West Seattle, Washington
12 Thursday
New on the market for $2,895,000 – the parcels south of The Junction that former Fauntleroy Place (Whole Foods) developers BlueStar were at one time going to develop as a residential/commercial project called Spring Hill
(no relation to the renowned Junction restaurant). When we reported on foreclosure proceedings involving the site (5020-5030 California SW) back in June (second half of this story), that’s the same amount a bank was pursuing as an opening bid. Property records show Shoreline Bank owns the three parcels that comprise the site, and the listing mentions a land-use permit is pending; here are details on the originally proposed project, from its last Design Review meeting 14 months ago. More recently, part of this site was mentioned at the Fairmount Springs community crimefighting meeting we covered last month – there were complaints of transient/squatter/drug-house activity involving one of the vacant buildings long scheduled for demolition till the project stalled.
That’s one alternative for 4435 35th SW (map) – the proposed 100+-unit residential/12,000-sf commercial project on the Redline-and-south site – shown for the first time at Thursday night’s Southwest Design Review Board meeting, but not in the online packet. It’s the one that won the most attention – as an option that would feature a little more than 100 condos, over two stories of commercial frontage. More on the meeting ahead:Read More
NEW RESTAURANT’S NAME: When we reported last week on the plan for what’s going into the former Ama Ama space at California/Edmunds, the proprietors weren’t sure about a name. Looks like they’ve found one: The liquor-license permit application lists the name as Table 35 Restaurant and Lounge. Now, to the Admiral District:
SAFEWAY PERMIT FILINGS: From today’s city Land Use Information Bulletin: The only two West Seattle items are both related to the Admiral Safeway project, and both include a formal chance for you to comment. First, the application for the land-use permit for the commercial building along California north of the store (rendering above), which Safeway wants to build first so its pharmacy can stay in operation while the store is closed for construction; links are here (including how to comment). Second, permit applications for the store/apartments/flex-work project itself, including a rezoning request that will require City Council approval (links are here). As we reported last weekend, the next Southwest Design Review Board meeting for the Admiral Safeway project is tentatively scheduled for 8 pm December 17th, Youngstown Arts Center.
As reported a week ago, that’s an early sketch of the proposal for 4435 35th SW, which will be presented to the Southwest Design Review Board for the first time at 6:30 tonight, Senior Center of West Seattle. Also today/tonight: West Seattle Democratic Women meet at 11:30, West Seattle Golf Course (call ASAP for reservations – info here); two events at Alki Community Center – the center Advisory Council‘s community spaghetti dinner at 6 (bring a canned-food donation) and the Alki Community Council‘s annual meeting (with officer elections) at 7 pm (then head over to Bamboo for Alki Idol) at 9:30; and you can celebrate Thanksgiving a week early at High Point Community Center – turkey dinner, prizes, contests, starting at 6. That’s not everything that’s happening – see the rest on the WSB Events calendar!
With almost $40,000 in the city budget to work on planning for what many consider the gateway to West Seattle, the Triangle area, leaders of the nearby Fairmount Community Association continue to work to make sure key players get a firsthand look at the area as it stands now. Four weeks after showing city planner Robert Scully around the area, Fairmount reps (from left in top photo) Nancy Driver, Joan Jeffrey and Sharonn Meeks hosted City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen this morning. He’s been involved in many of the discussions to date, but acknowledged during the half-hour tour that you get a different perspective while walking around. One corridor pointed out, the street that many walk from the homes around Providence Mount St. Vincent to the east, all the way down to the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) in the background of the photo:
Go all the way down 37th to Fauntleroy, and you’ll meet Seung, who recently opened 37th Shoe Repair:
Rasmussen took interest in the recent commercial developments opening in the area, which also includes Cycle U in a former Huling building on the Triangle’s west edge, and the SW Alaska storefront where Alki Kayak Tours is about to open Mountain to Sound Outfitters:
Fairmount’s concern is to make sure there’s an open public process involved with drawing up a vision for The Triangle before too much more piecemeal development happens; they’d like to see an independent urban designer involved, while the city currently is only funding staff time. Rasmussen also advised reaching out to as many local businesses as possible – from the large, like Alki Lumber, to the small, like the new shoe-repair shop, and observed so many spots along the Triangle’s streets that could be brightened with a little landscaping here, a little removal of broken pavement there. We’ll keep tracking the process.
Per the city website – Admiral Safeway‘s next date with the Southwest Design Review Board, which could be its last if the project design wins the board’s final approval, is tentatively set for December 17th, 8 pm, Youngstown Arts Center. (One of the additions since its October SWDRB review, another store entrance on California SW, was previewed at the Design Commission a week and a half ago.) ADDED 8:46 PM: Almost forgot to mention, there’s a 6:30 pm review same night/same place – 2988 SW Avalon, the 16-unit Transitional Resources building last reviewed in April.
