Comment Now On Proposed Talaris Development Of 65 Homes Through October 24th

The public comment period is open to submit input on the proposed Talaris redevelopment.  through October 24. Commenjts can be sent to PRC@seattle.gov, referencing Master Permit 3030811.  

Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections has installed an information board on the Talaris site.

The Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) recently published this information in their newsletter:

LCC Guidelines for Talaris Redevelopment

Based in part on recommendations from the architect commissioned several years ago to assess the Talaris property, LCC guidelines for any development are: Maintain and retain open space, landscaping, and existing tree canopy   as well as the character of the site; Protect, enhance, and preserve wetlands;  Remove cyclone fencing around the property; Create a welcoming environment for neighbors; Protect the eagles’ nest ; Respect landmark designation of landscaping and buildings; Install native plants to replace invasive species, especially native plants that provide food and/or cover for native fauna species;  Establish a governance and maintenance management plan for the   property, including the use planned for both existing and new buildings; Identify uses of non-residential buildings that are landmarked; Control traffic impacts of new development including any changes to egress; Install sidewalk along NE 41st Street boundary according to city standards (the city required this in the last proposal); Inform buyers that this property is a designated earthquake    liquefaction zone, plan buildings accordingly, and prepare for the   eventuality of an earthquake and its impact on the sewer system; Work closely with LCC as plans move forward With the property’s landmark designation for buildings and landscape, it remains uncertain how plans currently proposed by Quadrant Homes will pan out. Any walk through the grounds illustrates that preserving the integrity of the natural setting and building 65 homes are two very different objectives.

The LCC September newsletter said:
Talaris Proposals Still in the Works

The Talaris property at 4000 NE 41st Street continues to have complex issues and various development proposals in process. In early August, Quadrant Homes informed LCC that it filed for a MUP (Master Use Permit) with the City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection. It is project #3030811 and includes plans for demolishing some existing landmarked buildings in order to build 64 single-family homes. However, they failed to initiate their Certificate of Approval, which is needed first from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods because of its jurisdiction over the Seattle landmark preservation process. Quadrant has stated that they will begin that as well. The current underlying zoning of this parcel is for single-family residences with 5,000 square-foot lots. Quadrant has presented their design concepts to the Seattle Landmark Preservation Board Architectural Review Committee several times. The Board has requested full landscaping and topography plans prior granting any approvals for development or building demolitions. A private school, which could potentially develop and use the existing buildings, has also contacted LCC. Any development will need to preserve building exteriors and landscape in accordance with guidelines of the Landmark Preservation Board. 

The 17.8 acre Talaris campus (4000 NE 41st Street) was reportedly sold to Quadrant Homes in January, 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 forover 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 maintainingopen 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.

Update On Proposed Aegis Living Retirement Home At Five Corners

The Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) published comments in its recent newsletter, on the proposed Aegis Living, an assisted living and memory care provider, which would be built at "Five Corners, where the former Baskin Robbins site, which closed September 2015 was located.

Two permits (3025007, 3025056) have been submitted.  The demolition permit includes "two existing one level buildings" the building to the north of Baskin-Robbins up to Bakker Dry Cleaning. The addresses are 3200-3212 NE 45th Street and 3201-3209 NE 45th Place.  

The new facility would have 116 units and would be five levels over a parking garage with 2500 square feet of retail on the first floor which would house a salon and cafe, according to the design proposal submitted in July 2016.

Bryon Ziegler, Director of Development and Entitlements for Áegis Senior Communities, told the Blog Staff last March, that "other possibilities include an ice cream bar, community room, outdoor plaza and salon."

Bryon said that they are anticipating permits in late 2019 and the construction period is likely 20-24 months with the first resident move-in’s the fall of 2021. Aegis anticipates approximately 80% of the residents will come from the local neighborhoods.

The assemblage of parcels includes 3200 and 3232 NE 45^th Street and 3215 NE 45^th Place. There are two buildings, but three parcels.  The existing large billboard will be eliminated and the historic clock, below the billboard, will remain. 

Bryon said that the businesses currently in the buildings that will be demolished will have all their leases honored, until they end in 2019.   These businesses included  Diane’s Alterations, Lakeview Vision Clinic, Edward Jones, Farmers Insurance, Uncle Lee’s, University Tutoring, Felipa’s Consignment and Rules Salon. 

Here are LCC comments:

LCC Comments on Aegis Design Plan

LCC wrote to Seattle’s Department of Construction and Inspections in support of the proposed Aegis senior care facility at Five Corners and  its local approach to senior living.  

