Tonight Aegis Assisted Living At Five Corners Design Review Meeting

The Northeast Design Review Board is meeting at 6:30 tonight regarding the proposed development of Aegis Living, (3200 NE 45th Street), 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.

The Design Review is being held at the University Heights Center (5031 University Way NE) in Room 109.

The details state:

Council Land Use Action to rezone a 31,970 sq. ft. portion of land from NC2P-40' (Neighborhood Commercial 2, Pedestrian Overlay with a 40' height limit) to NC2P-55'(M) (Neighborhood Commercial 2, Pedestrian Overlay with a 55' height limit and a mandatory housing affordability suffix of (M). Project includes a 6-story structure containing 136 assisted living units with retail space at street level. Parking for 53 vehicles proposed. Existing structures to be demolished. 

Aegis Living is planning on a building a 135 unit, six story building (55-70 feet) with 53 parking stalls on a lot currently zoned for 40 feet. Permit # 3025056 will require City approval of a "contract re-zone" to build as requested. 

An NEDC (Northeast District Council) Board member said "Of note is that newly approved higher heights can later be used to justify higher heights for future nearby buildings. This site is a 5-way intersection which had a "red light" camera which recorded 6,000 violations by SDOT in 2009 while it was operative.  A sight line should be retained for the traffic traveling south on NE 55th Street and 35th Avenue NE."

The new facility 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. 

Businesses  that will be affected are: Diane’s Alterations, Lakeview Vision Clinic, Edward Jones, Farmers Insurance, Uncle Lee’s, University Tutoring, Felipa’s Consignment and Rules Salon. 

Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) wrote in a newsletter, earlier this year:

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. 

And 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.

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 73 units with 3,100 square feet of commercial space and parking for approximately 30 vehicles located below grade. The existing structure would be demolished. The architect has proposed 3 different alternatives which can be seen here.

Mayoral Forum Tomorrow Hosted By Neighborhood Northeast District Council

Northeast District Council Seattle  (NEDC), a collection of almost 20 neighborhood associations in Northeast Seattle, including Laurelhurst, is holding a Mayoral forum for  candidates running in Seattle, tomorrow at 7pm at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church.

 

The information says that the following candidates will be attending: 

            Jenny Durkan

            Jessyn Farrell

            Bob Hasegawa

            Michael McGinn

            Cary Moon

            Nikkita Oliver

Here is the agenda:

• 7-8 pm: candidates introduce themselves and address the question of how they will serve Seattle’s diversity of citizens: age group; neighborhood; income; ethnic background, etc.
• 8-9 pm: questions taken from the audience

The Northeast District Council (NEDC), part of the City's Department of Neighborhoods Department, was established in 1987 and is one of 13 District Councils in Seattle.  The boundaries for the Districts were determined by neighbors from across the City.

Karen Ko, the City's Neighborhood North Region District Coordinator, told the Laurelhurst Blog Staff that the goals of the District Councils are: “Facilitating communication, creating partnerships between the City and its neighborhoods, strengthening and coordinating City departments’ responses to neighborhood problems and requests for help”. 

Karen added that Laurelhurst is one of the most active neighborhood associations and was one of the founding members of the District Council, and has been very active and influential in this organization. 

"Jeannie Hale (Laurelhurst Community Club President) produces one of the most complete and comprehensive announcement sheets, detailing events and issues in NE Seattle that she puts together every month for members who can then take this information back to their neighborhood-wide membership,"  Karen said.

The NE District founding members were: Belvedere Terrace Community Council, Hawthorne Hills Community Council, Laurelhurst Community Club, Matthews Beach Community Council, Montlake Community Club, Ravenna Bryant Community Association, Roosevelt Neighborhood Association, Roosevelt Neighbors Alliance, University District Community Council, University Park Community Club, Greater University Chamber of Commerce, View Ridge Community Club, Wedgwood Community Council.

Later the following organizations joined, Inverness Community Club, Inverness Park Homeowners Association, Ravenna Springs Community Council, Residents of Magnuson Park, Roosevelt Chamber of Commerce, Portage Bay Roanoke Park Community Council, and Windermere Corporation.

Montlake then joined the East District Council, the Inverness Homeowners Association became inactive, the Ravenna Springs Community Council no longer exits, the Roosevelt Chamber of Commerce is now a committee of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association and the Windermere Corporation is no longer an active member. 

For more information about NEDC go here and also their Facebook page.