We first told you on Halloween about a project that’s emerged for the Triangle-area site on 35th south of Avalon that now holds Redline Music and Sports and a vacant lot. Today, one week before the Southwest Design Review Board is scheduled to take a look, the early-design proposal for the project is available online – it’s the source for the sketch you see above. The perspective is roughly the same one in this Google Street View of the site:
The proposal packet outlines the plan so far as: “100-150 dwelling units on five floors over a ground level floor of commercial and parking with a below grade basement parking structure. Parking for approximately 158 vehicles would be available to support the 100-150 dwelling units and 12,250 sf of street level commercial space” and says developers are looking at building to the maximum height allowed by current zoning, 65 feet. More details to come when the Design Review Board looks at the project, 6:30 pm next Thursday at the Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction; the city’s project-status page is here.
Also from last night’s Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting: There’s more to the future of The Junction than the big issues of big development projects – it’s also about the details: How will landscaping, sidewalks, streets be improved? That was the crux of the discussion with Junction-based architect Brandon Nicholson, who’s been involved for about two years with discussions about what the area can, and should, look like. Rather than presenting a specific plan, he said the key thing is to get neighbors and neighborhoods talking about what they would like to see. He and JuNO members agreed that they’re hoping for consistency in how landscaping and other features look along rights of way. That includes wider sidewalks, as density increases in The Junction. And the discussion included The Triangle, which as discussed here – and reported citywide – with Nicholson noting that differences include the fact that The Junction has significant retail development, while The Triangle does not but will inevitably head that way. Asked about the once-proposed tree-lined boulevard concept (reported here 13 months ago), he said it’s still under discussion, but repeated that there’s no particular plan being forwarded now – just an intent to spark discussion. JuNO president Erica Karlovits observed that consistency can only come with advocacy – as new developments are proposed, neighbors need to be prepared to advocate for right-of-way features staying consistent, block to block.
The impending start of construction for Link, Harbor Properties‘ residential/commercial building in The Triangle (most recent WSB report here), is the main peg for a story published by the Seattle Times (WSB partner) this morning. The story also takes a wider look at the area as West Seattle’s gateway, noting the city planning work that’s getting under way (as noted here). You can see the Times’ story by going here. ADDED 8:51 AM: Side note for those interested in the future of the adjacent Junction – a reminder that the Junction Neighborhood Organization meets tomorrow night, 6:30 pm, Ginomai (42nd/Genesee), with a presentation on right-of-way improvements proposed for The Junction – benches, street trees, sidewalks, etc.
The architects working on the Admiral Safeway redevelopment project have made one big change since the project’s most recent Southwest Design Review Board session two weeks ago – one that answers repeatedly voiced criticism from citizen commenters as well as board members: They’ve added an entrance along the store’s west side on California SW. That was the big headline from Thursday afternoon’s presentation to the Seattle Design Commission, which has to sign off on Safeway’s request for an “alley vacation” – asking the city to give up an L-shaped path that you probably don’t even think of as an alley.
The commission usually makes its decision in two sessions – reviewing the project’s “urban design” first time around, and the “public benefits” offered in compensation, the second time. Read on for details of the meeting:Read More
ADMIRAL SAFEWAY ALLEY VACATION: If you’re proposing a street or alley “vacation” – in which the public right-of-way is relinquished, for development or another reason – the Seattle Design Commission has to review your plan, including the “public benefits” you’re offering to make up for it. That’s why it’ll be looking at the Admiral Safeway redevelopment plan (here’s the most recent public presentation) today, 2 pm, Boards and Commissions Room at City Hall downtown.
NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING – BE THERE! West Seattle’s 5 areas with official plans – Admiral, Delridge, Morgan Junction, The Junction, Westwood/Highland Park – did a stellar job of representing at the neighborhood plan status/update meeting on that sizzling July day at Youngstown. Tonight’s the next step – a meeting to review how that information was processed, whether you agree the “status check” represents where things stand in your neighborhood, and what happens next. The WS neighborhoods are sharing a meeting place with a few others, so this meeting is on Beacon Hill, 6 pm, Mercer Middle School (directions). You’re also invited to participate in this online questionnaire.
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS TONIGHT: In girls’ soccer, West Seattle High School is in the Metro third-place game vs. Lakeside, 5 pm at Memorial Stadium downtown; in varsity football, *Seattle Lutheran High School plays Evergreen Lutheran, 7 pm at West Seattle Stadium.
