West Seattle Projects and Updates

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

I been wanting to start a West Seattle projects and photos thread for a long time, since there is so much going on over here.

Fauntleroy Place



Fast Facts on Fauntleroy Place:
61,000 square feet of total retail space
170 residential units (five stories above retail center)
Four floors of underground parking (566 spaces)
Design/Architect - Stricker, Cato, Murphy (Seattle, WA)
Construction to begin early 2008
Completion expected by late 2009
Whole foods will occupy half of the ground floor and a quater of the second floor.

41st/42nd and Alaska

11 story project with QFC, and condos.
construction-2008
Completion-2009

Sylvan Ridge



179 townhomes/condos
New Construction
Completion-2008

Verge



51 condominium homes
Status-Completed
-IMO these are the most ugliest thing going up in West Seattle.

4752 41st Avenue



site-http://41stavenue.net/
-27 residential units
-Status: Completed

High Point











When the new High Point is completed, the neighborhood will have a healthy mix of 1,600 new homes, townhomes and apartments across its 130 acres, a vibrant mix of neighbors of all backgrounds, interests and origins and will be fully integrated into its West Seattle locale.

Status: half completed/half under construction

314 California Ave.



-9 story condo building. One condo per each floor.
-Status: Proposed
-Construction:early 2008
-Completion: late 2008/early 2009

Avalon Apartments



-5 story condo complex
-130 units
-Status: Proposed
-Completion: ?

1200 Alki Condominiums



-6 story luxury condos
-Status: Completed
-Completion: 2006

Burien Town Square







-Large Condo complex
-Status: Half completed/half under construction
-Completion: 2007-2008
-Condominiums, townhomes and live/work lofts
-Retail shops, restaurants and services right downstairs
-One-acre city park and King County Public Library
-Courtyard, pea-patch, club lounge and formal lobby


Temple Condominiums



-5 story condo building
-Status: Proposed
-completion-?

Olive Place



-on the corner of Marine Ave. and Lander St.(near alki)
-Luxury Townhomes
-Status: Proposed
-Completion:??
-(LOL there are palm trees in Olive Place's rendering)

Greenbridge Hope VI Development









Site: http://www.kcha.org/HOPEVI/index.html

-Townhomes and New Homes
-1,000 homes for 3,500 people
-Status:Some Completed/mostly still under construction
-Final Completion: 2012
-95 acre site

1226 Alki Ave.



-Site: http://1226alki.com/

-6 story condominium building
-Status: under construction
-Completion: 2008

California & Charleston



-2 floors of retail, possibility of condos above/behind retail
-Status: Proposed
-Completion: 2008-2009

Juneau Place



-5 story apartment/condo building w/ ground floor retail
-Status: Proposed
-Completion: ?

2419 52nd Ave.



-3 story townhomes
-Status: Proposed
-Completion: 2008

Fauntleroy Ave. Townhomes



-Home/townhome project
-Status: Approved/underway
-Completion: ?

Delridge Place



-3 story townhomes
-Status: Under Construction
-Completion: Early 2008

Westwood Condominiums



-3 story condominium building
-Status: Proposed
-Completion: ?

City View Townhomes



-New Age/modern townhomes
-Status: Proposed
-Completion: ?

Highline Community Homes



-Townhomes
-Status: Under Construction
-Completion: 2007

Alki Point Luxury Townhomes



-Luxury Townhomes
-Status: Proposed
-Completion: ?

4532 42nd Ave.

-6 stories, ground floor retail, 35 units above.
-Status: Proposed
-Completion: 2008

-I know there are many more developments, and major projects going on in West Seattle, and to get all of them on here, I would like to say that any other forumer is welcome notify me if i have missed one, which I'm sure I have.

[Black Box]

Nice updates. I'll second that on the Verge. The name is also hideous.

[mhays]

I went through there with a friend the other day, in a "car".

First we went through White Center, which actually looked pretty decent, including the Greenbridge redevelopment, which looks great, along the same lines as High Point.

Then through Fauntleroy and north on California. California is getting some real density along its whole length (including some work underway), which is great, but as we didn't need our nails or hair done there wasn't much interesting retail (but if we had, score!). We finally had beer, a side of meatballs, and the most gigantic slice of pizza in my life in the Junction -- fantastic. The Junction really is a pretty healthy, substantial retail area. The project at Alaska will be another good boost.

PS, what about Alki? There's some construction going on.

[Vashon118]

'Canyon effect' on Alaska gets design frowns

http://www.westseattleherald.com/art...ews/news02.txt

By Tim St. Clair

The West Seattle Design Review Board was critical of plans for a seven-story, mixed-use development to be built across Alaska Street from Jefferson Square because they think it won't be pedestrian friendly.

Having no pedestrian entrances and few display windows for hundreds of feet along Alaska Street runs counter to the Junction's design guidelines, which recommend improving the pedestrian environment along Alaska Street. The design guidelines call for pedestrian-scale businesses on Alaska Street much like the stores on California Avenue.

The new development currently is designed with entrances only at 41st and 42nd avenues but not between. Even though the project has already gone through the city's design review process, some board members were still not happy at their June 14 meeting.

Design Review Board Chairman Jeff McCord explained that Jefferson Square, which is across the street from the proposed project, has no pedestrian entrances along Alaska Street either.

"We wanted to prevent that canyon effect," he said.

Kevin Wright from Hewitt Architects said designers would talk with QFC and Office Depot about additional entrances on Alaska Street.

