Spring District/Bel-Red Development News and Photos

I see way more opportunties for major TOD. Sea-Tac, International Blvd, Othello, Mt. Baker, Beacon Hill, Downtown Redmond, Northgate. Even the ones that already have decent density can have way more in 10 or 15 years, like the U District and International District.

PS, apartments are often more like 1.5 people per unit. The entire city of Seattle is about 2.0 for all types of units.

bgwah said:

I appreciate your optimism, but a lot of those places already have stations and the results have been unimpressive. Furthermore, East Link will be mostly grade-separated. A lot of those neighborhoods are in or will have to get through the surface rail in the Rainier Valley.

And of course apartments average more than one person per unit, I'm not that stupid... :tongue3:

But even if one person in the household worked in the Spring District, the other probably isn't going to as well. And of course some will be children. And many units won't have tenants who work in the Spring District at all.

My overall point is I'd like to see more residential development on the line. The stations south of Downtown Bellevue are basically a joke, unfortunately. Progressives may have just taken over the city council, but it's too late. The damage has been done and we'll have to live with it for decades to come.

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It hasn't happened much yet for some pretty good reasons.

First the recession, which hit at exactly the wrong time.

Second, Sound Transit isn't allowed to sell their land by the legislature. They bought at high prices, and can't sell for less than those amounts. All those fenced lots alongside Link are in that category.

Third, the TOD concept has to overcome what used to be a huge economic disadvantage in the south end (rent levels) and is still playing catch-up. Link hasn't turned its station areas into high-rent areas that easily justify development, but it has increased the desirability and rents of those areas substantially.

But it's changing. Othello North is a big sign. Columbia City has its second big TOD job underway with a third coming. Mt. Baker and Beacon Hill are further behind but have made some progress.

Momentum is key. Make a neighborhood a bit more residential, with a bit better services, and the next round is easier.

Guesstimating Newport's two tallest buildings....

The south building seems to be 14 stories if you measure from the north side garage, which extends maybe 50 feet north of the tower. If I guess that at 120' for 10 office floors (12' is very tight), 36' for four parking floors, and 15' for the rooftop enclosures, that would be 171'.

Just north of that, another building puts six office levels above 10 parking levels if you start at the bottom of the hill. Figure six office floors at 72', nine office floors at 89', and 15' equals 176'.

Or add 10' to one and 6' to the other if you assume 13' office floor-to-floors.

I walk to work in 10 minutes or less. The idea of commuting is horrifying to me.

Biking to Bellevue isn't that easy. The bridges are good but Downtown requires riding on major roads without bike lanes. The Spring District would be easier assuming you use 520. In bad weather it would be much worse. That's all fine on a summer weekend but I wouldn't be into it at 40 and windy or rainy.

Link will make it vastly easier of course. But that would be a longer walk, followed by a wait and a ride, then another walk. The opportunity would need to be really good to choose that over a similar opportunity that's only a walk. That said, being right at a station would be a big advantage vs. the other end of Downtown Bellevue for example.

As for Bellevue itself, it's certainly worth visiting. It's very international and pretty urban in some areas, despite the push buttons. I just don't go very often and when I do it's generally on a bike, not going into businesses.

That's a good point. They have 20 acres. It's hard to figure out comps for land (too many major variables) but I'd guess a few hundred per square foot, which would be hundreds of millions. The value probably gets pulled down for every block of distance from the rail station, but it's lifted by being a prominent corner.

With Sound Transit soliciting a TOD developer at the south end of their site, maybe we'll have a string of TODs someday.