By Kate Snyder
A Seattle-based boutique real estate company has submitted a proposal for a new mixed-use development on a retail site within the city’s Capitol Hill district. Hunters Capital, with designer Runberg Architecture Group, is planning to construct a five-story residential building with retail.
According to city records, the developer is at this time conducting neighborhood outreach with communities near the project to share information about the proposal and to gather community input on local context and future development. The Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections is reviewing the project site, proposed development and early concepts for the design.
Located at 416 15th Ave. E, the proposal is a redevelopment of the Moore Family Building complex, which Hunters Capital has owned for several years. The current property totals approximately 37,800 square feet, according to the firm’s website, and the proposed development would involve the demolition of two existing structures. City records show that the new mixed-use building would comprise about 150,000 square feet with 100,000 square feet in residential space and approximately 12,500 square feet in commercial uses. The residential portion would support 148 to 150 units, and the project would include a parking lot with about 110 vehicle stalls.
The project site has a history that extends back more than a century. The Moore Family Building was initially built in 1904, and the portion of the building that for several years housed a QFC grocery store was constructed in 1944, according to Hunters Capital’s website. The site operated for some time as a Price & Stephens Moore’s Food Store, and by 1956, the grocery store had become a Thriftway, while the building to the south had been demolished to make room for a parking lot. In 1964, QFC took over the grocery store and expanded the building to roughly 19,000 square feet.
In May 2017, Hunters Capital acquired the Moore Family Building complex. Tenants include the QFC – which according to industry reports opted not to renew its lease at that location – ShopRite, Rudy’s Barbershop and seven residential apartments. The area also boasts some of the most popular businesses in Capitol Hill, such as Coastal Kitchen, Victrola Coffee, The Wandering Goose and Ethan Stowell’s Rione XII.
“The property is centrally located on one of the most desirable retail corridors on Capitol Hill,” Hunters Capital’s website states. “This corridor has long been an economic base for small business and local retail for central Seattle.”
Founded in 2001, Hunters Capital has curated a mixed portfolio of historic real estate and multifamily residential redevelopment. The company is not only the owners but also the managers of its residential properties. The firm is dedicated to preserving and revitalizing the character of Seattle’s most historic neighborhoods through the ownership, development and management of residential and commercial properties and “is committed to historic preservation and community resilience in its Seattle home,” its website states.
The firm’s other projects in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood include a 92-unit residential building at 517 E Pike St., the site of the old Overland Building, which also dates back to the turn of the 20th Century. The firm purchased the site in 2020 and received design approval in 2021 for the project, which also includes 7,500 square feet of retail and commercial space as well as 750 square feet of office.