LCC offered comments on the architectural style and building design, massing and scale to adjacent structures, and zoning. LCC has appreciated Aegis’s outreach process for involving the neighborhood in the design process.  

Aegis’s large assisted living and memory care facility site is the triangular lot at the Five Corners intersection of NE 45th Street and NE 45th Place. The location of this facility is at the gateway to residential communities, and its look and size will have direct impacts on the neighborhood.  

The tentatively approved concept is Massing Concept Option #3, which features a garden patio cut out along NE 45th Street and a memory garden at the back of the building along the Burke Gilman Trail. The proposed architectural character for this site borrows features from the historic Tudor and Craftsman styles found in adjacent Bryant and Laurelhurst neighborhoods.  

LCC very much supports this design effort from Aegis as their building will be a prominent structure with significant visual impact. The facades and materials and overall style appear very compatible with the quality of its surrounding architecture.  

Despite the codes’ allowance for the averaging of the buildable heights within a sloped lot, the 72-foot height requested in the plans starts straight up from the pedestrian level intersection and is out of scale to surrounding small businesses and nearby single-family residences.  

The requested building height also will block view lines of Mt. Rainier for some adjacent residents from the north and east, as well as create more shading along the Burke-Gilman Trail. LCC recommends that the building be lowered by at least 12 to 15 feet. LCC is supportive of Aegis’ re-configuration of the new crosswalk and improved public safety; however, LCC recommends retaining a 30-foot setback for the project, not the 21-foot requested setback. The loss of site lines due to a shallower setback could be detrimental at this dangerous intersection.  

The garden patio feature for pedestrians with access to the cafe is welcoming landscape along NE 45th Street. LCC would like to see a roof-top garden feature incorporated in the design. This outdoor space with views of Mt. Rainier could be used for activities by patients, families, and Aegis staff. While LCC supports this project, it requests that the issues outlined be addressed further and resolved in the design approval process before approval for construction.  

For more information go here.
.

Another retirement home is also under review for 4020 NE 55th Street, where the Hawthorne Hills Veterinary Hospital is currently located, across the street from Metropolitan Market. The proposal, Permit #3025827, includes 3 stories of approximately 74 units with 3,100 square feet of commercial space and parking for approximately 28 vehicles located below grade. The existing structure would be demolished.  The architect has proposed 3 different alternatives which can be seen here.

Laurelhurst Community Club Comments On Proposed Aegis Assisted Living At Five Corners

Aegis Living, an assisted living and memory care provider, has submitted permits (3025007, 3025056) to build  a facility at at "Five Corners, where the former Baskin Robbins site, which closed September 2015 was located.

The demolition permit includes "two existing one level buildings" the building to the north of Baskin-Robbins up to Bakker Dry Cleaning. The addresses are 3200-3212 NE 45th Street and 3201-3209 NE 45th Place.  

The new facility would have 116 units and would be five levels over a parking garage with 2500 square feet of retail on the first floor which would house a salon and cafe, according to the design proposal submitted in July 2016.

Bryon Ziegler, Director of Development and Entitlements for Áegis Senior Communities, told the Blog Staff in March, that "other possibilities include an ice cream bar, community room, outdoor plaza and salon."

Bryon said that they are anticipating permits in late 2019 and the construction period is likely 20-24 months with the first resident move-in’s the fall of 2021. Aegis anticipates approximately 80% of the residents will come from the local neighborhoods.

Bryon told the Laurelhurst Blog staff that the new site is somewhat confusing (see attached graphic above) saying: 

The assemblage of parcels includes 3200 and 3232 NE 45^th Street and 3215 NE 45^th Place. There are two buildings, but three parcels.  

There is also a billboard that will be eliminated. The historic clock will remain. 

The 30’ city right of way between the curb and the property line will be landscape and enhanced for public use, including the little pedestrian bulb at the intersections of 45^th and 45^th. This Aegis Senior Community will be designed to either the City’s Living Building Challenge or Mandatory Housing Affordability standards.

He said that the businesses currently in the buildings that will be demolished will have all their leases honored, until they end in 2019.   These businesses included  Diane’s Alterations, Lakeview Vision Clinic, Edward Jones, Farmers Insurance, Uncle Lee’s, University Tutoring, Felipa’s Consignment and Rules Salon. 

The café at Aegis, would be open to the public and would be the Queen Bee Café, a non profit business. Others are currently located at the Madison and Queen Anne Aegis facilities and specialize in traditional English crumpets.

