Rezoning Impacts Arriving in U District
LCC supports the overarching concept of providing more affordable housing units in the recent Mandatory Housing Affordability legislation. The City also passed higher height and denser zoning allowances, which include much of the University District. As a result, two very tall development proposals were filed for approval in April.
One project (#3033912) proposes to erect two residential towers on top of the University Temple United Methodist Church, located off NE 43rd Street primarily facing 15th Avenue NE, which borders the University of Washington campus. This will be a 23-story tower and a 15-story tower with 224 residential units, and 142 parking places below grade. Because of the change of use, the church-owned parcel will have a Master Use Permit.
LCC has concerns about the potential construction impacts and delays on this heavily used bus corridor along 15th Avenue NE, as well as the safety of pedestrian routes. In addition, the US Post Office for 98105 is located in that same block where street access and parking for users is already next to impossible.
The City must study the impacts of trip generation caused by an additional 142 vehicles on congested U District streets and slowed access to the I-5 corridor. With proposed heights to 105 feet, or 23 stories, views of both the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges could soon disappear from all sides, creating darker pedestrian experiences at sidewalk levels.
The second project proposal at 4214 Roosevelt Way NE is the site of the Hardwick Hardware store, serving the U District for 86 years. The owner and grandson of the founder stated that rising City property taxes made the business unfeasible. They sold the property to WeiBi of Bellevue to develop an 18-story, 200-unit residential and commercial building with, apparently, no dedicated parking on site.
The project is located near the new Brooklyn Light Rail Station, but there are concerns about further congested access to the entrance of the I-5 Express lanes, as well as a lack of street parking for the building occupants and the UW Medical Center clinics on Roosevelt Way. Construction and street closures must be studied as Roosevelt Way has already sandwiched freight and transit traffic by reducing lane capacity for vehicles due to dedicated bike lanes and large bus islands. SDOT will need to study and require mitigation for any worsening conditions.
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