This site on Beacon Avenue is soon to be The Oak, a bar/restaurant. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
The Oak, the new restaurant/bar to open on Beacon Avenue, is among several topics to be discussed at the next meeting of the North Beacon Hill Council on Tuesday March 6, 7 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library.
Here’s the agenda for the March meeting:
7:00 Hello and welcomes
7:10 Dylan Ahearn and Devor Barton: Tree planting on pedestrian/bike paths
7:25 Triangle Park neighbors re: proposed tavern/restaurant
7:50 Dee Dunbar: Need for help! Lewis Park
8:00 Other announcements and community concerns, including changes to the Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse
8:30 Executive Board meeting to vote on letter concerning new restaurant/tavern
All in the community are welcome to attend and participate.
You may want to mark your calendar as well for the April 3 meeting, which will focus on the grand opening of Jefferson Park and the proposed development of the corner lot at 17th and McClellan, the light rail station block.
Mark your calendar for a special zoning discussion meeting of the North Beacon Hill Council next Thursday, February 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave. S.
Lyle Bicknell from the City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will be present.
The agenda includes:
An update on proposed zoning changes in North Beacon Hill
A summary of recent City Council briefings (Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee)
A proposed design for the new Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse, as viewed from the Beacon Avenue side.
Bassetti Architects has recently presented a version of the development concept for the Jefferson Park Golf Course renovation to the city’s Design Commission. You can view it here (PDF). It appears to be a PowerPoint-type presentation, so it’s a bit sparse.
This graphic shows the existing driving range lighting (top) and the proposed new lighting (bottom).
The current Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse, which would be torn down and replaced with a new two-story clubhouse under this proposal, was recently nominated for landmark status. The City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board will hold a public meeting to consider the landmark nomination on next Wednesday, February 15 at 3:30 p.m. in the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Ave., Suite 1700. All interested may attend. If you can’t attend and still wish to comment, you can comment by email to beth.chave@seattle.gov, or by regular mail to the address in the previous post.
The proposed rezoning for the station area. Click on the image to see a PDF that contains a larger map.The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is holding a public hearing on Wednesday, February 29 to discuss proposed rezoning in the North Beacon Hill urban village area, in order to implement the updated North Beacon Hill neighborhood plan. (See Seattle Council Bill 117375, currently in committee.) The proposed rezones may be seen in this PDF, and include rezoning several 40′ zones to 65′, changing parts of the El Centro properties from Single Family 5000′ to Neighborhood Commercial or Low-Rise zones, and changing some other areas to Low-Rise 3. Additionally, there would be a slight expansion of the Beacon Hill Station Overlay District.
The public hearing, which will be combined with a similar hearing for the Othello Neighborhood Plan update, will be held on Wednesday, February 29 at 6 p.m. at the NewHolly Gathering Hall, 7054 32nd Ave. S.
If you are unable to attend but still wish to comment, you may send comments to Councilmember Richard Conlin, richard.conlin@seattle.gov. Comments should be received by Tuesday, February 28, at 5 p.m.
The proposal is to demolish the existing single-family residence on the site (which is zoned Lowrise 3) and build a four-story, 23-unit apartment building. There would be 12 underground parking spaces provided.
At an early design guidance meeting such as this one, applicants present information about the site and the project. Public comment is then allowed, and the members of the Design Review Board will give their comments and suggest guidelines for the continuation of the development project.
The meeting is on Tuesday, December 13 at 8 p.m., at the WellSpring Family Services Center community room, 1900 Rainier Ave. S. For further information, contact planner Bruce Phillip Rips, at 206-615-1392.
The Design Review Board is holding a public meeting on December 13 to discuss the development project proposed for 2715 25th Ave. S. and 2615 25th Ave. S., on the east slope of Beacon Hill just west of the Rite Aid/QFC building. (Meeting announcements are here and here.)
The project proposes the construction of two 7-story apartment buildings with a combined total of 307 units, including parking for 297 vehicles. The lots currently contain five mid-century single family homes.
The meeting is on Tuesday, December 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the WellSpring Family Services community room at 1900 Rainier Ave. S.
This was one possible site plan shown at the June Early Design Guidance meeting. At the December 13 meeting, the public will be able to see how the concept has changed.
This was one of the slides with design alternatives discussed at Tuesday's Early Design Guidance meeting. The designs are preliminary and not very detailed yet; this is only a rough indication of what might end up on the site. Click the image to access the PDF with the entire presentation.The packet of information presented at Tuesday’s Early Design Guidance meeting for the McClellan Apartments development on the Beacon Hill Station block has now been posted on the Department of Planning and Development website. Download the PDF here. It’s well-worth reading, containing a lot of information about the project and the versions that are being considered.
