by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 11 August 2015
Last week, a big white Master Use Permit board went up on the building at 3519 Fremont Place North. For some, this may be the first they’ll hear of plans Daniel Stoner has carefully developed over the last few years – to build something “that will fit into the fabric of Fremont, to contribute to the community,” he said.
“I feel I am a steward of this corner,” Stoner explained, “and I feel a duty not to screw it up, seriously.” Stoner, and his company Parkstone Properties, has owned 3519 since 1995 (before the Lenin statue took up residence across the street). “It was the first investment property I bought,” he said, “my only idea was to fix it up and find out if I liked being a property owner.”
A Modest History
Stoner did fix up 3519, but regular maintenance can’t stop the inevitabilities of time. “I knew that this building had come to the end of its useful life,” he observed recently.
Stoner and his partners investigated the building, checking on its history and its place in Fremont, to help them decide if a substantial remodel (taking the building down to its exterior walls and foundation) or an entire rebuild would be best. Records showed them that the building started, in 1916, as a tile factory. One at a time, businesses came and went from there, including the Cascade Candy Company.
At the end of World War II, someone converted the factory into much needed housing, creating 12 oddly shaped, quirky apartments. Just before Stoner purchased 3519, the previous owner converted the basement into an even more quirky retail space that has housed a spectrum of businesses – used books, art gallery, healing medicine, boots, and now Gold Dogs boutique. Yet, through the research, Stoner said, “we realized [the building] had no historic significance, in materials, architect, occupancy, etc.”
That’s not its only drawback. “The building already occupies 80% of its foot print,” Stoner acknowledged, “but it does it in a really inefficient way.” Also, the first floor residential units have become difficult to keep rented. “No one wants to stay very long,” Stoner observed. Even after upgrading the windows, the spaces feel noisy.
Considered From All Sides
The new building, to be called Cubix, the first floor of 3519 will be retail/restaurant space that would benefit from the nearly endless foot traffic flowing past on the sidewalk, and drawing notice from drivers streaming past on the busy street. The upper floors would be residential, built to modern standards with significant sound and energy insulation.
The proposed building will be six-stories, mixed-use of 48 apartments, and approximately 2,800 square feet of restaurant/retail space. The ground floor will be for the commercial tenant, along with room for trash (recycling, food waste and garbage) receptacles, and a residential lobby off North 35th Street. The basement will have storage for 48 bicycles (along with a communal bike repair area,) storage for the commercial tenant, and laundry facilities.
This is Stoner’s first investment property, but not his first Cubix development. “We’ve done a number of buildings, inside Seattle and outside,” he acknowledged, learning about what works, what doesn’t, and how to navigate the process. He’s working through Design Review, and incorporating their suggestions along with those from fellow Fremont property owners and the Fremont Neighborhood Council.
Being in Fremont, Stoner also wants to incorporate art. “I am not an artist,” he admitted, “I have no idea what I am doing.” So, he worked with King County 4Culture to issue a Call To Artists last May. Out of 46 artists, the committee Parkstone Properties put together chose Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan. “They don’t know what they are going to do yet,” Stoner explained, but the two have a plan he feels enthusiastic about. They want to find out what Fremont means to people, what makes them think about Fremont, and what people think of Fremont. Stoner hopes everyone will talk to the artists. “We’d love to get the community engaged in this,” he said, “I want something that represents the quirk and playfulness of Fremont.” The best way to get that is through input from all of us.
Built For The Fabric Of Fremont
Stoner is a ‘build and hold’ landlord, which leads him to incorporate more far-sighted amenities – like easy access from the bike storage to the street, and plenty of communal viewing areas for events like the Fremont Arts Council Solstice Parade. What he couldn’t incorporate was parking. The building has never had off-street parking – and the new one won’t either. “It’s a very odd shaped site,” Stoner explained, and putting in a driveway to the basement takes up the space needed for turning a car into a parking space.
Fremont’s Cubix will offer small efficiency dwelling units, from 225 – 340 square feet, with windows that provide natural light and iconic views of the neighborhood. The first Cubix Stoner worked on in North Seattle rented out to different tenants than most might expect. “We assumed it would be all young people,” he said, “we were surprised to find we had a cross-section of all ages.” People rent these spaces to down-size, as their first place in Seattle, and, of course, as a place for those attracted to the activity and excitement that Fremont generates on a daily basis.
In the retail/restaurant space, Stoner looks forward to welcoming one or two new, vibrant businesses. While most of the buildings he owns are residential, in purely residential areas, he also owns retail strip centers and he knows what commercial tenants want. “I’m going to be very selective,” he said, “I think the interest will be strong there.”
“It is important that this building fit into the landscape of the neighborhood,” Stoner said, and to get there, Stoner hopes people here will engage. Next month, the latest plans for the building will go through another public Design Review – and the artists will be around the community, asking for input on the meaning of Fremont. Please give your input, and help Stoner create something that contributes to our community.
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