seattle currently can only dream of.

More on that building and its context later in this story. First, what Knoll told, and heard from, those in attendance last night at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center:

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(EDITOR’S NOTE: In mid-January, the 1/23 Design Review meeting was pushed back to 1/30)
Four more projects have been added to the Southwest Design Review Board‘s calendar for early next year.

Most notably, January 23rd 30th is tentatively scheduled for the board’s first look at 3824 California SW, the 30-unit project proposed for the two-and-a-half-years-vacant Charlestown Café site, first reported here six months ago. The 30 units are now described on the city website is now outlined as 17 live-work units and 13 townhouses. The tentative date for this review is 6:30 pm January 23 30, followed by, at 8 pm, the first look at 4505 42nd SW (here’s a map), 50 apartments over 4,500 square feet of retail and 16 parking spaces. That’s a change from our first report back in October.

Then, tentatively set for 6:30 pm February 6th, 4400 SW Alaska (map) goes back to the SWDRB; it is now described as 36 residential units, 4 live-work units, and 5 parking spaces. (Here’s our report on its July review.)

We’ve already mentioned that 3078 SW Avalon Way (map) is on the calendar to go back before the board at 6:30 pm January 16th; now a second project is added for 8 pm that night, 4433 42nd SW (here’s a map), 78 residential units, 2 live-work units, and a 52-space underground parking garage. It’s been reviewed twice previously.

All of the aforementioned reviews are penciled in for the Senior Center of West Seattle, which is where all the board’s meetings have been held for some months now, after several years of bouncing between various community-meeting rooms.

P.S. The city’s page explaining the Design Review program is here.

Only one West Seattle project in today’s edition of the city’s twice-weekly Land Use Information Bulletin: A final land-use-permit OK for 4435 35th SW, the six-story, 159-unit, 151-parking-space building to be built where The Bridge just closed its original location. This project went dormant for three years after its original 2009 early-design review, then returned this year with a new architect (GGLO) and new design; the rendering above is from the packet for the October meeting where the Southwest Design Review Board gave its final thumbs-up. Publication of the decision (read it in full here) means there’s a two-week period in case anyone wants to appeal, ending the day after Christmas; a link at the top of the decision notice explains how.

Five development notes today:

OFFICIAL NOTICE FOR 6917 CALIFORNIA MEETING: In case you missed the mention in our coverage of last week’s Morgan Junction development-primer meeting, the city notice is officially out today, confirming December 19th as the date for the citizen-requested Department of Planning and Development meeting to take comments on the 30-apartments, no-off-street-parking building planned at 6917 California SW. The project does not require Design Review, so no public meeting would be happening if not for a petition drive spearheaded by Concerned Morgan Junction Neighbors. The meeting is at 6:30 pm December 19th at the Senior Center of West Seattle. (This Thursday, December 12th, there’s another community-organized meeting, this time with the site’s developer, 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center.) Our photo, by the way, shows the fence that went up around the site within the past few days.

2 FAUNTLEROY WAY TOWNHOUSE PROJECTS: First, with demolition last week, the site’s being cleared for the 5-rowhouse townhouse project at 5457 Fauntleroy (first mentioned here in June):

Further north, another proposal is now in the city system – seven townhouses proposed for a 7,500-square-foot site at 4842 Fauntleroy Way SW (map), to replace a 62-year-old duplex. The site plan shows two townhouses fronting Fauntleroy, five behind, with seven parking spaces lining the alley on the east side of the site.

2801 SW NEVADA LOT SPLIT, TOWNHOUSES: A few more details on this lot-split plan mentioned last week while we were covering the prefab-townhouse installation nearby on SW Genesee: The comment period for 2801 SW Nevada’s lot split (map) ends next Sunday; you can send a comment by following the link atop the notice, which currently covers only the lot split, though a site plan on file with the city outlines four townhouses to replace the 66-year-old duplex that’s there now.

2 NEW SEAVIEW HOMES: Two 94-year-old houses in the 5900 block of 47th SW in Seaview (map) are planned to be demolished and replaced with new homes – the application for 5911 47th SW is here; the application for 5917 47th SW is here.

SIGHTS ON SITES: Two reader-contributed photos – first, Sharonn caught one of the tanks taken out of the ground at the former Shell station on the 4755 Fauntleroy Way development site at Fauntleroy/Alaska:

That’s not the official start of demolition at the site, just the cleanup of the corner.

Finally – the crane that’s been up for half a year over Spruce, aka the ex-Hole, was spotted hoisting bio-break necessities:

Thanks to Leslie for sharing that pic taken from Dream Dinners (WSB sponsor) on the outer east side of Jefferson Square.

Two more meetings are now set related to concerns over the Morgan Junction development first reported here almost two months ago, before the sign went up – a 30-unit, no-parking-space apartment building at 6917 California SW. They follow the meeting recorded in our video above, held last night by the Morgan Community Association and Concerned Morgan Junction Neighbors, a grass-roots group coalescing around the development proposal.

In the video, you will hear/see community advocates and city Department of Planning and Development managers talk about the development process, including some of the relatively recent changes that have paved the way for developments like this, such as the 2012 change that enabled developers to propose no-parking-space buildings in urban-village areas with access to what the city considers “frequent transit.” (City planning director Marshall Foster – a West Seattleite – explains that, at about 37 minutes into the video, which captures the entire meeting, unedited, except for the last few minutes of Q/A. “The goal was to let the market have some flexibility,” he said.)

Even if you’re not in the Morgan area, listening might be instructive, if you’re interested in what preceded the kind of development proposals emerging today.

The next two meetings are coming up on the next two Thursday nights, according to an announcement sent out tonight. Next Thursday (December 12th), 6917 California SW developer Mark Knoll will meet with neighbors (and anyone else interested). That meeting is set for 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6700 Sylvan Way). Then December 19th is the date for a city meeting about the project, resulting from Concerned Morgan Junction Neighbors’ petition, 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon).

Concluding an four-hour doubleheader meeting much less contentious than their previous one last month, the Southwest Design Review Board has just given thumbs-up to 4745 40th SW, an eight-story, 150-unit, 116-parking-space building on the southwest corner of 40th and Edmunds, south of land the city has just purchased for a future park.

The previous session was for 4535 44th SW (here’s our report). Four regular board members were the panel for this review – chair Myer Harrell, Daniel Skaggs, Todd Bronk, and Laird Bennion; also at the table, Bruce Rips, the city planner for this project. Like the earlier project, this one drew about 15 members of the public.

Andy Hoyer from Encore Architects led the presentation; see the packet here. Hoyer said he was excited to be presenting one of the first projects developed under guidelines in the relatively new West Seattle Triangle Plan; though this site technically isn’t in The Triangle, the plan’s area extended a bit further west, including this site.

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