Ballard Developments

[AzChristopher]

Originally Posted by CrazyAboutCities

Get rid of that place! IHOP, Denny's, and Sharis are for rednecks and overweighted people. Seattle is too fit city to have these restaurants. Get that place demolished and make way for a new condo building!

What about 13 Coins? Denny's already left the building so don't worry about them. And there is still a whole parking lot that can be turned into a condo building if they want.

And I know this is a forum about skyscrapers but it is a bit ridiculous how often people attack stereotypes here simply because not everyone wants to live in the inner city and walk to work.

[mhays]

It's funny that Crazy criticizes others for stereotypes and prejudice (real or not real) while committing the same offenses himself.

[sequoias]

Originally Posted by AzChristopher

What about 13 Coins? Denny's already left the building so don't worry about them. And there is still a whole parking lot that can be turned into a condo building if they want.

And I know this is a forum about skyscrapers but it is a bit ridiculous how often people attack stereotypes here simply because not everyone wants to live in the inner city and walk to work.

There used to be Denny's near Aurora Ave. N close to Space Needle, now it's gone. Is that the one you're talking about?

[CrazyAboutCities]

EDITED.

[CrazyAboutCities]

EDITED.

[CrazyAboutCities]

Originally Posted by AzChristopher

What about 13 Coins? Denny's already left the building so don't worry about them. And there is still a whole parking lot that can be turned into a condo building if they want.

And I know this is a forum about skyscrapers but it is a bit ridiculous how often people attack stereotypes here simply because not everyone wants to live in the inner city and walk to work.

I never try 13 Coins before. I thought Denny's still there. Never mind then.

[silence.kit]

Originally Posted by CrazyAboutCities

That's funny I heard many Seattleites said about these restaurant chains too.

Point being?

[mhays]

Nuance is lost on this guy. Others have probably said they don't like places like Denny's (I sure don't). But nobody other than Crazy called all their customers fat people and rednecks. He really doesn't get how incredibly rude and hypocritical he is.

[blackc5]

And thats why there is an ignore feature

[CrazyAboutCities]

I apologize for what I said. I had bad week. I know that is no excuse for what I said about them. I do have an issues with them but I should keep it to myself. I will regret what I said about them. I'm sorry.

[joe_hardhat]

Look at everyone hate on Hjarta!

I'm no architect, but knowing the complications (and expense) that follows making something architecturally ornate, what would those of you who dislike the looks of Hjarta, NoMa and the other mixed use midrises do to make them more attractive? What have they done wrong? What makes them so hideous?

One thing to admire about Hjarta is that Pryde+Johnson really went out of their way to create a building that is environmentally friendly. There aren't that many mid-rises that will achieve LEED Silver (although Ashworth Cottages might make platinum!). They did wo while building one of the tallest buildings in Ballard, and the looks and lines of it may not please everyone, but at least it isn't a plain old box.

What bothers me is that there are so many people who are against development because it drives prices up, and no one makes allowances for affordable housing. There are a host of people too that discourage development because of environmental concerns. Then there are those that think that new buildings are boring--but if a developer takes a risk and does something extreme then those are the same people that blast them for building something ugly--see Experience Music Project, or that God-awful "googie" Denny's building.

But if the development didn't happen, we wouldn't be complaining about ugly new buildings, we'd be complaining about dilapidated ugly old buildings (and poverty and crime and other bad things that follow in under-developed neighborhoods).

[mhays]

Personally I'm a big fan of midrise development in places like Ballard.

Generally speaking, I like exteriors the most when they're have some darker solid colors, or they have some brick.

[Ginkgo]

As I've said before, we are never going to agree on every style or building. As a Ballard resident, I like the current mid-risers being constructed in the commercial core adding housing among the businesses. My only problem with some of the (mostly) mid-rise stuff is that they are too busy. One new apartment on Pontius Avenue that I can think of has something like three different colors and at least that many building materials. Some single buildings use stucco, wood, concrete, stone and brick, not to mention my pet peeve--that industrial corrugated metal that is so commonly used nowadays. Many like different styles, shapes and materials in one building. For me the simpler the better and the more brick better still--brick still looks classy.

[CrazyAboutCities]

I agree. I rather to see Ballard to have high diversity of architecture than just stucco or craftman style developments. Ballard is an unique neighborhood and should keep its own character instead another "Belltown" or "South Lake Union". In my opinion, each neighborhood should have its own style. I welcome big changes to the neighborhoods. I know not everyone like the changes but that is something we have to live with whether we like it or not.

[joe_hardhat]

Okay, that's a pretty fair reply, Ginkgo. I too hate that corrugated metal paneling. I'm not really crazy about the looks of stucco either, but understand that it has it's place as being a better material than plain siding in terms of material usage, and environmental concerns. It is pretty water tight, and once it's up, it just needs to be repainted now and then. (Whereas with siding, there are companies that make an entire business out of strip-and-reclad). The kind of nice thing about combinations of building materials is that it takes a big building and breaks it up into smaller chunks. Painting in garish colors kind of has that effect to--darker colors to make it look small, lighter colors to make areas look bigger than they are. The net effect, I believe, is to make the box look less like a box while cramming as much money generating capacity as possible onto the parcel.

[SteveM]

One more opinion: for me to be happy with a new midrise, the key is keeping the old street trees. With only new saplings along the street, it's hard to make a building look like it fits in with its neighbors. Walk along 57th NW between NW 17th and NW 15th in Ballard to see a new development (Ballard Place?) whose tree preservation makes the whole thing much more attractive.

That said, materials matter too: I'm also a fan of brick at the base and some material variation (ideally with shape variation, too) above. The new building at 65th & Roosevelt (the name escapes me) does a good job with this, IMHO.

[mhays]

Please no gray or beige. The only gray buildings I like are tall and have white railings and big windows -- Continental Place and Concord are the two I'm thinking of. Dark gray should be used very sparingly.

[CrazyAboutCities]

Originally Posted by mhays

Please no gray or beige. The only gray buildings I like are tall and have white railings and big windows -- Continental Place and Concord are the two I'm thinking of. Dark gray should be used very sparingly.

You meant same concept as many residential towers in downtown Vancouver BC?

[mhays]

I don't remember much in Vancouver that's exactly like Continental Place. But I do like their prevalance of white, gray, and beige towers (especially the white ones) because they have more window than gray, because many have interesting shapes, and because many have other colors.

[bgwah]

This was posted on Crosscut:


http://crosscut.com/real-estate/1196...ss+in+Ballard/

I love it, haha.