On December 2, a design review board for the city's Department of Planning and Development will make its recommendation on a six-story building planned at Broadway and East Jefferson street. Here's the corner recently:

And here's a rendering by Ankrom Moisan Architects of the proposed building:

What's great about it: The First Hill streetcar will run right past this building (or within a couple blocks of it), linking the residents of the 99 apartments to two light rail stations, the International District, and Capitol Hill. The number three and four buses run past frequently. It's a 10 minute walk from downtown. The developer is asking the city council to increase the height limit from 65 feet to 85 feet, which makes sense for a central location so well served by transit. This is where we should be increasing heights and density. Also, the hospitals on First Hill are impersonal and hostile to pedestrians; this mix of residential and retail uses will liven up the street at the south end of Broadway.

What's not great: The developers are proposing 117 parking spaces in two below-grade levels. So, despite the fact that this location is so well served by transit, the developers are trying to build auto-oriented housing. The council shouldn't let them. If the developers want more height, the council should give it to them—on the condition that the builder cuts the parking capacity in half by eliminating one of the levels of parking. (The council should do this in all central locations where a developer asks to exceed existing height limits). Digging holes for parking garages is one of the biggest expenses in construction; the deeper the hole, the more it costs and the higher the rents. Building a city for more cars—not that it needs repeating—also contributes to congestion and pollution. Instead, these apartments should be built for less money, the units should rent for less money, and the entire thing should be tailored for the central, walkable, transit-served neighborhood that it's in.