On Monday, August 8th, neighbors filled a meeting room at the Good Shepherd Center to hear about, and comment on, a proposed 7-story office building for 900 N 34th St, to be built under the Living Building Pilot Program. This would be the third building built under this program (and the second in Fremont,) which requires the structure to meet very high, very strict standards of energy conservation and sustainability.
The building proposal to the Design/Review Board was given by CoU LLC, the ownership partners currently building across Troll Ave from 900, at 744 N 34th St. The architects, Weber Thompson, also designed 744 as well. The presentation as given can be seen as a .pdf from Seattle.gov.
The presenters did explain that their original presentation changed based on input from residential neighbors, sidewalk users, and commercial tenants in the area. They’ve also included, although city standards don’t require it, 21 vehicle stalls, 77 bike storage units and public parking for 12 bikes. They’ve also considered in their plans the major landmarks in the vicinity as well as the ‘lower case l landmarks’, multi-modal transportation around the area, the steep grade of the site and the wide building set-back required.
The proposed building included view corridors for neighboring buildings, creative use of storm water off the roofs, decks and Aurora Bridge surface, and activated pedestrian areas. They’ve also asked for departures from zoning standards with increased structure height, in order to provide more daylight inside the structure (using less electric light,) and permission to remove a mandatory loading area (required on commercial structures) on the back alley of the building.
Members of the Design/Review Board asked for clarification about the ‘ambitious’ water plan, the argument against the loading dock, the practicality of some of the office spaces, and that no fixed tenants are signed on for the space.
Public comments included many in full support of the project – specifically for removal of the loading dock. The builders were also commended for their outreach efforts, for considering the experience of pedestrians, and for their dedication to responsible storm water management.
Several commenters spoke against the project – or asked for more information. As one commenter observed, so much of what was said in the presentation and by the Board, was difficult for simple laymen to understand. Still, neighbors to the north spoke passionately about the negative impacts this building could have on their views and their equity. The increased height request drew criticism, along with the scale of entire project.
The Design/Review Board Chair ended the comment period by explaining that they appreciated all the comments. They would not be making decisions on the zoning departures at this meeting. Also, as this was an Early Design Guidance meeting, there will be another public meeting in the future as the design is enhanced and refined.
Find more details about this project on the Seattle.gov website.