South Lake Union is set to add yet another tower to its skyline. While much of the new development in the neighborhood is office product for tech giants such Google, Facebook and mostly Amazon, Seattle-based Pillar Properties plans to bring a modern, 28-story residential tower to the market.
With help from Ankrom Moisan and Hewitt Architects, Pillar Properties wants to add the tower to the neighborhood and create a community for residents at 820 John St., in the heart of South Lake Union neighborhood and right next to Denny Park. According to plans filed with the City of Seattle, architects are designing a 28-story tower that will provide 268 residential units as well as 12,500 square feet of indoor residential amenity space and 2,600 square feet of street level retail. More uncommon for the area, the project is also planning on providing 250 parking stalls for residents and retail shoppers. Plans also call for a media room, fitness area and small residential patios.
Inspiration for the residential tower will draw off cues from nature and the forest more specifically, according to Ankrom Moisan’s plans. The design team is proposing a tower that features numerous green spaces and will play off of Denny Park, which is just adjacent to the property. The idea draws from phototropism, a process of plant growth stimulated by light. Pillar Properties said it has not yet named the building.
“For this special site, the building takes cues from a forest, with the goal of bringing a forest-like quality of richness and variation into the architecture,” according to the plans. “As a tree canopy rises vertically and changes to seek light, so too does this building. The rooftop is a series of green terraces, which are both an amenity to the inhabitants as well a benefit to the skyline.”
The team is also working to make the project more pedestrian-friendly by having large sidewalks and protected bike lanes. “The ground level facades of both 9th and John streets will be set back to make a more generous pedestrian zone, particularly at the prominent corner where foot track will be highest,” state the plans. “A covered retail and entry plaza will support active retail space and semi-private residential functions.”
Pillar Properties is working with partner Rich Reel on the development, which is set to break ground in late 2018. Pillar Properties will manage the building when it opens.
