West Seattle, Washington
25 Sunday
(Rendering from 8415 Delridge design packet)
Almost three years ago, we reported on an Early Outreach for Design Review meeting about a 14-unit rowhouse project at 8415 Delridge Way SW [map]. The project is now reactivating, with a formal land-use application to the city. That opens a new comment period. The project is described on the city website as two 3-story, 7-unit townhouse buildings, with 14 offstreet-parking spaces. (See the most-recent design packet here.) Comment deadline is February 14th; today’s notice explains how.
(King County Assessor’s Office photo)
One month ago, we reported on the new plan for 1704 SW Roxbury and adjacent parcels on 17th SW – a mixed-use building with more than 200 apartments. The project is now listed on the city’s Early Community Outreach for Design Review website, which means the project is in the phase requiring the developers to offer early commenting opportunities to the community. It’s still described, albeit briefly, as a 4-story building, though the project’s page on one development partner’s website describes the plan as six stories and 214 units, broken down as “171 attainably priced market-rate units, and 43 rent-restricted units through Seattle’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Program.” City policy only stipulates notification within a specific area fairly close-in to the development site, but there’s a contact email address in the online notice if you want to ensure you’re in the loop.
(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.
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.
(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.
(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).
(Latest “massing” – size/shape – proposal from November Design Review meeting)
Four weeks ago, the mixed-use proposal for 4448 California SW cleared the first round of Design Review. That meant the project team could apply for a land-use permit, and today’s city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin brought word of that application, which means another comment period has opened. The proposal is for a 7-story, 88-apartment building with ground-floor commercial space and no offstreet parking. Here’s the notice published today, which explains how to comment, by a deadline of December 29th. The project also will have at least one more Design Review meeting (no date yet).
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.
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.
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.
(Rendering by Caron Architecture)
The South Delridge mixed-use proposal for 9218 18th SW [map] goes back to the Southwest Design Review Board tomorrow (Thursday, December 2nd) for the third and potentially final time. The design packet for the meeting finally became available today for previewing – see it here or below:
The 5-story building is proposed for 48 residential units with 28 offstreet-parking spaces and 4,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Here’s our coverage of the most-recent review back in April. Tomorrow’s online meeting is at 5 pm, open to public viewing and commenting; the links for that are here.
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:
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.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
A seven-house West Seattle development called The Orchard is home to a fight over trees.
This past week, several readers called our attention to a banner hung on the front of one of the new homes in the development, at 5620 Beach Drive SW [map], very visible to passersby. The banner announces, “WE’RE SUING THE DEVELOPER.”
The banner also names the developer, Calvin White, so we checked King County Superior Court files and found the lawsuit against him and his firm Charcoal Creek LLC, filed almost three weeks ago.
The Southwest Design Review Board had a doubleheader last night – first of two this month. We reported on the first hearing here, after the board gave its final approval to 4406 36th SW. Half an hour later, the board reconvened online for its first look at 3010 SW Avalon Way [map].
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This was the Early Design Guidance (focusing on size, shape, placement on site) review for the building, proposed for eight stories, ~86 units, and 4 offstreet-parking spaces. Here’s the design packet used for the meeting:
Architects presented three massing options for the building, as is standard for the first review. The board gave its support to #2, with the stipulation that the west side be lowered to match the height of the single-family homes to the west, and they wanted the entrance moved to the northeast corner. Early on in the meeting, the board talked about how the building has to deal with what they all considered a narrow site. Much was said about how the building would look in relation to the buildings on either side and how it would sit in relation to the single-family homes behind it. There was also some concern over use of the alley behind the building
and how it could accommodate both trash pickup and ADA access from the few parking spaces tbat will be provided in the rear.
The board also asked for a privacy/visibility study for the street-level units and the units on the north and south sides of the building. They also had questions about whether some of the ground-floor units would look out onto a concrete retaining wall.
