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Monday, September 13, 2010

City / Architecture Dear Seattle, Meet the So-Called "Uptown Triangle"

Posted by Riya Bhattacharjee on Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 3:17 PM

The pink triangle

Ever heard of “Uptown Triangle”? I haven't either. But it's shown in this map.

Historically, the area is distinguished by warehouses, wide roads (such as Dexter and Aurora), and, well, not much else. But now a group of property and business owners—who insist that it has potential to become rather lively—are pushing the city to let them redevelop the 36-acres southeast of Queen Anne.

The Uptown Alliance along with architect Craig Hanway of the Queen Anne Community Council (QACC) presented a plan (.pdf) to the City Council's Committee on Built Environment last Wednesday to spruce up this area. The proposal includes changing city rules for new, taller buildings, affordable housing, more trees, and a transit center.

Hanway told The Stranger that the proposal seeks to give the triangle (which is squeezed between Aurora and the Seattle Center and sometimes called “the lost triangle”) an identity. Ideas range from a complete rebranding (maybe calling it Denny Hill?) to creating plazas, parks, and bike lanes to make the place more accessible and lively.

Hanway said that neighbors in the area southeast of Queen Anne are witnessing tremendous growth around them—such as the recent arrival of Amazon and the Gates Foundation in South Lake Union—and want to see more housing and retail to encourage people to live close to where they work. "A sustainable urban village," to be precise, Hanway said, complete with transit-oriented development, pedestrian-friendly retail, and urban farming.

The triangle’s proponents hope the project will benefit from the rebuilding of the Mercer Mess and the northern portal of the proposed deep bored tunnel, which would open up transportation options by reconfiguring street grids.

Both the committee and the city's Department of Planning and Development (DPD) dig the proposal, but acknowledged that this is a bad time for development. DPD is in the middle of a budget crisis and is facing major layoffs. Still, the Uptown Alliance and the QACC want some money ($100,000 or more) from the city to conduct a study required to change any development rules. “Clearly, it will be a challenge,” said DPD spokesperson Alan Justad. "We are hopeful," said Hanway.

Comments (19) RSS

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More tax subsidies for the rich.

Just like the Billionaires Tunnel.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on September 13, 2010 at 3:35 PM

"Revitalized" is an interesting way to spell "completely flattened". Isn't that whole area supposed to be erased and encased in concrete as part of the immense portal? I think 90% of my misgivings about the tunnel have to do with its above-ground effects.

Posted by Fnarf

on September 13, 2010 at 3:36 PM

I'm surprised they didn't change the map orientation to make it an inverted pink triangle.

Posted by rob!

on September 13, 2010 at 3:46 PM

"Uptown?" WTF. DENNY REGRADE, YOU BUNCH OF CUNTS.

Posted by Soupytwist

on September 13, 2010 at 3:55 PM

Their website says the "stakeholder working group" isn't at all near design decisions, but the page has these two overhead views of showing the Sixth either going around the Gates Foundation doohickey or through it:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct…

Posted by gloomy gus on September 13, 2010 at 3:58 PM

Have these businesspeople actually been in this area lately? This sounds fine until you actually look at it. There can't be more than six under-utilized blocks in that triangle after you take out Fisher Plaza, the monorail going over Fat City, the brand new Hyatt, the brand-new Taylor 28 apartment complex, and SCL's massive Broad Street substation. So what's that leave? The McDonalds, a few crappy low-rise hotels (Travelodge, Best Western, Seattle Pacific) and the empty block where the tunnel portal will be built.

So what exactly are they wanting to tear down and redevelop? If they want to redevelop some of the neighborhood, there's some nice underutilized land between Denny and Thomas, Fairview and Terry.

Posted by sevenless on September 13, 2010 at 4:04 PM

I have heard of the Denny Triangle near that location. I think that's the same thing but maybe this is the cool "rebrand".

Posted by I'm 85 Years Old on September 13, 2010 at 4:11 PM

I love all the No Parking For BMGF Construction signs all throughout the area.

People really hate how the non-tax-paying foundation is destroying the neighborhood and also wants to foist a Chihulhy Museum on their public parkland in Seattle Center.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on September 13, 2010 at 4:31 PM

@8, it's not a neighborhood.

@5, just look at the vast amount of nothing in those pictures. The total footprint there is immense. I'm not sure people grasp just how much nothing is going in there; to be honest, the Gates Foundation buildings are already a massive blight of nothingness -- such a great cityscape-stitching opportunity lost. How was that thing ever approved? It's the most anti-urban building I've seen this decade.

Posted by Fnarf

on September 13, 2010 at 4:46 PM

"Uptown" is yet another of those fatuous re-branding monikers (cit ref "West Edge") concocted by an advertising agency for a bunch of developers and property owners, and is a name no actual person (including those who live in the area) ever use - Uptown Espresso being the sole legitimate exception.

This is Lower Queen Anne; always has been, always will be.

Posted by COMTE

on September 13, 2010 at 4:54 PM

@9 - The Gates thing looks less like a building than a sort of redoubt, the void around it purposebuilt as a moat.

Posted by gloomy gus on September 13, 2010 at 4:57 PM

COMTE - And surely the Uptown movie theater.

But yes, sorry, it's Lower Queen Anne regardless of how many signs they put up.

Posted by Chris B

on September 13, 2010 at 5:11 PM

its the fucking Regrade you real estate bitches. the Denny Fucking Regrade. remember the real estate bitches that fucking tore down the hill? thats yer fucking Regrade.

similarly the Pearl District in pdx used to be know as Slab Town. an on.

Posted by aardvark on September 13, 2010 at 5:13 PM

@9 people live there.

Which means it's a neighborhood, dip shiite.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on September 13, 2010 at 5:16 PM

Is QACC pronounced "quack"?

If it isn't, it should be.

Posted by Sorry, I had nothing to add to the discussion on September 13, 2010 at 6:44 PM

Maybe they can make the Broad Street Substation into some sort of thrill ride for the Mountain Dew set.

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay

on September 13, 2010 at 7:07 PM

"Historically" should refer to more than the past 60 years. A few hundred years ago it was a forested hill, white people moved in roughly 1880, they regraded the hill in the late 1920s just in time for the Depression. That's why it and the "Denny Triangle" are full of parking lots and warehouses. It's a great location, just few people had money to build from about 1930-1950 or else it would look more like LQA. If you look at Denny Park Lutheran Church's history writeup, they moved there because the land was so cheap after the regrade. Then, roughly 1950-2000 or so was all about sprawl and more parking. In the past 10 years as noted above there has been a decent amount of development, especially along Denny Way. (By the way, note how the name "Denny" keeps coming up? This was where David Denny lived, in a house at what is now Dexter and Republican.)

Posted by joshuadf on September 14, 2010 at 8:01 AM

@17 At the hostess cake shop? Watch episodes of Dexter on TBS at Dennys.

Posted by I'm 85 Years Old on September 14, 2010 at 10:33 AM

Ooooh! I love it! I think it's fantastic! Just look at the area. Most of what you see are asphalt parking lots. What a waste of space. I hope they're able to implement this plan so that Seattle can leave the '60s once and for all and catch up with the rest of the world.

Posted by Brandon1978 on September 15, 2010 at 1:44 AM