Bryon said that Aegis has engaged Transpo traffic engineers to conduct a traffic study of the very busy Five Corners area where the facility will be located.

He added:

We are an assisted living and memory care provider, which is a very low traffic generator especially at peak hours. It is very rare that we have a resident who drives. We do have staff and visitor parking, as well as deliveries which we will provide for in an underground parking garage and loading area.

For more information about the project, go to the City permits website and reference permits 3025007, 3025056, 6520824, 6537047, 3025007, 6552104, 3025056, 6557274, 6082637.

Another retirement home is also under review for 4020 NE 55th Street, where the Hawthorne Hills Veterinary Hospital is currently located, across the street from Metropolitan Market. The proposal, Permit #3025827, includes 3 stories of approximately 74 units with 3,100 square feet of commercial space and parking for approximately 28 vehicles located below grade. The existing structure would be demolished.  The architect has proposed 3 different alternatives which can be seen here.

Here are Laurelhurst Community Club's (LCC) condensed comments on the Aegis development: project submitted to the City:

Architectural Design characteristics

A. Design

The samples shown in the proposal by the architects for this Aegis location, appears to borrow features from both the historic Tudor and Craftsman's styles found in the adjacent Bryant and Laurelhurst neighborhoods. The location of the proposed facility at the Five Corners is truly a "gateway" building that should reflect some of the architectural features. 

LCC strongly encourages this type of quality in the overarching style of the new facility, similar to the Aegis in Queen Anne at Rogers Park be used as a prototype. Conversely, the Aegis on Madison Street, is not as appealing with too much tall massing-wedged into its triangular lot. The Bellevue Aegis facility is also lacking much design character at all, and falls short of a "gateway" style and quality.  LCC requests that SDCI require an actual sample of type of materials that will be used, and provide a more fully developed design from Aegis Senior Communities LLC before permit approval. This can include exterior facades, window types, paint colors and lighting as key design components.

B Parking Requirements

Because the senior living facilities are very labor intensive, the underground parking in all of the alternatives is essential. The Five Corners location has professional offices across the street, and NE 45th Place in the residential streets behind it in the Bryant neighborhood are already impacted by parking from the staff and patients "spill over" parking every day. In addition, there will be facility visitors, patient support and delivery vehicles at that congested triangle. Aegis must provide at least 65-70 of its own dedicated parking stalls to enable the facility to operate, and allow for some overlap at the "shift change". The main employee shifts operate at 6:00am-2:00pm, and then 2:00-10:00pm so that employees must arrive in the dark by 5:50 am. It is unrealistic to project that many of the staff will be riding their bikes in the dark at 5:15-5:45 am (especially since many employees are statistically noted as female), or, would ride home on their bike in the dark when the second shift ends at 10:00pm.

Transit options are also very limited at the early morning, and late evening hours, and Aegis has not offered any shuttle service. Thus, many workers will be SOV users, and it needs to provide parking for them in all alternatives. Aegis may want to partner with Seattle Children's Hospital to pay to share their shuttles at least to the Light Rail facility.

Visitors to patients will also need some transient parking places which should be allocated in the Aegis parking stall plans, based upon their historical projections. (see below concerns about the parking stalls submitted)

The commercial stores offered at the facility will likely need a few parking places in addition to being available for pedestrians, and bikers although it is most likely used by visitors, residents and staff.

C. Traffic and Circulation

While SDOT  will have its own regulations and recommendations about the proposed new facility, LCC offers its comments: 

Traffic

• The Five Corners intersection is one of the busiest in Seattle, and THE busiest in NE Seattle. In fact when the "red light" cameras were operative at that intersection for several years, the City of Seattle reported that it had the highest number of infractions recorded and fined.
• When the driveway is located along NE 45th Place, it is critical that it is far enough away from the center of that intersection to avoid backups and potential collisions.
• In addition, trees and vegetation along both NE 45th St and NE 45th Place should be set back to maintain safe sight lines for oncoming traffic, and pedestrian crossings.
• Circulation for vehicles and underground parking stalls should be open, and without barriers  to smooth entry. Aegis should work with SDOT and SDCI to be certain that curb cuts to the drop off circle, delivery driveway and into the underground parking  lot are wide enough, to prevent backups which could occur as vehicles enter their primary driveway off NE 45th Place.