No members of the public offered comments during the meeting, but city staff said 22 public comments were received before the meeting. Most dealt with the proposed height, with those comments suggesting something between four and seven stories. Other comments included a request to examine the alley in the rear to take into consideration the increasing number of personal-delivery trucks that the building will bring. (The online files show many comments about the need for parking, but that’s outside the Design Review process.)
The board was in general agreement with the comments as to how the building fits in with what’s on either side, and the general
look of the buildings along Avalon; they voted 3-1 to allow the project to move to phase two. You can still comment even if you missed the meeting – email assigned planner Theresa Neylon at theresa.neylon@seattle.gov. This building will have at least one more SWDRB meeting, date to be set when the architects are ready to return with a more-finalized design.
The two-building “Sweeney Blocks” megaproject in the West Seattle Triangle is halfway through the final stage of Design Review – the east building, at 4406 36th SW, got unanimous approval tonight from the Southwest Design Review Board, which will review the west building in two weeks. Here’s the “design packet” from the meeting:
Four board members were present – John Cheng, who chaired the meeting, along with Johanna Lirman, Patrick Cobb, and Alan Grainger. They were joined by the city planner assigned to the project, Sean Conrad.
Next Thursday (November 4th) at 7 pm, 3010 SW Avalon Way [map] goes to the Southwest Design Review Board – an apartment building proposed for eight stories, ~86 units, and 4 offstreet-parking spaces. The design packet for the meeting is now available for an advance look – see it above or on the city website. This is an Early Design Guidance meeting, so the review will focus on massing – size, shape, placement on the site – rather than design details. The meeting will be online at 7 pm Thursday, with a public-comment period; viewing/call-in/commenting info is here. If you have comments but can’t participate in the meeting, email comments to assigned planner Theresa Neylon at theresa.neylon@seattle.gov.
(Rendering by Atelier Drome Architects)
Almost four months after the Southwest Design Review Board gave its final approval to the 9208 20th SW project, city planners have given it a key land-use approval. This is the former auto-shop site that originally was proposed – as 9201 Delridge Way SW – for a self-storage facility, but then zoning thwarted that, and a new development team pivoted the project to mixed-use. The city summarizes it as “a 5-story, 76-unit apartment building with 71 apartments, 5 small efficiency dwelling units, retail and office, (and n)o parking proposed.” The notice in today’s Land Use Information Bulletin opens an appeal period through November 12th (and explains how that works).
Eight years have passed since Seattle City Light declared its ex-substation at 16th/Holden to be surplus, along with several others in West Seattle, and proposed putting it up for sale. The site’s underlying zoning was for single-family housing, but community members counterproposed that commercial development might be better. It was rezoned for mixed use a few years later – as described during a Highland Park tour with then-Mayor Ed Murray in 2017 – but has continued to sit idle.
Now there are some possibilities in play, and HPAC heard about them at tonight’s meeting. City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who shepherded the rezoning years ago, first explained that City Light still owns the site and remains amenable to a no-cost transfer of the site to the city Office of Housing. So OH and Enterprise Community Partners have been evaluating the feasibility “to explore further what’s possible at the site.” She said they’re opening a dialogue to “get moving on a path forward.”
Enterprise Community Partners’ Jess Blanch explained her organization is national and works on affordable housing from policy to finance to development. “We cover it from end to end.” She directs the program Home and Hope – housing on publicly owned tax-exempt land, like this site. She says “a few issues are in play” – it’s zoned NC-40.”Given the site size [10,000 sf], it is really too small of a site for affordable rental housing, the way (that) is financed.” But affordable homeownership might be a possibility. It would have to be 100 percent “public benefit” for the land to be given for this purpose – that means low-income community members – making no more than 80 percent of the area mean income – would have to be served in its commercial space, such as a food bank or preschool. It could also be live-work space.
Erika Malone from the Office of Housing explained her department doesn’t develop, own, or manage projects so if the property is transferred to them, they would then put out a Request for Proposals. The site would have to be developed as “permanently affordable housing.”