Neighbor Comments On School Zone Safety On NE 45th Street As Well As 46th And 47th Avenues NE

Two radar speed machines 2 weeks ago on NE 45th Street



Following our recent post about the two radar speed signs placed on NE 45th Street just near the south playground of Laurelhurst Elementary School, the Blog Staff received many  comments.

SDOT delivered the machines two weeks ago to one of several neighborhood school zone areas in response to an application submitted by Steve Clark and Paul Hanson, in conjunction with the City's School Traffic Management Program.  

The two Laurelhurst Elementary school fathers also submitted an application for the Neighborhood Park and Street Fund for either radar signs and/or flashing yellow  lights, which the Northeast District Council will formerly decide on next month,. NEDC will stack rank this project between three other requested traffic safety and park projects, as well as consider available City budgets against cost for each project..

Steve and Paul cited in their application that there was "excessive speed and lack of awareness of pedestrians around Laurelhurst Elementary during school hours."

SDOT conducted a traffic study of that area which showed that the average speed over 24 hours was 23.9mph and maximum speed was 0.1% of 7,686 cars going 65.2mph.

The various comments received specifically addressed why the radar machines were placed on NE 45th Street, rather than the much more highly travelled vehicle and pedestrian areas of 46th and 47th Avenues NE:

On the blog your article mentioned “Mike said he is much more concerned with traffic speed on 46th Avenue NE at all times of the day and secondarily on 47th Avenue NE."  I live on 46th Avenue NE across from the school.  I agree with this parent and will go one further.  After school in particular the chaos that is parking and picking up kids is often crazy, including drivers talking on cell phones while driving, parking on the “NO Parking” side of 46th in the backward direction and blocking driveways.  This happens pretty much every day. I occasionally alert Parking Enforcement, but they have to be here in that window of 3:00 to 3:30 to really make an impact, and I get tired of whining.  Most parents/nannies figure that the No Parking signs don’t apply to them.  I am waiting for the day a school bus rips the rear view mirror off of one of these cars, or a Fire Truck gets stuck in the backup because of these drivers.  Another idea about speed, maybe SDOT could install those speed bumps on 46th like they have up on that long street below the Villa (is that 49th?)   Also every once in a while neighbors have talked about applying for a traffic circle at the corner of 50th and 46th Ave to address the speeding and occasional collisions. Thanks for an informative article!

We have lived across from the school for over 40 years and have always seen cars racing down our street. We have been nearly struck by parents in a hurry to drop off kids, other cars racing down the street not slowing down to see if kids are around. It is a very dangerous area, much, much more so than the one block on NE 45th Street where the radar machines were placed. Why isn't the PTA looking at ways to improve safety on 46th Avenue NE, the school's busiest area by far than any other location? At each corner of the school on NE 47th Street is also very busy, again much busier than NE 45th Street. Hundreds of children and parents are crossing these intersections before and after school, and the school flaggers are not always alert, sometimes chatting with one another and not ensuring the safety of their fellow students and parents.  

If the PTA is looking into school safety, we implore them to first and foremost, come up with a plan for the consistently speeding cars on 46th Avenue NE, a very narrow street, with parking on just one side. Every crosswalk on that street is filled with parents and kids crossing in the morning and afternoon. Why not try to see what can be done - speedbumps, round a bout, etc. ? That should be the first place of attention, not NE 45th Street. The student population is mostly off of NE 45th Street and on the residential streets on either side of the school. 

NE 45th Street is not the issue here at all. The concentration of kids and parents is on 46th and 47th Avenues NE and NE 47th Street. Cars speed on both streets, making 46th Avenue NE especially dangerous as it is a narrow street. Crosswalks on either end of the block are filled with kids and there is often poor visibility with parked cars around the crosswalks. Add to that speeding cars and that poses a very dangerous situation. 

Why are the school parents looking at NE 45th Street to improve safety? Kids are not crossing the street in that one block by the south playground. The highest amount of traffic is 46th and 47th Avenues NE obviously. Cars need to slow down on those residential streets, which people use as freeways to drop kids off at school at a very high rate of speed. In addition, parents park illegally on a daily basis, not having respect for school safety or for the residents who live on the street.  

A comment about safe driving around the school--I sometimes walk in this area in the morning. I am much more concerned about drivers parking where it impedes walking. Some parents park on the wrong side of the street at the school, e.g. driving north but parking on west side of street where southbound cars should park, and then pulling out into traffic. Or parking across the street and helping their kids cross in the middle. Lots of ways drivers could be a little more considerate of neighbors. 