Admiral resident Mark Wainwright said the proposed building would have a 200-foot blank face on Alaska Street. It needs an "activated facade," he said, with recessed entries, niches and other pedestrian-oriented elements.

The two main commercial tenants of the new project will be a QFC grocery store and an Office Depot supply store, both of which will require large areas. Wainwright worries that ignoring the Junction design guidelines "sets a precedent from small retail to big retail."

Leon Capelouto, one of the main landlords in the Junction, is the developer of this project. He told the Design Review Board that he's been doing business in the Junction for 40 years.

"Only the restaurants are making it, and they are thriving," Capelouto said. What the Junction lacks is synergy, he said.

"I took it upon myself to create some synergy," he said. "I could've built two (residential) towers and made a lot more money. But this is better for the Junction. It needs synergy and we need bigger stores to bring that synergy."

One difficulty with designing the building site is its slope. The north side of the property is 30 feet higher than Alaska Street to the south. There's also an 11-foot drop from 42nd to 41st avenues, said Kevin Wright of Hewitt Architects, the project designers.

More retail space is planned on the 41st Avenue side of the new building but that worries some people who live nearby.

A woman who lives on 41st Avenue is concerned about increased traffic congestion generated by the new stores. Deliveries are planned to arrive at the 41st Avenue entrance and the entrance to the parking garage will be there too. Commuters already crowd out neighbors by parking their cars on neighborhood streets during workdays to catch buses headed downtown.

Other neighbors said they're worried about increased noise late at night and early in the morning.

"I think that building is nasty on 41st," said board member Vlad Oustimovitch. "There will be a very tall parking structure next to a single-family (zoned) neighborhood."

The bottom two levels of the new project will be for parking. The third level will hold Office Depot with an entrance at 41st and Alaska. The fourth level will be QFC with its entrance at 42nd and Alaska.

Above those levels will be three floors of apartments that will terrace down from west to east, with a roof garden above 41st Avenue and views of Mount Rainier.

Nor did Oustimovitch approve of the plan to build the QFC parking lot above the store itself. He called that idea "bad design."

Board members took notice when an audience member told them the latest design has fewer and smaller windows than its earlier design.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at timstc@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

Originally Posted by Black Box

Nice updates. I'll second that on the Verge. The name is also hideous.

It's bad is an understatement. It is appalling.

[Black Box]

^ I thought hideous would cover it. mhays, next time you're in the junction, check out Bakery Nouveau. It is to die for. They make chocolates, pastries and excellent bread that they also use to create outstanding savory creations. Look it up online. It's on California Avenue just south of whatever the other main street that runs east-west.

[mhays]

It might be a while. I get that way about three times per decade! But thanks for the tip. Actually, I was pretty stuffed Saturday including the ill-advised desert course.

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

Originally Posted by Black Box

^ I thought hideous would cover it. mhays, next time you're in the junction, check out Bakery Nouveau. It is to die for. They make chocolates, pastries and excellent bread that they also use to create outstanding savory creations. Look it up online. It's on California Avenue just south of whatever the other main street that runs east-west.

Baker Nouveau, used to be a rundown cake place, but now it is an upscale bakery as they say, since they have rich owners. But still it is really good.
-You can find they're website here
-If you are in West Seattle in the morning or around lunch hour you must go to Easy Street Café. It is the best breakfast around town, and they have a great records store next door.

[Black Box]

^It's awesome! By the way, I did have brunch at the Easy Street before I went to the bakery. They should have a menu item named after DEVO. I ordered the Low Rider. Delicious and what a bargain.

[NW Mike]

Charleston Street Cafe (Best Clam Chowder in the country) is supposed to be torn down for some new condos. Its on California Ave. Anyone know about this one? I hope they re-open somewhere else.

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

^^

I live 2 blocks away from it. Last week there was a march down California Ave to protest it from being torn down. Like 500-600 people showed up with picket signs. LOL. And then they have to get 5,000 signatures to appeal to the city to protect their restaurant and I think they have 4,000 something. I love that place and we don't need another stupid petco there. So all Seattle forumers go to the Charleston Café and help save it from destruction or donate money to help them survive.

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

Edit: I added 314 California Ave- 9 story condo building, one condo per each floor, completed late 2008/early 2009.

[NW Mike]

I have a hard time seeing where 314 Cal is but I love the design!!
My mom lives right kitty corner from Charleston Cafe so we stop by once in a while. It would be horrible to lose it. I'll make sure I sign the petition.

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

314 Cal, I think will be between the West Seattle Post Office and the Shoofly Pie Company.

[destroybananas]

You'd think that these people were talking about the Manhattan-like canyon effect or something...chill out people it's not that big of a deal. lol.

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

^^^

Lol, I have heard some pretty weird stories of people trying to save the restaurant, like some old lady and her husband ate every meal of the day there for a week. Or the mayor donating $ 2,500 to the Charleston Café.

[mhays]

314 California is excruciatingly ugly. It's the sort of building that few people will like, and that will give development a bad name.

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

^^

Really?? I don't think it's that bad looking. It is supposed to have a warehouse feel to it, with the warehouse door for the parking garage and the steel/aluminum exterior. It looks pretty modern.

[mhays]

Even if they can find enough people to live there, the community won't appreciate getting an industrial monolith in their midst. People will howl about this one.

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

^Maybe. The height they'll probably bitch about, "it's obstructing our views" and, blah, blah, blah. But it is better then a parking lot.