8th & Seneca (SEA)

[LCIII]

Total upgrade as far as I see it. That building wasn't a treasure of any kind and it's placement inside the small area zoned for impressive height meant it was only a matter of time. Here's hoping more equally unimpressive old structures are demolished to make way for Seattles future.

[Vashon118]

Originally Posted by bgwah

Wasn't there actually a second brick building out of view, too?

There was a second building (Jensonia Hotel), but it didn't appear to be brick (at least it didn't based on a few pictures I looked at). That particular building (last used as Section 8 Housing) had been damaged by fire in 2004 (2 fires in a week) and was boarded up.

I found a couple of photosets on Flickr of the fire.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/narisa/.../with/8813994/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/djwudi/.../with/7267844/

[Capitol Hill]

Originally Posted by Rogue Linguist

*Sigh* More NIMBY nonsense. Astonishing how ignorantly anti-urban some city-dwellers can be. Funny--to me the building fits perfectly into its neighbourhood context. It couldn't look more appropriate.

Proposed 300-foot Seattle tower bugs neighbors

Donna James moved to First Hill six years ago and loves how the neighborhood is close to downtown, but still feels "neighborhoody." The high-rises aren't too high, the density isn't too dense and a five-acre park provides nice breathing room.

But James and other residents are worried things may change with a 300-foot apartment tower in the works. If approved, it would be the tallest building in First Hill, changing the area's skyline, and the first to hit the city's maximum height limit for the neighborhood.

"It will be enormous," said James, who lives in a 12th-floor condo unit nearby. "The scale of it I think is just too big for our neighborhood."

Calif.-based developer Lanconia Development had originally planned two buildings for the large site at 802 Seneca St. It had envisioned a 25-story highrise and a shorter 9-story building. That was in 2007.

Recession and pile of rubble

Then the recession hit and the site remained a pile of rubble for years. During that time, the city revised its codes and allowed buildings in First Hill to rise to 300 feet, up from a previous limit of 240 feet.

That prompted Lanconia to propose a taller tower of 31 residential floors and drop plans for the second building. The highrise would have up to 330 apartment units and parking for 285 cars.

A 32nd level is planned for rooftop amenities and mechanical use, making the building a total of 315 feet. Those features would be exempt from the city's height limit.

Many residents understand they live in a dense, walkable neighborhood that's expected to grow with people over the years. They also know taller buildings encourage needed development and create incentives for affordable housing and open space.

But many worry that 300 feet is just too tall. They're concerned about shadows and impact on adjacent Freeway Park. And they say the large number of parking spaces - via six levels of parking - is unnecessary and will bring more cars and traffic.

But James is quick to say the project does have some positives. There will be space for much-needed retail in First Hill. And anything is better than the the site's current vacant, rubbled lot. The project (pdf) is scheduled for a design review Wednesday.

Click on the photos for more details about the project.

Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news. Contact Vanessa Ho at 206-448-8003 or vanessaho@seattlepi.com, and follow her on Twitter as @vanessaho.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/artic...#ixzz1oCtzT4ys

If it meets current zoning requirements, any negative comments about height will be quickly shot down by the design board, as some NIMBYS on Capitol Hill have found out. The design board meetings are faily narrow in their focus, and the board has little tolerance for people prattling on about how the project is too big, etc. Now if you want to address colors, materials, and requested design variances, the board will hear you out.

[Seattlelife]

Originally Posted by bgwah

I still think it's a shame we tear down so many old brick buildings. This isn't New York.

Oh well. I still like the new rendering. I just wish it could have been built on a parking lot.

This is the first thing that went through my mind too. Buildings like this are a dime a dozen in NYC. Not so much here. With that said who knows how the living situation inside was. Some of the old brick buildings are in pretty bad living conditions for the day and I'd assume pretty expensive to update? It's easy for us to tell a developer to renovate an old building when it's not our money. Still it's too bad from an architectural/historical fan's perspective.

[Doomgoggles]

As I've said many times, being old does not grant a building historical value or architectural merit. In many cases where it DOES have one of those qualities, it's too far gone to restore. Don't mistake me for an anti-preservationist, though.

