Community Post

Yet more “six packs” and “two packs”

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Subdvisions of house lots for townhouses are still coming thick and fast.

This week’s crop:

2518 E UNION ST: only divide into two!

116 25TH AVE E: divide into six

126 21ST AVE E: divide into two

126 25TH AVE E: six of them.

0 thoughts on “Yet more “six packs” and “two packs””

  1. I’d add a couple of things.

    First, I live in a townhouse (split level front and back) and don’t apologize for it. My house was built in 2001 and I think is about as tasteful as it could be. Let’s not forget that townhouses get us to the holy grail of seattle urban planning–density (insert seeing the light sound).

    Second, I agree some townhouses are better than others. I often wonder what we’ll think about these huge townhouses 30 years from now. My gut tells me our kids will liken it to pegged pants, terrible bangs, and mullets.

    I do want to mention that the townhouse you called out on 25th appears to be one with a unique design (curved roof, etc). I’d also mention the other on Union, b/w 27th and MLK, which is a “two pack”.

    In sum, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Remember, density (insert seeing the light sound).

  2. I too live in townhome. 1000 sqft and built in 1993. I think it is well designed. There is a difference between subdivision of a lot and those ubiquitous cookie cutter 4-packs and 6-packs which usually do not fit in well. The current code pretty much mandates what we are getting now. I’m not in love with what was built across the street, although I love the new neighbors and the fact that many have children. But, it’s a one-off, unlike some blocks of Squire Park and whole areas of North Seattle, and we have a lot of old good, bad and ugly all mixed together in our neighborhood.

    CORA has done a wonderful presentation on the proposed MultiFamily Zoning Update that will allow architects to design the structures and also provide administrative design review with citizen comments. They are willing to present to neighborhood groups.

    http://coranw.blogspot.com/2008/09/townhouse-presentation-su

    I went to one of these presentations and found out that when we see the big boards go up for subdivision, there really has been no point in public comment because what is being done is perfectly according to code and cannot be changed by public comment. Those requests for comment are an artifact of laws that don’t make sense now. Plus, a plot plan really doesn’t show what is planned to be built.

    In future, with ADR, I would like to see a ‘big board’ outside of new proposed sub-divisions with pictures of the three submitted design options. We need reasonable densities. People need somewhere to live. New townhome construction can be an amenity to our built environment.