D. Community Outreach

The Laurelhurst Community Club appreciates the outreach stated in the Aegis plan to host community use of their facility.  Because Aegis will likely have some former residents of the adjacent neighborhoods, it would be a positive and inclusive use of the facility to keep its residents involved with their friends and family.

Thank you for considering the comments of the Laurelhurst Community Club, and we know that the City of Seattle will consider the impacts of the development of such a large institution in such a small footprint. LCC is supportive of this type of facility, and wants to contribute as a party of record to make it a good fit and a successful facility in the neighborhood.

For more information go here. 

Public Comments About Proposed Aegis Assisted Living Home At Five Corners Due By Monday

Public comment for proposed Aegis Living, an assisted living and memory care provider to be located at the former Baskin Robbins site at "Five Corners" is on Monday at 6:30pm at the Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Avenue North) in Room 202.

The information states that written comments are being accepted through Monday, to assist in the preparation of the early design guidance. The public is invited to offer comments regarding important site planning and design issues that should be addressed in the design for this project.  

Comments and requests (to be made party of record) can be sent to PRC@seattle.gov or City of Seattle – SDCI – PRC, 700 5th Avenue, Suite 2000, PO Box 34019, Seattle, WA  98124-4019.

Aegis Living has submitted several permits (3025007, 3025056) and the demolition permit includes "two existing one level buildings" the building to the north of Baskin-Robbins up to Bakker Dry Cleaning. The addresses are 3200-3212 NE 45th Street and 3201-3209 NE 45th Place.  

The new facility would have 116 units and would be five levels over a parking garage with 2500 square feet of retail on the first floor which would house a salon and cafe, according to the design proposal submitted in July 2016.

Bryon Ziegler, Director of Development and Entitlements for Áegis Senior Communities, told the Blog Staff in March, that "other possibilities include an ice cream bar, community room, outdoor plaza and salon."

Bryon said that they are anticipating permits in late 2019 and the construction period is likely 20-24 months with the first resident move-in’s the fall of 2021. Aegis anticipates approximately 80% of the residents will come from the local neighborhoods.

Bryon told the Laurelhurst Blog staff that the new site is somewhat confusing (see attached graphic above) saying: 

The assemblage of parcels includes 3200 and 3232 NE 45^th Street and 3215 NE 45^th Place. There are two buildings, but three parcels.  

There is also a billboard that will be eliminated. The historic clock will remain. 

The 30’ city right of way between the curb and the property line will be landscape and enhanced for public use, including the little pedestrian bulb at the intersections of 45^th and 45^th. This Aegis Senior Community will be designed to either the City’s Living Building Challenge or Mandatory Housing Affordability standards.

He said that the businesses currently in the buildings that will be demolished will have all their leases honored, until they end in 2019.   These businesses included  Diane’s Alterations, Lakeview Vision Clinic, Edward Jones, Farmers Insurance, Uncle Lee’s, University Tutoring, Felipa’s Consignment and Rules Salon. 

The café at Aegis, would be open to the public and would be the Queen Bee Café, a non profit business. Others are currently located at the Madison and Queen Anne Aegis facilities and specialize in traditional English crumpets.

Bryon said about the eatery:

Queen Bee will be an exciting one-of-kind addition to the Laurelhurst community that not only delivers world class crumpets and but it is a neighborhood ‘giving machine’ as a not-for-profit café.  

100 % of profits go to a neighborhood charity each trimester of the year. So neighbors will be supporting neighbors with each purchase.   

If you haven’t tasted the crumpwiches which are the focus of a global FoodNetwork Canada show, "You Gotta Eat Here," coming out this spring and summer on the show, then you have not lived yet!   

In addition, our development team is exploring ways to satisfy the neighborhood’s love affair with ice cream. (More on that to come.)

The City Department of Construction and Inspection reported in September 2016 that the buildings are zoned NC2P-40 zone and said:

Neighborhood Commercial 2 Pedestrian with a maximum height limit of 40 feet. The site is located in a pedestrian area and an abandoned landfill environmentally critical area.   According to our Permit No. BN 35149, issued May 1969, the legally recognized use of this property is for store. This is a permitted use under the current zoning.

And the City policy under SMC23.47A states:

Residential (assisted living) and retail are allowed and required parking for assist end living facilities SMC23.54.015 says 1 space for each 4 assisted living units, 1 space for each 2 staff members on site at peak staffing time, plus 1 passenger loading/unloading space/.

Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) said about the proposed project:

Aegis will be developing the complex to the Living Building Challenge performance standards for low impact on resources such as energy and water. This program allows a 10 feet addition to height (50 feet from 40 feet). The result is likely a 5 story over underground parking structure at the Five Corner intersection, and the building would resolve into a five story above grade structure as it tucks into to grade, which rises to the north and east. Members of the Aegis architectural team will brief LCC at its April 10 meeting.

Bryon said that Aegis has engaged Transpo traffic engineers to conduct a traffic study of the very busy Five Corners area where the facility will be located.

He added:

We are an assisted living and memory care provider, which is a very low traffic generator especially at peak hours. It is very rare that we have a resident who drives. We do have staff and visitor parking, as well as deliveries which we will provide for in an underground parking garage and loading area.

Bryon also told the Laurelhurst Blog Staff about the facility:

As for the community itself, we can tell you that Aegis Living designs each community individually and they are one-of-a-kind in design. They are crafted exclusively as part of the neighborhood.  

Our team has a lot of UW fans, Seattle residents and UW alumna, so this development is particularly exciting for Aegis internally.  Just as we have done on Capitol Hill and Queen Anne, we dig deep into the history of the neighborhood and look for opportunities to integrate distinctive neighborhood characteristics and iconic landmarks or people.  

Example: We just opened Aegis of Queen Anne at Rodgers Park this year and there, you will find a number of sentimental historic components blended into our design. In fact today, the Queen Anne and Magnolia News is doing a story about the 3-story high stunning hand painted mural of one of Queen Anne’s most famous sons, baseball Edo Vanni, a beloved baseball player. The mural is the backdrop to for our resident’s in our outdoor patio area in memory care.

Aegis residents will receive top of the line services as well.  We are not only offering upscale and innovative purpose-built design, but we serve seniors with assisted living needs as well as higher acuity needs and manage transitions in care with the goal of seamlessness. That allows the resident to age in place from the first day that they make their apartment home.

When  Aegis of Laurelhurst opens, we will be bringing jobs as the only senior living company ever to make  Glassdoor's Top 50 Best Places to Work amid 600,000  companies listed nationally. We’ve been featured in national publications which is exciting for anyone in the neighborhood exploring a career in our industry.    

In addition, Laurelhurst is getting a family owned company led by Dwayne Clark, a CEO, who looks for ways to lift people up inside and outside the company. See this Inc. Magazine article: Many leaders want to make the world a better place. This CEO starts with his staff. 

For more information about the project, go to the City permits website and reference permits 3025007, 3025056, 6520824, 6537047, 3025007, 6552104, 3025056, 6557274, 6082637.

Another retirement home is also under review for 4020 NE 55th Street, where the Hawthorne Hills Veterinary Hospital is currently located, across the street from Metropolitan Market.

The proposal, Permit #3025827, includes 3 stories of approximately 74 units with 3,100 square feet of commercial space and parking for approximately 28 vehicles located below grade. The existing structure would be demolished.

The architect has proposed 3 different alternatives which can be seen here.

The Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections website states about the project:

PROJECT DESCRIPTION The proposal is to allow a 6-story assisted living building with street level retail. Parking for 65 vehicles to be provided below grade. Existing buildings to be demolished. PROCESS An application for Design Review related to future development of this site has been submitted to the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI). The first phase of Design Review includes the Early Design Guidance (EDG) meeting. At the Early Design Guidance meeting, the following occurs: The applicants will present information about the site and vicinity as well as early massing design concepts.  The public may offer comments regarding the design of a development on the subject site.* The Design Review Board will provide guidance and identify those Design Guidelines of highest priority for the design as it moves forward towards Master Use Permit (MUP) application.  Following the meeting, SDCI will issue a written Early Design Guidance report summarizing the meeting. This report will be sent to those who signed in at the meeting or otherwise requested a copy. *Please note that public comment at the EDG meeting is limited to design considerations. If environmental review is triggered, comments related to environmental impacts (such as traffic, parking, noise, etc.) may be sent to SDCI following notice of that review. MORE INFORMATION This proposal may be viewed at our Design Review Program website.  For more information regarding this application or the Design Review process, you may contact the Land Use Planner listed above, go to the Design Review Program website or visit our office at the address above. (We are open from 8 am to 4 pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday and from 10:30 am to 4 pm Tuesday and Thursday.)

Map: The top of this image is North. This map is for illustrative purposes only. In the event of omissions, errors or differences, the documents in SDCI's files will control.

