Nick writes:
So I live on 43rd St just off of Stone Way. Last week, my fellow apartment dwellers and I discovered some unfortunate news. Our landlord plans to demolish our buildings and the one next door that houses the somewhat new “Oom Yung Doe” dojo to build a huge, ‘4 story, 92 unit apartment building with floor retail and below grade parking’. You know one of those ugly buildings popping up everywhere and not finding any tenants or retail to fill them.
If this wasn’t bad enough we didn’t hear this from our landlord. Instead we found out by the land use action signs placed along our property. Some of the tenants have tried to contact him with no response from him. My girlfriend and I have lived here for almost two years and have made this place our home. We have a great garden and enjoy living in the neighborhood. I hate the idea of moving. The design review meeting is this Monday and most of us in the buildings are going to go. It seems like this meeting will be our only chance to get more information.
That sucks, Nick, sorry to hear it. The puzzle to us is why they’re knocking down a functional building when they’re got a festering pit dying to become a building just down the street.
Update: Nick attended the design review meeting and reports:
The good news is that because of the bureaucracy involved in building anything in this city, our home won’t be destroyed for at least another 18 months. The design proposals really don’t seem to fit any neighborhood needs. It was just a very disappointing meeting to go to.
Sorry to hear about the impending dislocation; on the bright side, you’ve got time. :/
Are the two building at Stone and 45th filled yet? It seems like there’s a lot of vacancies/for sale signs in the new condo and townhome contruction along 45th (across from Sea Monster, on Meridian, etc) Seems like every month brings a new For Sale sign to the lawn.
What’s the latest on the mosquito breeding pit thatQFC dug at Stone and 40th, anyway? ^_^
Aside from being a local Realtor, my wife and I help manage the 2 apartment buildings kitty corner from the proposed building. Our buildings: Pickering Place and Howard Park rarely have vacancies…but our we’d love to offer our neighbors a tour when it comes time to find a new home. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the developer for the 43rd & Stone project focuses on senior housing. I couldn’t attend the community meeting…so I’m not sure if this is the plan for the project in question.
In response to kerrizor and his/her observation of more frequent ‘for sale’ signs in Wallingford…you might also notice ‘sold’ signs adorning them more quickly and frequently. Sales are indeed picking up. Yes, values are down still…but that’s to be expected.
Lastly…being a not too distant neighbor of the QFC pit, I did my own recon mission last summer. QFC still plans to develop that spot though it may be apartments on top of the store instead of condos. I’ve noticed surveyors out at that location recently, so perhaps they’re starting to move forward…albeit slowly. They also have a proposed plan to develop a massive mixed use project in Uvillage…but like every other company in the last two years, money isn’t necessarily flowing.
Seattle Times wrote about it saying RD Merrill is the developer, who are known for senior housing (merrill gardens), but they aren’t planning for this to be a senior project. They also don’t plan to redevelop the property until the market improves which could be a long time. They are just getting ready to do it since it takes so long to get permits.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009274334_webmerrill28.html
In regard to Phil’s comments and his management of the adjacent properties. I believe that all of Howard Park’s retail space still sits empty. And the Pickering places retail isn’t much better. The almost entirely shuttered dentist office store front is doing wonders for the neighborhood. There just seems to be so much retail space in Wallingford that sits empty. That corner of 45th and Stone is just one great example. With the Starbucks gone and entire 4 floor building on the other corner almost entirely empty.
My husband and I were in a similar situation a few years ago: Our landlord tried to kick us out so they could demolish our rented house and sell it to a condo developer. We discovered there are some excellent tenants’-rights laws on the books in Seattle that prevent landlords from doing such things without some compensation to tenants. We ultimately negotiated very reasonable terms (I believe we got our full deposit back and didn’t pay last month’s rent) and agreed to leave posthaste. Your mileage may vary (there are a lot of factors involved in how/when various laws apply), but it’s certainly worth checking out the legal issues just in case.
I’d recommend starting here: http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?d=CODE&s1=22.206.160.snum.&Sect5=CODE1&Sect6=HITOFF&l=20&p=1&u=/~public/code1.htm&r=1&f=G (search for “Just Cause Eviction”).
Good luck!
