Sustainable townhomes going up on 25th Ave E

Sustainable builder Cascade Built is in the process of building a five-unit townhome project at 208 25th Avenue E, between John and Madison. The townhome will be sustainably built with reclaimed materials and will be energy efficient, with the goal of achieving a minimum 4-Star Built Green Certification. Two of the townhomes will target Passive House principles, a rigorous set of guidelines for reducing the ecological impact of a home, according to builder Cascade Built.

The townhomes will be three stories tall with three to four parking spaces off the alley. The building will wrap around a central courtyard.

Cascade Built's rendering of 25th Ave E development.

Cascade Built’s rendering of 25th Ave E development.

This project will be Cascade Built’s second Passive House project following their Park Passive development, Seattle’s first certified Passive House. Cascade Built is no stranger to the neighborhood: the builder has constructed multiple projects in the area, which was the neighborhood of owner Sloan Ritchie for 15 years. Recent projects here include the Alley House, Seattle’s first LEED Platinum single family residence and Alley House 2, Seattle’s first LEED Platinum Modularly constructed home.

As part of the permitting process, the city opened a public commenting period. Several residents wrote letters raising concerns about the number of parking spaces, hoping Cascade Built will add more so that street parking competition doesn’t increase. Owner Ritchie says he has no plans to add more parking spaces and is instead hoping to encourage walking and public transit use.

“We are building five units on this in-fill multifamily lot, as we are strong proponents of increasing density in the inner city transit-oriented walkable neighborhoods such as this.  As for parking, we are in compliance with city requirements for minimum parking provisions, as a result of a parking requirement reduction because of the lot’s proximity to public transit, including a major bus lines and a Zipcar located nearby,” Ritchie says.

Cascade Built says it’s difficult to estimate a completion date at this point but that they’re aiming for a summer 2014 finish date.

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