New Proposed Land Use Signs Get Make-Over With Easier To Read Information

 

A draft of the proposed new large land use notice signs. (City of Seattle)

SDCI’new sign above and former one below (Courtesy of SDCI)



Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections' (formerly Department of Planning and Development) "Notice of Proposed Land Use Action” signs have received a make-over.  They were last updated in update in 2006

The signs, measuring four feet by eight feet, are being replaced with a colorful sign with a consistent design and clear banner and most importantly reformatting that allows the average reader to understand and find meaningful information on the project summary, with shorter and clear er headlines and simple description.

The new sign also feature color images and renderings of what the proposed project will look like, along with an updated map showing the location of the project in relation to nearby streets and properties.

Details are categorized into 

• What is it?
• Required Approvals
• Submit comments.
• More information online, and how to find the project online

 
To report tags on the signs, use the Find It, Fix It app or prc@seattle.gov.

Two Large Developments Coming Behind Safeway On Both Sides Of Street, Design Review Meeting Tonight

Design for 61 residential units

behind Safeway

 

 

Two new large structures are coming to the area behind Safeway on both sides of the street. Both will have numerous residential units with retail below.
 
Tonight at 6:30pm is the public Design Review Meeting for the smaller of the two developments listed under Permit 3019495, which states that the structure would contain "61 residential units above 2,250 sq. ft. of retail space in an environmentally critical area. Parking for 115 vehicles to be provided at and below grade. Existing structures to be demolished."
 
The 5-story structure will be just off the corner of Sand Point Way and NE 45th Street, next to Lake View Medical and Dental at 4516 Union Bay Place NE.  Union Bay Plaza Parking and Union Bay Garage will be demolished for the new structure, which will sit directly across the street from the Federal Express store.
 
Permit 3022244, a secondary associated Land Use application on file states to "adjust the boundary between three parcels of land resulting in two parcels of land (4540; B) 4516 Union Bay Place). Proposed parcel sizes are:A)20,145sf; B)26,157sf. Existing structures on proposed parcel B to be demolished; existing structure to remain on proposed parcel A."
 
 
Wendy, with the Department of Construction and Inspections told the Laurelhurst Blog Staff that three buildings will be demolished at 4540, 4516, and 4514 Union Bay Place NE. Parcel B will be the site of the proposed structure (MUP 3019495), on which the structures will be demolished. Parcel A will remain as is. The site is zoned Commercial, for 40’. (C2-40)
 
The latest version of the proposal is currently under review, she added.
 
Wendy said that then there was a Design Review Meeting "a while back, however no public notice was sent out.
 
She added:

The EDG Meeting date was noticed on 6/18/2015. Typically public notice is mailed to addresses within 300’ of the site. Our records indicate that the project was noticed. The MUP application was noticed on 10/26/2015. The public comment period ended 11/08/2015; however, we continue to review public comment past this date. The Design Recommendation Meeting has been scheduled for February 22.

 

 

Here is detail about the project.


 
The second apartment complex, at 4609 Union Bay Place NE, between Safeway and the Bowman Building,  Permit 3020320, will be much larger. 
 
The Land Use application says it will be "a six-story structure containing 20,600 sq. ft. of commercial space with 244 residential units above. Parking for 68 vehicles to be provided below grade. Existing structures to be demolished."
 
This "Early Design Guidance" Document shows specific details of this project.
 
The developer states about this project :

The vision for this development is to create a desirable residential community and an active commercial space.  By creating a strong presence on the street it will be a first step towards creating a new identity for this transitional mixed-use zone between the U Village and the residential neighborhood to the NE.

Be a good neighbor for existing and future development:
 - Help to build Union Bay Place into a vibrant mixed-use corridor
 - To determine overall massing and scale look forward to future      development so that the surrounding sites can evolve gracefully    

The proposed project is a 5 story mixed-use building with residential units, parking and commercial space that will replace an above ground parking structure near University Village.  The new structure will continue to provide parking for the businesses on the two adjacent properties. 

The site is bounded by the Burke Gilman Trail to the North and will provide increased housing density. The project site is in the middle of a city block. The building is comprised of 3 wood frame levels over a 2 story, semi below grade, concrete podium.  

The main entrance will be clearly identifiable and located with frontage on Union Bay Place.  There will be commercial space along the street on the first level and residential units along the second and then parking behind.  On the third story there will be a courtyard that will have a mixture of private patios and shared outdoor space.  Levels three to five will be residential.
 

For more information go here.

 
Here is an article the Biz Journal wrote about the upcoming project.

Location of 244 apartment complex

and retail