I’ve noticed school buses racing up and down NE 45th in the early evenings going what appeared to be well over the speed limit.  Granted there are no children on board but still seems dangerous. The school buses we saw were flying up or down 45th at around 6 pm, and I am guessing were activity buses. I didn’t see any on 46th but it was the steep hill on 45th by Laurelhurst Elementary. They did appear to be going well over the speed limit for that area though we didn’t clock them. I’ll mention my concern with Seattle Schools.   , I swear one of the buses caught air while sailing down 45th passing the elementary school.

Tonya, a Laurelhurst Elementary PTA member and "Safety Patrol mom" sent us these comments: (in part):

It is illegal for a car to travel more than 20 mph in a school zone.  To help clarify the law, a journalist at the Seattle Times has boiled it down

(article written by Times Eastside Bureau author in 2005):  

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission defines a school zone as 600 feet in length, designated by two signs, both 300 feet on either side of a marked crosswalk.

The speed limit within a school zone is 20 mph at all times on all days unless otherwise posted, said Lynn Drake, the commission's Pedestrian, Bicycle and School Zone Safety Program manager. Speeding through a school zone will net a fine of at least $177, she said."I think what people tend to forget and don't really realize is our schools are now more of a community hub for children even after school," said Drake, naming clubs that meet after the final bell and sports teams that practice on weekends as examples. "There's a constant flow of pedestrian traffic around our schools."

The activity at Laurelhurst Elementary starts and ends far beyond school hours/days as does the activity for the community center and Laser program which are all located on campus.   

Student Safety Patrol is one of the components of pedestrian safety and are there as courteous reminders to all who travel the school zone.  The school also sends out frequent pleas and reminders for traffic safety to the school community.

As a patrol mom, I have stood at crossings at the peak of child foot traffic and watched drivers exhibit truly egregious behavior and open hostility towards children, parents and crossing guards. Laurelhurst is a great, close-knit neighborhood with fantastic community involvement.   

However, the school-zone is regulated by the laws of Seattle, not the annoyance of neighborhood drivers.  We sometimes forget there is a bigger world beyond our own comfortable walls and the heated seats of our SUVs. 

At any one time there are more than 400 small humans tucked away in the school's rooms and streaming out onto the sidewalks.  Thinking about these kids is a helpful way to remember its okay, as a driver, to be momentarily inconvenienced by 20 mph

On April 4th from 11-noon, Feet First is having a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Action Network conference call about funding school walk and bike route improvements in neighborhoods. Residents can join this SRTS conference call and learn about two grant funding sources for infrastructure improvements in Washington.

The speakers will be  Charlotte Claybrooke, (WSDOT) who will present about WSDOT’s Safe Routes to School grant program, which has an open call for SRTS projects right now. And Stevan Gorcester, Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) will discuss how to access TIB urban and small city sidewalk programs for school walk route improvements and Theresa Adkinson, Grant County Health District, who will offer her perspective on how to identify partners, assess needs, and apply for grants.

 

 

Seattle Children Hospital's Livable Street Initiative on NEDC Agenda Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night starting at 7pm is the February Northeast District Council meeting.

Included on the agenda, will be a presentation at 8:10pm on the Children's Hospital Livable Streets Initiative.  The community is welcome to attend with comment and questions.

Through the initiative, Seattle Children's Hospital has "committed to spend nearly $4 million on transportation improvements in NE Seattle as part of the Major Institution Master Plan," the website says.

At the last SAC (Standing Advisory Committee Meeting) a few weeks ago several members of the  committee who have been working on the project gave an update on the Initiative:

•The initiative is a 20 year plan for improving bike/pedestrian connectivity throughout Northeast Seattle.

•The report compiled information on projects from six different transportation studies plus hundreds of public comments from the Livable Streets Workshop.

•The workshop, held last November, drew more than 300 participate from various NE Seattle neighborhoods

•Participants made suggestions for street, trail and sidewalk improvements, including ideas to improve transportation and connectivity in the neighborhoods. \

•Some of the projects outlined are: creating Green Streets (quiet, pedestrian/bike friendly street yet still open to vehicles), improving trail access, crossings on Sand Point Way, building sidewalks and adding crosswalks.

•The final Livable Streets report prioritizes the improvements based on SDOT criteria and workshop comments.

•There is wide support for getting the projects completed - 20 different neighborhood clubs and organizations co-sponsored the workshop event.

•The final Livable Streets Report is not yet posted electronically. Email LivableStreets@SeattleChildrens.org to request a copy.


(photo courtesy of Hospital website)