Big box. Mall. Northgate. These are the words that Darrell Vange does not use when talking about the colossal project he's proposed for a 10-acre site that lies northwest of Rainier Avenue South and South Dearborn Street.

There's a commercial district two blocks away -- Little Saigon, at the intersection of 12th and Jackson. About 10 of these first and second-generation Vietnamese businessowners attended the June 27 design review meeting, and Vange's presentation sounded to them like big box, mall, and Northgate, all of which could spell doom for their district.

"This project has the potential to displace this community," says Danny Tran, of JTD Real Estate, on 12th near Jackson.

Before we consider that issue, let's get a visual overview of this project's massive scale. Using Microsoft's new mapping toy, here is a look at the site:

Sorry it's so small, but it's hard to zoom because the site's so big. That's Rainier Avenue running along the picture's right side. And that's Dearborn along the bottom, which is the southern border. At the top is Weller Street, which represents the site's northern border. It reaches west to 13th Avenue South.

Most of this site (7.5 acres of it) is owned by Goodwill. That's its thrift store in the middle of the photo and its warehouses to the right. Goodwill has needed a new building for some time. About seven years ago the nonprofit was set to trade its land for a new building, but the developer Wright Runstad had planned to sell office space to dot-commers. When the dot-coms went bust so did the new Goodwill building.

In swooped Vange, who had been eying the site since the mid-1990s. And rather than offices he envisions a mix of retail and residential. Lots and lots of both. Goodwill get its new building, a sprawling 120,000 square feet, part of which will be the thrift store. Here is the view of the current Goodwill from Dearborn and Corwin.

We'll zoom in.

And this is the new Goodwill:

Thanks to TRF Pacific for the rendering

The thrift store is on the ground floor. Above that will be the adult education classrooms.

But in addition to the Goodwill site, Vange and Ravenhurst Development plan 600,000 square feet of retail. Consider that Northgate North (anchored by Target and Best Buy) is only about 400,000. And if you want to understand what has Little Saigon worried, its commercial district is only about 200,000 square feet.

More photos and details about the conflict with Little Saigon after the jump.

Continue reading "Big Box vs. Little Saigon" »

It's not quite a sacred Seattle tradition, but when developers build upscale condos, they tend to also mix in condos slightly less upscale, or even some that are affordable to the genuinely middle class.

Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue feels no such obligation. This 440-foot, 38-story glass tower will mix nothing but wealth. It is promoting itself unabashedly as exclusive, and as downtown condo development goes, it may be a sign of things to come.

Behold:

Rendering by Weber + Thompson

That is on 2nd Avenue, between Pike and Pine.

Here is the view from the sky of what that site looks like today:

Fifteen Twenty-One will occupy that parking lot and the building that borders it to the north. That is 2nd Ave on the right, heading north. Here is the view from the ground:

Sorry Wig Land! That picture, by Sarah Mirk, is looking west across 2nd.

More, including an interview with the building's developer William Justen, after the jump.

Continue reading "Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue" »

The city-block size QFC has sat abandoned on Broadway for years and is reviled by all. Last night at a public design review meeting, Bob Burkheimer and Driscoll Architects unveiled the still malleable plans for the mixed use development in the works for the site.

The "preferred option" looks like this: (the white arrow points north, so Broadway is on the bottom side of this diagram)

with apartments (not condos!) along Harvard, retail on Broadway and entrances to underground parking garages in the middle of Mercer and Republican. They're planning space for 400 cars, open to commercial folk during the day and exclusive to residential at night. Those white bars in the diagram? Entrances to the apartments and their private courtyard. The main lobby to access the apartments is on Harvard, but they're planning a secondary entrance on Broadway. What those entrances, or the building itself, will look like (glass? colors? a nautical motif?) is still undecided.

What they do know is that it'll be 65 feet tall, which is 25 feet more than usually allowed. Here's how that'll look in relation to the surrounding neighborhood:

Given the tumultuous history of this development, I thought the meeting would be kinda hostile. No dice. Totally tame, with the public who showed up offering constructive criticism and expressing enthusisasm about FINALLY having the bum-magnet developed.

