SEATTLE | CITY Activity (non-downtown)

[mhays]

The U District has well over 1,000 private sector units underway or recently completed, plus a few thousand dorm beds, one sizeable hotel, and the garage for the car dealership. Plus the campus itself, and the subway station. It's quite a bit.

[mSeattle]

That's a good amount of units. Are you counting just downtown UD and the U Village?

[mhays]

Just "downtown".

[mSeattle]

That's even better. The UD has a long way to go. Here are sites I'm hoping will be developed/redeveloped soon:

1. Surface parking at I-5 and 45th (north and south side)
2. Old drive-through teller (between Roosevelt & 11th)
3. Big Diamond surface parking on north side of 45th between 9th/10th
4. Safeway/Jack In The Box (NE 50th) and associated surface parking and Chevron gas station
5. Patch of land off 11th north of 45th with the two "portable-office looking buildings"

I'm forgetting some sites I'm sure.

[mhays]

There are plenty more developable sites left.

The upzone being discussed might finally allow (not discourage) more commercial uses. Life sciences for example, a clear win alongside the university and the UD's transit.

It's a good area now, one of the most urban places outside a main urban core in the Western US at least. But imagine it in a few years, or a few more when rail opens....it's going to be awesome.

[mSeattle]

I didn't realize there was a discussion on increasing the height limit. Is it an official debate/study?

[mhays]

It's a real discussion. See the DPD page and find "ongoing initiatives."

[mSeattle]

Thanks. I'd visited the UD Next site and stuff but never saw (or just missed) out-right that upzone was being discussed.

[alki]

Why all the apartment-building?

Low vacancy rate in West Seattle, says new research

March 24, 2014 at 1:20 pm | In Development, West Seattle news | 13 Comments

That image from Gatewood photographer/pilot Long B. Nguyen captures in-the-works and relatively-new apartment projects in The Triangle area – in the foreground, the former “Hole,” now Spruce, which you might have noticed has risen above street level; in the background, newer projects including Link, which opened in 2011, and at the top-center of the photo, Nova (WSB sponsor), which started leasing in 2012. Those represent just a fraction of the 3,000+ apartments (by our ongoing calculations) that are under construction/on the drawing boards/newly finished, and some wonder why so much – here’s one answer: The vacancy rate remains low. According to this new report from Dupre & Scott – who specialize in “apartment market research and advice” – forwarded to us by a WSB reader, the “gross vacancy rate” in West Seattle right now is 4.5 percent. That’s lower than the Puget Sound-wide rate Dupre & Scott found, 5 percent.


13 Comments »

read more...............

http://westseattleblog.com/2014/03/w...-new-research/

[alki]

Seattle Is Getting Ten New Parklets, Here's A Map To Find Them


In July, we heard that five new parklets would join the three already in Capitol Hill, Belltown and ID. We got some good news when we found out not only where the new parklets would be but that there will in fact be ten of them. Below, you'll find a map that locates all of the upcoming mini-parks, from the one going in front of Tin Umbrella Coffee Roasters in Hillman City to the one that'll go outside Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream in Wallingford.

[see map]

http://seattle.curbed.com/archives/2...pitol-hill.php

[alki]

Mapping the 26 apartment buildings under construction on Capitol Hill (and the 21 planned to follow)


Posted on Friday, March 21, 2014 - 7:00 am by jseattle



http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/20...ned-to-follow/

[mSeattle]

Thanks for the Capitol Hill map!

[mhays]

Capitol Hill still has room to grow, but the easy sites are mostly gone. Today anything major needs to incorporate an old facade or two. In a couple years even the tougher large sites will be gone, and new projects will be limited to smaller lots. Plus the City might disincentivize larger construction.

That'll push rents up, and speed up the overflow into nearby areas. The 12th corridor will go nuts in the next few years. It's already started. One big one is the Juvie rebuild, which will shrink its current site and spin off room for hundreds of units.

[mSeattle]

At some point along the way the height limit will have to be increase.

In the future, some of these 4 floor projects will need to turn into 8 or 10 floors.

[mhays]

Most seem to be six stories. But I'd love to see a lot of 12s at least.

[alki]

Okay.....now its becoming personal.......a developer bought Piecora's:

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/b...f-seattle.html

Not happy about this one.

[alki]

There’s little new office space for rent in Ballard, and a developer aims to change that


http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/b...n-ballard.html

[Vashon118]

Originally Posted by alki

Apodments - 3266 Avalon.........from the first page. Does anyone know if the brown siding is vinyl or metal cladding? Its pretty ubiquitous here in W. Seattle......and fairly cheap looking and ugly.

I went by there this morning. It's being painted a dark green color.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by alki

Okay.....now its becoming personal.......a developer bought Piecora's:

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/b...f-seattle.html

Not happy about this one.

Piecora's sold their building. It's a little different than being unlucky.

Anyway they can go anywhere, or at least anywhere that doesn't mind pizza exhaust. No need for a low-density building.

[alki]

Originally Posted by Vashon118

I went by there this morning. It's being painted a dark green color.

I go by the bldg every time I go to the gym. I didn't see them painting it. I will check it out tomorrow when I go.