Herbold said that “if there’s interest in a ground-level use that provides a public benefit, it makes it more possible to develop the property for affordable housing.” They wouldn’t be able to do a low- or no-cost transfer if it was going to be ground-floor retail and housing above it – they’d probably have to sell it to a for-profit developer.
HPAC co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick said having commercial space there would be a public benefit in its own way because Highland Park needs more walkable businesses; the guests said that wouldn’t meet the technical definition of public benefit. Kirkpatrick and attendees pointed out that an adjacent property is currently up for sale. But that site (about 5,000 sf) wouldn’t add enough land to make affordable rental housing “pencil out,” said Blanch.
Some brainstorming ensued; community ideas about ways to have a business that served low-income residents included a FareStart-type café, serving the public and training people emerging from homelessness.
So what’s the next step? Herbold said they want to know if HPAC would be OK with a potentially non-commercial ground-floor use. Then the Office of Housing would explore seeking a nonprofit homeownership organization – Community Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity, for example. “There are still a lot of iunknowns regarding what’s possible,” Malone said. Then discussions between oH and SCL would ensue; if they worked out how it could be transferred, Permanently affordable homeownership vs. development that would include bjusinesses – which would mean a for-profit developer.
Enterprise has worked up some concepts, Herbold said. Blanch said she didn’t want to share those publicly but said the site could hold 8 to 10 townhouses, for example. Since the site is adjacent to single-family homes, that puts “some constraints’ on the “developable envelope.” Or, “condo apartments” would be an option.
What kind of a timeline are they working on? Kirkpatrick asked. Enterprise has a contract with the city that’s being renewed at least through next year, Blanch said. So a decision on a direction can apparently wait until early next year (this was HPAC’s last scheduled meeting until January).
(We’ll report on the rest of tonight’s HPAC meeting – two discussions with SDOT – in a separate story Thursday.)
That’s a new rendering of the concept for 4406 36th SW and 4440 Fauntleroy Way SW, the properties that the Sweeney family is planning to redevelop on and near the site of their legacy business Alki Lumber. Family spokesperson Lynn Sweeney sent the rendering today, as architects Ankrom Moisan sent the city the full design “packet” for 4406 36th SW, which will go back to the Southwest Design Review Board on November 4th (as reported here previously) The building is proposed for 8 stories, 284 apartments, 10,000 square feet of retail space, and 162 offstreet-parking spaces. Here’s the packet:
You’ll also find it on the city website. ]Sweeney says regarding the 2-building plan, “Our design team has been hard at work responding to the Design Review Board guidance and collaborating with the city to develop an outstanding project for the West Seattle Triangle Neighborhood. The focus of this project is to create a unique and engaging streetscape experience for the community while providing housing for more than 500 new residents. The project is well positioned with proximity to the proposed Avalon light rail station. We are excited to go before the board on November 4th (East Block) and November 18th (West Block).” Both are 5 pm online meetings; viewing/listening/comment info for the November 4th meeting is here. The Sweeneys have said they’ll look for a new location for their lumberyard; Sweeney told us today there’s no update on that yet, nor do they have a target date for groundbreaking.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
An “incubator” hub for small businesses.
Affordable housing – including apartments for growing families and seniors.
Community gathering spaces, indoors and outdoors.
And yes, parking (underground).
Those are some of the possibilities in concepts for redevelopment of the West Seattle Junction Association-managed parking lots, as discussed at an online community meeting tonight.
The meeting was hosted by West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Radford, and featured guests from Community Roots Housing, which has made an as-yet-unaccepted $14 million offer to buy the lots, and Ankrom Moisan, the architecture firm CRH commissioned to rough out possibilities. The lots are at 42nd/Oregon, 44th/Oregon, 44th/Alaska, and 44th between Edmunds and Alaska.