[Capitol Hill]

The new building will have a much better interaction with the adjoining Freeway Park than the old building did.

[LCIII]

Originally Posted by Doomgoggles

As I've said many times, being old does not grant a building historical value or architectural merit. In many cases where it DOES have one of those qualities, it's too far gone to restore. Don't mistake me for an anti-preservationist, though.

Exactly. Well said.

[pwalker]

The newspaper headline, "bugs neighbors" is OK, and is fine as an opinion about this project, but frankly, there isn't much they can do about it short of changing the zoning, which would take awhile, and this project would most likely already be grandfathered in. So it looks like we will see some height east of I-5. I like it.

[NW Mike]

It would be great to update the streets for bus and bikes, but please no One way! One way roads are bad and in this area it would only become a mess of crossing over I-5 and driving in circles to find your way back around. Keep the one way roads in the CBD.

[Rogue Linguist]

I read this article in The Times about NIMBYs freaking out over the perfectly in-scale, proportionate, and neighbourhood-appropriate 8th and Seneca Tower. It's amusing how the author points out that residents would have probably felt the same irrational fear of density when single-family homes in the area were being forced to share space with brand new five-storey apartment buildings a hundred years ago. (Access the link below to see the full article with sketches.)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ill_old-t.html

Messy end for First Hill old-timer

Posted by Gabriel Campanario

Sketched March 6, 2012

The ghostly doorway of the half-demolished Alfaretta apartments hides the massive ruins of what used to be a typical building on First Hill, a five-story apartment house built in 1918.

How did it come to this? Neighbors told me plans to build condos fell through during the 2008 financial crisis and demolition came to a halt.

Now work may resume with the construction of a proposed 31-story high-rise that would become the tallest building to date on First Hill and among the tallest residential towers in the city.

The project would clear the Seneca Street eyesore, add a new access to the adjacent Freeway Park and bring more density to quiet "Pill Hill," but it worries some neighbors, who say a 300-foot tower is of out of scale for the neighborhood.

Early First Hill residents who lived to see five-story buildings like the Alfaretta dwarf their mansions probably felt the same way. The Stimson-Green house, below, is one of a handful of those residences that has survived to stand amid the high-rises.

What has drawn your attention around Seattle lately? Send me your suggestions of interesting places and people to sketch via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter. Have a great weekend!

[jessejb]

Thinly-veiled nativism, all of it.

[Rogue Linguist]

Originally Posted by jessejb

Thinly-veiled nativism, all of it.

It is. It really is a surprisingly provincial attitude for such a progressive city, if you think about it. At any rate, I'm hedging my bets the design review board will just roll their eyes and ignore the NIMBY-nazis

[WESTSEATTLEGUY]

Any news on this? I feel like it's been awhile and I believe the start date that they set has already passed...

[Vashon118]

I went by the site on Monday... no signs of it starting soon.

[LCIII]

Laconia pays $12M for First Hill site; plans to start tower in Oct

http://www.djc.com/news/re/12041599.html?cgi=yes

[RMacherat]

Ironic headline for this company a few years back

"Developer loses Seneca site to Lehman Brothers"

It's more involved than that, but it shows how things can change.

[Rogue Linguist]

Originally Posted by RMacherat

Ironic headline for this company a few years back

"Developer loses Seneca site to Lehman Brothers"

It's more involved than that, but it shows how things can change.

I look forward to seeing this site developed. I used to live in the Lowell-Emerson apartments (where the Geneva restaurant is), so it'll be interesting to see this area change (for the better, despite recent NIMBY grumblings about the modest 30-storey height of the tower in the middle of a 30-storey-usual area, and smack-dab right next to office towers which are almost twice as tall).

[CrazyAboutCities]

That is good to know that they plan to start construction in October. A while ago, I was wondering when will it start construction. Thanks, LCIII.

[LCIII]

Happy to share whatever i come across. I was wondering too!

[CrazyAboutCities]

I almost forgot to mention it, I walked pass by this site yesterday and saw a group of people (I believe it might be developer and some people involved in this project) walked around the site and discussing about this project. I hope that mean they're planning to start construction really soon. "Crossed fingers"