By Meghan Hall
Adding to the hodge-podge of retail, commercial and hospitals in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood, a new residential development at 1103 Summit Ave. will break ground early next year after the East Design Review Board moved the project forward after its second recommendation meeting at the end of September 2018. The development is proposed by Seattle-based architect Skidmore Janette on behalf of developer Johnson Carr LLC. Johnson Carr LLC is planning to construct a seven story residential building with 91 units of workforce housing just six blocks from the Pike/Pine corridor in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood.
While project plans also include bike racks, rooftop deck and an entrance lobby, there will be no on-site vehicle parking.
The site is located near several bus stops and the Seattle Arnold E. Greyhound Station. The Broadway and E. Marion St. streetcar stop is also just a few minutes walk away.
“Overall, the board was supportive of the project and appreciated the changes to the material palette, landscaping and detailing at the street level,” said Kelten Johnson, founder of Johnson Carr LLC. “Much of the board’s discussion centered on details regarding the north façade and alley setback.”
The approval comes after the development team was asked by the review board to more carefully consider the massing of the building and exterior materials at its first early design guidance meeting in June 2018. Many of the board’s comments were in response to the public comment period of the first meeting, in which neighborhood residents questioned how the development would fit in with the local neighborhood context.
The updated design of the building includes a lighter color brick, and the deep brick frame that was part of the original proposal’s Spring Street façade has been extended. The design team also modified the landscaping surrounding the building to fit in better with the surrounding neighborhood.
“The lighter brick is the most noticeable change and fits the neighborhood context forms and patterns, with it being a prevalent material on other buildings in the neighborhood,” said Johnson.
The project team was given the green light to submit its application for a Master Use Permit, provided it further explored the removal of a few plant species in the landscaping and addressed security concerns at the proposed bike storage area. Johnson hopes that the project will start construction in the spring of 2019 and estimates that construction will take approximately 15 months. According to Johnson, no cost estimate for the project will be available until the bid process is complete.
