As CDNews member Wave reported on this site last summer, the Bullitt Foundation had been planning to replace the small C.C. Attle’s building with “a building that performed a series of technically rigorous functions in geology, hydrology and solar applications.”
With the first design review scheduled for this week, we’ve got our first look at what they were talking about:
It’s a hyper-efficient five-story office building. Overall the project would go beyond the standard 65′ height limit for that property, including an extra 10′ to allow more daylight into the five stories.
The preferred design outlines three separate commercial spaces at ground level with entrances off of 15th, and entrance to the offices up the hill on the Madison side:
The roof and south wall along Pike Street hold a ton of solar cells, good for up to 261,000 kilowatt-hours per year. The average single-family house consumes about 60,000 kilowatt-hours per year, so that would be enough to power more than four homes.
The developer is also exploring whether they could turn that block of 15th Avenue into a park boulevard, and remodel the small triangular McGilvra park across the street there to include different plants, more seating, and “an innovative wastewater and stormwater treatment system for the overall project.”
You can learn more and put in your comments at the design review this Wednesday.
Although I understand there will be a lot of folks that will be sad to see CC Attles gone, this is an exciting opportunity to do some cutting-edge sustainable building. I look forward to seeing this project become a reality, and I love that it’s happening right up the street from my house.
seattle is just loosing so much character. it’s all new buildings and such…portland is a great example of keeping the oldness alive.
i actually think that portland is a good example not of preservation, but of creating NEW that fits in with OLD. The pearl district is awesome this way, embracing both its history and its modernity with cutting edge new modern buildings. it doesn’t have to be either/or.
I guess we will replace all the older buildings with “personality” and “history” and meaning with a wiped clean slate of things we like even more, new glamorous places so we will be just like Freemont, Belltown and eventually Bellevue. Oh well, Orange County is coming our way!
It seems that the 65′ limit is made to be broken in Seattle, especially on Broadway or Madison — consistent with Capitol Hill transition to an extension of downtown. Which is cool, all of us want that. ;)
I will admit that CC’s has personality in terms of a business, but the building does not. Let’s not romanticize something that does not exist…
its a darn shame that nothing close to this in terms of quality, vision and jobs has been proposed for the Rainier Valley. It’d be interesting to know why we can’t attract development like this down to the valley.
I think many of our valued CD neighbors have been forced out due to redevelopment, and I know of more than a few that have relocated to the Rainier Valley. Though I am saddened by quite a bit of the old and valued CD buildings having been removed and replaced, I also think that we have to expect that this trend will continue. Best we can hope for is to keep aware of zoning popsal, building permits, etc, and to try ( as a community ) to work together and with developers to preserve what means the most to us. Working through and past such problems as the proposed rehab house, can make a big difference in whether or not many of us can continue to live here, and continue to work to preserve our neighborhoods. Still, I suspect we will see more of us needing to shift towards the Rainier Valley.
As to why more such growth can not or has not been directed towards the Rainier Valley, I would say that there already seems to have been substantial recent growth. One smaller example is that of the old Low income housing ( along MLK ), which was saddly bulldozed to make way for private development ( housing and businesses ), I have seen substantial redevelopment at both ends of MLK and Rainier Avenue, and suspect that the addition of the new street cars line will open more property for growth as the economy improves.
cgstine33: I disagree completely. Part of what makes CC’s so special *is* the space.
And I want my ashes scattered at the triange park in front of the lot, so I hope they don’t change that too much.
Crime is why there’s none of this in that area. Fairly simple.
Hello!
I’m doing a research project on that triangle lot (McGilvra Park). I was wondering why you want your ashes spread there (if you don’t mind sharing). We’re studying the history of the park and community.
Thanks!