Other local publications posted about the EDG meeting yesterday:
Clayton Smith shows an example of a courtyard from another Pacific Housing NW project. Photo by Wendi.A couple dozen community members attended the Early Design Guidance meeting held last night to discuss the proposed development on part of the Beacon Hill Station block. Representatives from Pacific Housing NW (who, previously, were involved in the Beacon Hill Central Park proposal) presented preliminary ideas for the building to the Southeast Design Review Board as well as to the community members in attendance.
It is very early in the process, so all the designs shown were nowhere close to a final form. (The designs are currently not available online, but should appear on the DPD website soon. I’ll post a link then.) Several options were presented, including 40′ buildings and 65′ buildings, depending on whether the rezone currently in process goes through or not. All the options had a few things in common: an entrance to a 14-17 space parking garage via the alley, a courtyard to the north of the building, and some commercial space on the southwest corner of the building. The options varied in height, the presence of live-work space, and the configuration of entrances and setbacks. A 40′ building would probably have 30 units, and a 65′ building would have 45.
Pacific stated that their goal is “sustainable principles”; they hope to include solar cells and possibly even wind power generators on the roof. They intend to plant large trees in the planting strips around the building.
Materials Pacific said they may use for the building include “some lap siding,” masonry, concrete, and some paneling for upper levels. (Several community members expressed a strong dislike for panel-type siding during the public commentary period.) “Green walls” would probably be included as well.
Parking would be below-grade, with a small 14-17 space garage. Parking is not required at all within the station overlay area, so there is no requirement to have spaces for each unit.
The amount of commercial space in the building, as presented by Pacific last night, is very small—one small unit in the southwest corner. This was the most frequent concern mentioned by commenters during the public comment period. Neighbors who spoke up about it were unanimous in wanting more retail/commercial space in the building, preferably along the entire McClellan frontage. The current proposal “is not lively,” said neighbor Judith Edwards.
Some commenters also expressed concern about setbacks. The designs showed setbacks above the fourth floor. Judith Edwards commented that, according to neighborhood design guidelines, setbacks are supposed to start above the second floor. She concluded, “We are going to hold firm on this.” However, this was not a unanimously-held opinion. Another neighbor commented that setbacks are unnecessary for this building because it will have plenty of visual interest already.
Another major concern mentioned by the neighbors in attendance was the alley. In the proposed designs, the alley side of the building contains a driveway into the parking garage, but seemingly nothing else. Commenters wanted to see the alley as an “active alley,” with shops and cafe tables, preserving the view toward El Centro de la Raza. (See this illustration by Joel Lee for the basic idea.)
In general, however, the commenters seemed fairly supportive of the development.
After discussion, the Design Review Board members recommended “significant modulation” and an increase in commercial space. Setbacks will be required if the building is 65′ tall. The designers should draw on existing structures in the neighborhood for materials influence. They must enhance the alley, activating it for pedestrian use.
There will be another meeting in the future, after new designs have been created to address these issues. Stay tuned for the rest of the process.
(Thanks to Melissa Jonas for some additional information.)
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Wellspring Family Services community room, 1900 Rainier Ave. S.
The property was previously used for staging during the construction of Beacon Hill Station, and before that, contained single-family homes. Since the station opened in July 2009, the lot has been bare and surrounded by chain-link fence.
This proposed building would only cover part of the station block property. The triangular lot at the southwest corner would not be developed, nor would part of the rest of the block, as those properties have different owners. The development firm involved in the project is Pacific Housing NW.
Neighbor Carol Sanders posted to the Beacon Hill mailing list yesterday, encouraging interested Beacon Hill residents to attend the meeting:
“This is the best chance for the public to offer comments about design and the siting of the development. We’re going to have a lot of density coming our way with developers building up housing around the light rail area. It would be really great to have the neighborhood involved in making sure that these buildings will contribute to the look and feel of Beacon Hill and not just become big sterile boxes for folks to live in. We can really impact things like how the sidewalk areas interact with the building, possible public spaces, greenery, etc. if people get involved early in the design process and speak up at these meetings.”
View Larger Map. This is the location of the proposed apartment building at the Beacon Hill Station block.
Valdez, a former Beacon Hill resident, would prefer more density than a 30-unit apartment building would provide, and suggests that Beacon Hill needs “big changes” to get where it needs to be.
He is pessimistic about tomorrow’s Early Design Guidance meeting for the project, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at WellSpring Family Services’ community room, 1900 Rainier Ave. S: “I’m really hoping that isn’t the case, but my sense of land use politics tells me that, like most design review meetings, neighbors will emerge with all kinds of reasons why this project is wrong for Beacon Hill.”
But Valdez expects such responses to be only a small roadblock, and the new development on 17th and McClellan to be “a wedge for more development” on Beacon Hill.
Comments recently on this blog seem to indicate a fair amount of support for more density around Beacon Hill Station, in contrast to Valdez’ perception of Beacon Hill neighbors as people who have “vigorously opposed significant upzones around the station.” What do you think?
The empty lots around Beacon Hill Station look desolate. (This photo has been sepia-toned.) Photo by Wendi.