Most of the criticism revolved around the retail space and the courtyard. During deliberation, a member of the board said they should consider having public access to the courtyard during the day, thought the architect cited issues of safety in keeping it gated. As for the shops, the architect planned on 4-5 shops that could choose to build their own facades, awnings and public face. Several people in the crowd suggested more like 10-12 shops, so the stretch could resemble the Republican to Harrison block ("the best block on Broadway!"). Another person suggested a stronger architectual hand in designing the retail space, to curb the "rampant individualism" of places like U-Village.

oh, and will the apartments have any affordable housing? Silly you.. not on Capitol Hill! They'll be sold at market rate, though a mix of studios, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments is planned.

In my Boom column of June 2, I mentioned how along with about a dozen new high rises First Hill is (finally) getting an urban market, on the ground floor of the new 15-story building at 8th and Madison. At the time, developer Opus Northwest was still hammering out a lease with an independent grocer.

That lease was recently signed. M Street Grocery will be built by Matt Randish, a second generation grocer from Bainbridge Island. "It will be a neighborhood store -- small in size, but big in character, like a mini-Metro Market" says Randish. "We'll go for upper end organic foods, produce, service deli. The floor plan has space for an espresso bar and a bakery."

Randish only has about 14,000 square feet to work with, so he is designing the store to be big where it counts most. He hired market researchers to make that determination. They told him that the First Hill grocery shopper's priority list looks like this (in descending order of essential-ness):

1) Fresh seafood
2) Fresh produce
3) Size and selection in a deli
4) A big beer and wine section

Plus, he's got Location. And while most M Street Grocery customers will be walkers, Randish says he'll offer validated parking in an adjacent garage.

Construction on the market's interior will begin late this year and Randish hopes for a grand opening in Spring 2007. He and his family are moving to First Hill to be close to the store.

I hate the old QFC building. We all do. To see it . . .

. . . is to hate it.

And to see it as a bird sees it . . .

. . . is to hate it even more. That's it on the left -- with the orange marker. Nature abhors a vacuum, and yet there it is. All that unfilled space! And across the street on the east side of Broadway is another void: the old Safeway, also with an orange marker.

Continue reading "The Old QFC Building on Broadway" »

Announced in February 2005, the purchase of a 12-acre site next to Seattle Center for $50.4 million is the most expensive sale of city property in Seattle history. The City Council had to give it special fast-track approval. We even have to demolish one of our precious few skateparks.

So the pressure is on. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, your new headquarters better blow us away. Our demands: a malaria vaccine for every child in sub-Saharan Africa, plus iconic architecture on 5th Avenue North.

With a $27 billion endowment, you can do both.

Right now the foundation leases a former check-processing plant at 1551 Eastlake Ave. "We're outgrowing it,� says spokeswoman Lisa Matchette. "Having this new headquarters will give us a long-term, permanent home and we'll have the flexibility to have a campus-like design to expand as our programs grow. We're planning to be there the next hundred years.�

The campus won't open till 2010, but it's being designed now. So the time for constructive criticism is now. Help the people who help the people.

Slideshow after the jump.

Continue reading "Gates Foundation HQs" »

Future installments of this column will delight in the conflicts that accompany major construction projects in Seattle, but our first stop, First Hill, is an exception to that rule. Here at least, developers are welcomed -- or at least those who have the good sense to consult with neighbors before they call in the backhoe.

Says Michael Gray of First Hill Home Improvement Association, "We want a mix of housing. We have very high-end housing and we have low-end, but we don't have much in between.�

Until now — or very, very soon. First Hill's got the boomingest condo market in the city, and most of these new buildings are targeting young Seattle professionals who make around $50,000. I've snapped pictures of all the ground zeroes. Next to those I've pasted artists' renderings of the future project. Yes, this is illustrated land use wonkery.

In this post I'm only covering the major residential projects. There's an expansion project at Harborview, as well as one at Virginia Mason, but as you'll see we have more than enough condos and assisted living communities to discuss. I don't want to clog the Slog, so the slide show presentation starts after the jump.

Continue reading "Coming Down/Going Up" »