Here’s how the meeting unfolded:
As first announced last month, and as we reminded you Sunday, this Thursday brings an online community meeting focused on the future of the four West Seattle Junction sites long used as parking lots. They’ve been zoned for mixed-use development for decades, and now the question is not whether they’ll be redeveloped, but who will do it and how. The West Seattle Junction Association is convening Thursday night’s meeting with prospective purchaser Community Roots Housing, which has just sent this:
Community Roots Housing, in partnership with the West Seattle Junction Association (WSJA), is proposing plans for a redevelopment of four parking lots in West Seattle. On October 21, the organizations will host a virtual community meeting to gather input on the proposal.
The redevelopment plans would convert the four parking lots into affordable housing, including one building for senior housing, a 6,500 square-foot business incubator space, and replacement public parking. The housing would service incomes at or below 60% of the area median income. “At Community Roots Housing, we believe in community-led development,” said Christopher Persons, CEO of Community Roots Housing. “We are committed to listening to and responding to the needs and priorities of the West Seattle neighborhood while creating more affordable homes to combat the Seattle housing crisis.”
Currently, the lots are owned by the West Seattle Trusteed Properties and managed by WSJA. In April, Community Roots Housing submitted an offer to purchase the parking lots at the appraised value of the land. The City of Seattle Office of Housing has agreed to provide an acquisition loan to buy the property and convert the parking lots into affordable housing. The landowner is expected to take a vote on the sale at an October 28 member meeting.
“Input from the community will be a guiding factor as we begin to craft the vision for the Junction parking parcels,” said Lora Radford, Executive Director of the West Seattle Junction Association. “Being within an urban village, the critical development decisions that will impact future generations of West Seattleites is here and now. The value of early community voices is important to build and sustain a downtown that will have vision, history, heart, and soul.”
Community Roots Housing is a mission-based Public Development Authority chartered in the City of Seattle that creates affordable and workforce housing. Over the past year, Community Roots has been in community and stakeholder discussions about the property. “West Seattle Junction is the beating heart of the neighborhood, and we have a generational opportunity to transform and strengthen this community by welcoming new affordable housing, senior housing, expanded community space, and a small business incubator,” said City Councilmember Lisa Herbold. “I’m excited to see these plans begin to take shape under the leadership of the West Seattle Junction Association and Community Roots Housing. I look forward to learning more and hearing from community members at Thursday’s open house.”
Information for watching/listening to/participating in Thursday’s 6:30 pm meeting is on this WSJA webpage. The meeting agenda includes presentations from WSJA, Community Roots Housing, and architects Ankrom Moisan, as well as a period for community questions/comments.
The city sent official notices today for the next Southwest Design Review Board hearings about two projects we’ve been tracking, both on November 4th, and the SWDRB schedule shows two more projects are on the schedule for a meeting two weeks after that. All are projects we’ve reported on previously. Here’s the meeting schedule:
4406 36TH SW: Second and possibly final meeting (here’s our coverage of the first) for this project in The Triangle, described as “a 7-story, 275-unit apartment building with retail (and p)arking for 163 vehicles.” It’ll go to the board at 5 pm Thursday, November 4th. Info for attending/commenting at the online meeting, by video or by phone, is here.
3010 SW AVALON WAY: First SWDRB meeting for this “8-story, 87-unit apartment building (with) parking for 4 vehicles,” 7 pm Thursday, November 4th. We’ve been reporting on this project for two years. Viewing/commenting/call-in info for this meeting is here.
4440 FAUNTLEROY WAY SW: Second and possibly final meeting for this project (companion to 4406 36th SW, both on property owned by Alki Lumber‘s Sweeney family), described on the city website as a “7-story, 217-unit apartment building with retail (and p)arking for 153 vehicles.” 5 pm November 18th; here’s our coverage of the first meeting. Info on video/call-in/commenting for this meeting should appear here soon.
4448 CALIFORNIA SW: This will be the second “early design guidance” meeting (here’s our coverage of the first) for this project, “a 7-story, 96-unit apartment building with retail (and n)o parking.” It’ll be at 7 pm November 18th; viewing/call-in/commenting info will be at this link soon.
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