Talaris Property Reportedly Sold To Housing Developer

The 17.8 acre Talaris campus (4000 NE 41st Street)  has reportedly been sold to Quadrant Homes, which proposes to build 63 single-family homes on large lots that could sell for about $2 million each, according to a recent article in the Seattle Times  and  Daily Journal of Commerce.

The plan would keep some of the existing buildings and park space, including the existing conference center and four other buildings, and two ponds. Two other small buildings, including Building G, housing a lodge, would be demolished.

The site,  built in 1967, was originally owned by Battelle Memorial Institute.  In 1997 Era Care Communities purchased the property for $6,125,000 and it was developed into Talaris Institute which focused on infant and early learning research of the brain. In 2000, Bruce Mc Caw under the name 4000 Property LLC of Bellevue, purchased the property for $15,630,000.   The county has assessed the property at $14 million and sold in 2000 for $15.6 million.

The property, when sold several decades ago, included an underlying Settlement Agreement in which Battelle Neighbors and the Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) are partnered together with the land owners of the parcel.  The Settlement Agreement specifically states that major institutions can't operate within this property (no hospitals, colleges, etc).  And the Settlement Agreement has specific restrictions attached which specifies the use of the property to protect the quality of life in the adjacent neighborhood.

The property was designated with landmark status in November 2013, which dictates that specific controls define certain features of the landmark to be preserved and a Certificate of Approval process is needed for changes to those features. Some incentives and controls included in the City's ruling are zoning variances, building code exceptions, and financial incentives, which are protected, as stated on the City's Landmark and Designation website.

For decades, neighbors were free to stroll the grounds, until 2013, when Talaris suddenly put up "No Trespassing" signs and installed a four feet chain link fencing in 2013, as well putting up a main driveway barricade, fence on northwest side and a surveillance camera.  Neighbors were no longer allowed to use the large grassy meadow area where generations of kids practiced soccer and the past few years the grounds facing NE 41st Street are often neglected and grass not consistently mowed. 

The Laurelhurst Community Club, has been involved with the site for over 30 years, working to ensure the property is well integrated with the neighborhood by closely monitoring proposed development.  LCC has also worked with current owners in lobbying for better property maintenance.

LCC's other priorities in partnering with the owners are maintaining open space, the eagle's habitat and valuable mature trees, supporting and enhancing property values and character of the entire Laurelhurst neighborhood and minimizing traffic impacts on all neighborhood streets and access points.
LCC told the Laurelhurst Blog staff they haven't seen the full development proposal and added that the issue "is complicated, and LCC is involved as much as the public and legal process permits."

Below is a letter LCC gave to the Seattle Historic Landmark Preservation Board at the last week's meeting: 

Dear Ms. Doherty and Seattle Landmark Preservation Board members,

The Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) has been a long-term participant in the development
of the Battelle Memorial Institute/Talaris Institute site since its inception.

The parcel is located in the heart of the neighborhood, and LCC has carefully reviewed
several prior proposals for the site's development, both before, and after, the historic
designation by the Landmark Board three years ago.  It now appears that there is
another tentative plan that has come forward for the Talaris property. Because of the
complexity of the site with the landmarked buildings, with those buildings' relationship
to the landscaping, the Board should allow its own members, and the public, ample time
to study a detailed form of these new plans, formulate questions, and reconvene, when
the proposal can be knowledgably addressed.

After three years of waiting for a viable Controls and Incentives plan, a
thirty-minute presentation without full, and specific examination of any proposed layout,
and, a visit to the site by new members of the Landmark Preservation Board, the process
would fall short of achieving the overarching goals of preserving this landmarked property.

We appreciate all your important work on behalf of preserving the City of Seattle's history,
reflected in its buildings and landscapes. The Laurelhurst Community Club looks forward
to hearing more information about this new plan. A brief, "30,000-foot-high" glance at a
rough concept, was shown to LCC for a few minutes, so we anticipate that we will have
future questions and comments to share with the Seattle Historic Preservation Board
upon further analysis of a more specific plan for development.

For more information go here.