Seattle developers are trying to keep pace with the demand for urban living in Seattle. An explosion of new multifamily projects includes the following:
True North in South Lake Union. In 2014, Seattle’s Holland Partner Group opened a residential project, located just two blocks from Lake Union and its multiuse trail, designed for nature lovers, outdoor adventurers, and fitness gurus.
“Northwest lifestyle” amenities for the seven-story 286-unit luxury building include a bouldering wall for climbers, a fitness center, a trailhead room with maps and books, and a Bike Lounge workshop with stands for bike tune-ups and a work table for waxing skis and snowboards.
The project also has four terraces with grilling stations, communal dining tables, a pizza oven, hammocks, lounge areas, and a fireplace; there is also a ground-level restaurant.
The True North apartment project lends out kayaks, partners with an outfitter for deals on outdoor gear, and provides storage for bikes, paddleboards, and other equipment.
12th Avenue Arts on Capitol Hill. On the affordable side, developer Capitol Hill Housing and Seattle’s SMR Architects transformed a 29,000-square-foot (2,700 sq m) surface parking lot into a neighborhood-anchoring cultural center that mixes arts, housing, and public-safety facilities. The 2015 ULI Global Awards for Excellence winner offers 88 affordable apartments; 20,000 square feet (1,900 sq m) of new cultural space and arts-related commercial space, including two professional theaters; and 115 secure belowgrade parking stalls for the Seattle Police Department.
Capitol Hill TOD. Portland-based Gerding Edlen is the master developer for a planned multiblock mixed-use and mixed-income redevelopment above the new Capitol Hill light-rail station. The project will include 430 housing units and 30,000 square feet (2,800 sq m) of retail space connected by a large transit plaza.
One of the seven-story buildings, codeveloped with Capitol Hill Housing, will have a community center and 110 units of housing affordable for tenants earning 60 percent of the area median income. The other three will have groundfloor retail space and 320 market-rate apartments, with 20 percent of the units set aside for lower-income households through a city tax abatement program for affordable housing. Retail space will include a grocery store and a market hall for local businesses; the Broadway Farmers Market will be set up on the plaza. A daycare center is also planned.
Seattle’s transit agency, Sound Transit, is groundleasing the site for 99 years for a reported $22 million. Design and construction costs are estimated at $180 million, according to Gerding Edlen partner Jill Sherman. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2018 and be completed in late 2019.