Some have voiced excitement – some have voiced concern. End result: The Seattle City Council voted this afternoon to allow so-called “backyard cottages,” which have been permitted in Southeast Seattle as a pilot project, to be built around the city – with one big change – they were going to issue only 50 permits per year, but now there’s no cap. Read the announcement here:Read More
A new project has just appeared on the city’s “upcoming Design Review” schedule — a Southwest Design Review Board meeting November 19th to look at a proposal for 4435 35th SW (map). According to what’s on the city website, this would be a six-story building with 100-plus units and more than 12,000 square feet of commercial space. Till we can track down somebody to ask about this proposal, it’s not crystal-clear which part of the site is proposed for this – the land under Redline, as well as the lot immediately south, are both owned by former car-business-operators the Hulings; Redline’s address is 4433, while the King County Parcel Viewer shows no address for the lot to the south. The “applicant” contact on the city website is an architect with the Roger Newell firm, whose portfolio includes the Golden Crest project that will go up north of Capco Plaza (the building with the new QFC). There’s also a hint on the city website that this has been on the drawing board a while, a mention of a “pre-application site visit” in August of 2008. The November 19th Design Review meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction.
During Wednesday’s celebration of The Kenney‘s grand-opening centennial, attendees also were invited to look to its future as well as its past, with renderings of its latest redevelopment proposal set up on easels around the room. That proposal was presented to the Southwest Design Review Board one week ago, along with the latest layout for the Admiral Safeway project. We reported the meeting’s headlines that night but never the details – several have asked, so for starters, here’s the rest of the story on The Kenney’s review, and what’s next – read on:Read More
First Southwest Design Review Board meeting 
in three months tonight – if there are no projects to review, they don’t meet – and it was a 3 1/2-hour doubleheader. Toplines while we work on the longer story: The Kenney‘s redevelopment (see the presentation here) advances out of “early design guidance” after four meetings, which means one more meeting ahead for what could be a final review; most of Admiral Safeway‘s redevelopment (see the presentation here) needs to come back for at least one more look – main objection is that the California side of the store doesn’t have openings/entrances/features with which to engage – but the board gave thumbs-up to the request for final approval for the smaller retail building on the site, which Safeway wants to build fast so it can house the pharmacy while the rest of the store is closed during construction. More to come in the morning! (From left in photo: Kenney CEO Kevin McFeely, Design Review Board members Myer Harrell and Joe Hurley, city planner Michael Dorcy) P.S. One reminder: Friday (10/23) is the deadline for comment on the “alley vacation” that is part of the Admiral Safeway proposal, requiring a separate type of approval. Here’s our original story about the proposal and the call for comments (with info on how to send yours).
(digital version of the rendering substituted Thurs. morning for photo taken Wed. nite)
From the Fairmount Community Association meeting at The Mount tonight: Harbor Properties unveiled that updated rendering of its apartment/retail project Link, while announcing it’s obtained financing, with construction likely to start at the 38th/Alaska site by mid-November. Link includes 200 apartments and 14,000 square feet of retail; Harbor executive vice president Denny Onslow told the 30-plus Fairmount attendees that they haven’t signed up any retail tenants yet but are open to ideas; The north side of the building (left side of the rendering) suggests ground-floor cafe space; the building has some ground-floor housing on both the 38th SW and alley sides – “We want to put some activity into the alley,” says Onslow. He adds that construction should take about 17 months “and that’s really fast.” The contractor, Exxel Pacific, is the same one that built Harbor’s Mural (WSB sponsor), which Onslow says is now 95% rented. The financing is from U.S. Bank and an unnamed “private investor,” both of whom have worked with Harbor before, and according to Onslow, “this will be one of the few apartment buildlngs being built in Seattle right now.”
He says it was once envisioned that this and the so-called “Hole Foods” site would be built simultaneously, as “bookends” to the Triangle, but now that the latter is in limbo, they have stepped up the look of Link a bit, with a metallic finish on its north and south sides to provide reflectivity, and lighting. Also tonight, Harbor Properties confirmed to WSB that it is no longer pursuing a purchase of the 36th/Alaska motel property, though it does own some land north of that site on the same block, and it also owns the site at 37th/Alaska that’ll be used for construction staging (shown here) – slated to become more parking for Link when construction is done. (Also at the Fairmount meeting, crimefighting info from Southwest Precinct reps – that’ll be in a separate report.)
Tomorrow (Wednesday) night, the Fairmount Community Association (not to be confused with Fairmount Springs, which is more than a mile south, with Hansen View inbetween) meets at the facility that anchors its neighborhood – Providence Mount St. Vincent (at the top of the hill in the background of our first photo, looking up 37th SW).
