Seattle-based developer Lake Union Partners, along with Johnston Architects PLLC, continues forward with a seven-story mixed-use project located at 3717 South Alaska Street, in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood. The proposed project was approved by the city’s design review board in early June and, according to Buzz Buzz Homes, will be breaking ground by the end of this year.
Approximately 240 residential and two live/work units will be built
over a total of 26,100 square feet of ground-level street-facing retail and office space. The project sits on a 74,400-square-foot site that receives heavy pedestrian traffic and transit access, and consists of two separate buildings that create the outlined shape of a square with an opening and a tail on the southwest corner. There is another opening on the northeast corner of the project, where the buildings are connected by two skybridges, one at an upper-story residential level and one on a public level. At its center is a courtyard and through-block hillclimb.
It is away from downtown traffic congestion and has been a popular destination on the city’s new Link Light Rail
The West Building provides restaurant, office and retail space, as well as residential units and the two-story West Residential Lobby. The East Building contains two retail spaces, residential units, two live/work units, the two-story Main Residential Lobby and a lower residential lobby. There are two public plazas along Rainier Avenue South, the project’s “tail,” that flank the large restaurant space. These plazas provide sunlight and are in line with pedestrian routes between historic downtown and outdoor open spaces to the north. Neither the developer or architecture firm was available for comment.
Columbia City is a neighborhood located in the southeast corner of Seattle, in the Rainier Valley district. According to the Columbia City Business Association’s Web site, the neighborhood has a landmark-protected historic business district and is filled with an eclectic mix of shops, galleries, business and restaurants. It is also away from downtown traffic congestion and has been a popular destination on the city’s new Link Light Rail, says the same source.
According to Miles Garber, the vice president of research for San Francisco-based Pacific Polaris, a real estate consulting firm, the cost for a home in Columbia City is 33 percent less expensive than Seattle’s median price. These numbers calculate out to $253 less per square foot.
Other projects in the area include Sonata West and Sonata East, both developed by BDR Capital Partners, which together will deliver another 183 residential units, six live/work units, and 10,394 square feet of commercial space. DESC of Seattle is also building 91 affordable housing units with supportive services. A third proposed project is by Cascade Built, a four-story apartment building containing 26 small efficiency dwelling units and three live/work units. Dwell Development is also developing small efficiency dwelling units. These 27 units will be above 1,002 square feet of ground-level commercial space.
