Seattle-based developer, Emerald Bay Equity, LLC and Skidmore Janette Architecture, are bringing their plans and designs to Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood with a new mixed-use residential project, Iron Flats. Approved by Seattle’s Design Review Board in a November 14 meeting, the approximately 44,000 square-foot project includes a seven-story building with 231 residential units and 132 below-grade parking spaces.
Located at 802 NE 66th St., the approved plan includes three separate buildings, linked by a central courtyard with the primary entrance along 66th and secondary entrances along 67th and on the corner of 8th and 66th. The complex has a glass lobby that serves as a staple for the project, which sits on 66th and is part of the largest building.
All our corridors have one end that meets daylight, which is unique for an apartment building
According Jay Janette, the lead architect for the project, the site will be broken up into three smaller buildings. Janette said the decision came from wanting to “break up the mass” and embody the open and green concepts of the neighborhood. The goal is to remain consistent with the look and style of homes in the Roosevelt neighborhood.
The plan includes a variety of amenities such as a fitness and lounge area, internal garbage and a landscaped rooftop deck equipped with grills. Janette said the plan also includes 90 bike spaces inside the building, a dog wash and a centralized, south facing courtyard.
“With the courtyard, we wanted to create a unified but more of a village feel so the internal parts of the building are unified,” said Janette. He added the courtyard will also serve as a pedestrian break in the block but will be fenced off to provide privacy for residents.
Janette said each of the building rooftops will have some sort of amenity space. Two of the three buildings, the north and the west buildings, will have residential rooftop access with 360-degree views. The east building won’t have any rooftop access but will have a landscaped green space.
In addition to 360-degree views of the city, there will be private and Juliet style balconies on upper levels and natural light in the halls of every floor. “All our corridors have one end that meets daylight, which is unique for an apartment building,” said Janette.
While the project offers a generous number of apartments with amenities for future tenants, some nearby residents aren’t sold on the idea of such a large complex entering their neighborhood.
Community members at Monday’s meeting voiced concerns about the now approved plan. One community member who lives in a multi-family unit on the east side of the project had concerns of garbage bins sitting on the curb overnight. Janette said the trash would come in and out of the parking garage entrance, with the idea that bins get emptied and replaced immediately.
A homeowner on the east property line of the project said she’s concerned the apartments will block her view due to the lack of setbacks. Despite the concern, the Board approved the project but did include a condition on the garbage, which states no bins will sit out overnight. However, the condition is unenforceable, and it will up to Seattle Public Utilities to handle on time. Janette said with approval, the hope is to get things moving by this spring.
Emerald Bay Equity has worked on several projects in the Roosevelt neighborhood including a 79-unit apartment building that’s currently under construction, Medora Roosevelt, and Maude Urban Living, a 76-unit studio project. Situated between Greenlake and Ravenna, Roosevelt’s boundaries are I-5 on the West, 15th Ave NE on the East, Ravenna Blvd. NE on the South, and Lake City Way from I-5 to 15th Ave NE on the North.
Emerald Bay Equity also built a 65-unit housing project, Kulle Urban Living in Capitol Hill and a 36-unit luxury apartment structure, Eden Hill in Queen Anne.