Fairmount residents have been keeping a close eye on development prospects for the area known as the Triangle, and recently got word that the city is ready to move into a new phase of helping the community plan that district’s future. So, looking ahead to tomorrow’s meeting, Fairmount CA president Sharonn Meeks arranged for the city rep on the project, urban designer Robert Scully, to join her and other group reps on a walking tour Monday afternoon. We joined them and walked The Triangle’s perimeter from and to Fire Station 32 (38th/Alaska):
The barbed wire around a parking lot east of the fire station (believed to be a holdover from days as a storage lot) is just one of the signs of a neighborhood in transition. More scenes from the walking tour, and what happens next, ahead:Read More
This Thursday, the newest design proposal for the redeveloped Admiral Safeway site goes before the Southwest Design Review Board (8 pm, Youngstown Arts Center, after The Kenney‘s presentation at 6:30). Last week, we brought you a sneak peek at the latest plan, with photos of drawings shown at the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s monthly meeting. Company and architect reps told us at the time that electronic copies would be available within days, since they had to get the design-proposal presentation to the city – and in fact, it’s available online tonight – you can download it here – warning, big file (17MB PDF), which includes the drawing you see above, and much more.
Last Tuesday, we checked on some work at the idled Fauntleroy/39th/Alaska construction site. WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli was told “routine maintenance”; he checked back on the site while in the area today after a few days of rain and photographed the moat you see in the photo above:
As I passed the Whole Foods hole I did notice something that was not immediately obvious when I went over there the other day. It seems they dug a moat around the perimeter of the site to collect rainwater. And the pumps they have installed are draining the water from these drainage moats. No one was digging at the time I was there but there was a tractor on the eastern side of the site that is no longer there. So they must have done the work after I left.
While checking out the work from earlier in the week, we did talk to DPD, which does not have any current investigations open regarding the site. Interesting side note – If and when construction resumes at some point, the city does not have to be notified until there is something for which a city inspection is required, say, a foundation; the permits are open and construction could just resume without notice.
Reps from Safeway and Fuller Sears Architects came to last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting to give the group a sneak peek at the newest proposal for the Admiral Safeway redevelopment project. What you see above is the redesigned entrance area along California. They also revealed that you’ve already had an effect on the project – because of comments on a story here – read on for more on that and what else they had to say, and show:Read More
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Thanks to Diane for calling, and mk for posting in the WSB Forums, about seeing activity today in the long-idle Fauntleroy/Alaska/39th pit nicknamed “Hole Foods” since it was supposed to become a residential/commercial development anchored by a Whole Foods store. WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli went over to check it out; he took a few new photos (nothing visible that’s dramatically different from months ago) and talked to a worker who told him they were doing “routine maintenance.” As noted here yesterday in our report on WF opening its Interbay store, we are continuing to watch court documents, which have yielded the bulk of activity related to the project for some months now; the latest filings in the biggest combined lawsuit (the one including the foreclosure motion) involve arguments over whose financial claim takes precedence, the $21 million lender or a construction company.
We went to the new Interbay Whole Foods this afternoon – opening its doors for a public reception of sorts from now till 8 pm today, then officially opening at 8 am tomorrow – mostly to see if we could find out anything about the on-hold store here. We also wanted to meet regional spokesperson Vicki Foley, who has helped us get answers to WF questions over these many months (she’s based in Vancouver, B.C., so we’d never talked in person before). Nothing new re: West Seattle from their standpoint, she says – the official word is that they’re waiting for everything to get “sorted out.” That means, in particular, the court fight; two of the lawsuits over the project have been consolidated and have almost 200 documents on file (we check the online records at least twice a week). Because so many firms (construction, consultants, engineering, Whole Foods itself, etc.) are party to the suits, each document comes with a long list of who has to get a copy. In the meantime, she says, West Seattle remains the only “under development” store in the Seattle area, though she says their real-estate team is planning to tour prospective Washington/Oregon sites before the end of the year. So if WF ever does come here, what’ll you see? They’re launching kombucha bars in their Allegro coffee shops, for one, starting with Interbay:
That’s Josh from Townshend’s Tea Company, installing the kombucha machine while we were visiting this afternoon. Looking at the rest of the store, it’s the first grocery we’ve seen with neon:
For a few more photos of the Interbay store, check out this story from our fellow independent community-collaborative neighborhood-news site, MyBallard.com. Meantime, as for the status of the legal action regarding the West Seattle site (where, if you haven’t been following the story, construction now has been stalled for a year, with a huge hole sitting empty at 39th/Fauntleroy/Alaska) – various hearings are coming up regarding the foreclosure action that was filed (here’s our most recent story).
One of the most recent citywide-media reports about developer Michael Mastro – forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, with properties including the half-done 35th/Avalon building as well as Harbor Ave land and the West Water condo conversion – focused on his “Friends and Family” investors. That’s what appears to be at the heart of charges just announced by the state – read on for the news release:Read More
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