By Kate Snyder
More housing is on its way to Seattle’s Belltown district. During a recommendation meeting on Tuesday, the Downtown Design Review Board gave its support to a proposal that would bring more than 200 apartments to the city.
The project developer is Washington Holdings. Designs for the project are led by Encore Architects, with landscape designs from Weisman Design Group.
Located at 3000 Western Ave., the project site is positioned at the northeast side of the intersection of Western Avenue and Eagle Street. Plans include the construction of a nine-story building, including three levels of parking for up to 100 vehicles and 3,000 square feet of residential lobby and amenity spaces along Western Avenue. The project will feature approximately 230 units averaging just over 600 square feet each, plans show.
“At the lower levels, landscaping, glazing, and a mix of residences and amenity spaces bring new life to the primary facade along Western Avenue,” project plans state. “Along Eagle Street, the project proposes to add landscaping to bring this section of the Green Street up to City standards. At the upper levels, large scale forms with contrasting materials, color, and detail express the urban pattern of movement of land forms and changes to the city grid.”
At an early design guidance meeting that took place last year, the design team presented several massing options to the board, according to previous reporting from The Registry. The scheme that was the one most preferred by the project team and the board is known as the “Folded I” design. This option includes folded forms in the shape of the folded pathways in the adjacent park, emphasizing the prominence of its location. This scheme also allows the new building to align with the upper portions of the residential building to the north.
Brian Schroeder, principal at Encore Architects, presented details about the project to the board during the recent meeting. He also noted the developer’s plan to enroll the project in the city’s Living Building Pilot Program.
“It’s a prominent location along the waterfront and a great opportunity to build new housing, making an enduring contribution to the community,” he said about the project site.
The Living Building Pilot Program is part of the City of Seattle’s climate strategy and allows certain amenities for projects within the program, according to the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections. Among the allowed features for projects include additional height, departures and floor area ratio. The goal of the program is to reduce building emissions to help the City become a carbon neutral community by 2050.
Overall the board was happy with the design. Specifically, board members appreciated the building’s relationship with the topography of the site as well as the landscaping planned for the property. One recommendation the board offered was for the development team to further accentuate the building’s corner entry, and members also highlighted some concerns about the durability of the exterior materials. Despite the requests, the board voted unanimously to move the project forward in the design guidance process.