Jenny
John…I was speaking to the residential vacancy (which is what I handle) but your point is still valid. As for the retail under Pickering and Howard. 3 of 4 spaces are under long leases. Yes, the one empty space at Howard will likely take a while to fill. Commercial leasing isn’t my arena so I actually have no idea what the forcast is.
While the dentist’s blinds might not add to the aesthetic value of Stone Way…I’m sure the patients appreciate them. They’ve been a tenant for nearly a decade and seem to be doing well. 🙂 The other commercial tenant at Pickering actually adds a lot of value to the community…though they fly under the radar. Walk past First Pick Games on a week night and you’ll likely see it packed with gamers of some sort. Pretty unique business for the neighborhood. And then an architect leases one of the 2 spaces at Howard.
I think the ultimate point is not so much: ‘is the stone way portion of wallingford thriving or not?’ because it seems to be doing fairly well. It’s more an issue of will businesses that stray from Stone Way’s industrial roots ever succeed? Clearly 45th does well for restaurants and shops. But once you get further west to Stone, it turns into more blue collar businesses/construction supply companies, etc. (in general). Stone’s proximity (or lack thereof) to the Wallingford core proposes challenges to a thriving business (see Sbux, Jamba Juice, Besa del Sol, etc.)
Tutta Bella is bucking this trend and we’ll have to see how Archie’s does.
Thoughts?
No offense Phil but I would never entertain the thought of moving into one of those buildings. Where would I put my garden, where would I hang my laundry, or entertain my friends dogs. That is what made this space so special. It was an affordable apartment that had all these small details. These details get lost in these huge structures. There is no uniqueness to them. I love the small community my fellow tenants and I have created and I will miss being a part of the neighborhood. That is what is so unfortunate; that due to develop and rental prices it is just impossible to find an affordable place with these nice small details. Instead the big property developers are pushing people into these crammed, bland apartment buildings. It just makes me sad.
I can’t believe I have to defend my dentist twice in one day on this blog.
Seriously John, that “almost entirely shuttered” dentist storefront is doing wonders for my teeth, if not the neighborhood. The blinds are there to prevent people from staring through the window while I’ve got my feet in the air and sharp tools in my mouth. Is that really so hard to understand? Just because you don’t patronize a business doesn’t mean it’s underutilized or invaluable.
Is there a glut of empty commercial space? Yep. This is, after all, a recession. Doesn’t make much sense to pick on the businesses that are staying open and adding value.
And jeez Nick, the guy was trying to offer a hand and you punched him in the face. Maybe a simple “thanks for the offer, I’ll let you know if I’m interested” would have sufficed.
I said “no offense”. All kidding aside I just wanted to illustrate what makes my home so special to me. And how it will be very hard to replace. I guess I did not look at it as an offering hand but as a potential opportunist taking advantage of my bad luck. Chuck your comments have settled me down I realize I may have jumped to this conclusion. Thank you Chuck and Phil, thanks for the offer, I am need a helping hand sooner than latter.
No offense taken. I usually anticipate blog interactions to be a bit more heated than if we were to all grab a pint at Blue Star and discuss the development of our favorite neighborhood.
As for me being an opportunist…I am a realtor after all…that’s how I put food on the table! But in regards to my help at the apartments…I don’t get bonuses for vacancy rates (or anything else for that matter)…so I wouldn’t profit from Nick or anyone else living there. And Nick, I too would prefer garden/dog space and some of the more homey aspects that larger developments can’t/don’t provide.
But here’s the reality: Seattle’s population is growing constantly. Why wouldn’t it? It’s sweet here! The city sees this and is paving the way (no pun intended) for developers to build mixed use projects, taller buildings and homes that encourage desnsity (see town homes). So the question…which I’d like to hear back on…is what will we do to adapt? We could move to the ‘burbs. But for my wife and I who feel called to be in the city where culture flows out of…we have to accept it and find ways to make our nest in a home that gives us the same warm and fuzzies that Nick’s does.
Thoughts?
Unfortunately, Phil, high turnover means shorter-term residents, which negatively impacts the community. Instead of helping developers build cheaper cookie-cutter housing projects that increase density without providing needed services, we should be promoting density that encourages and support long-term residency, walkable neighborhoods, and desirable amenities.
Its so bizarre, coming from strong communities back east, to classify what Seattle in general has as “community” — Wallingford is pretty special that way, and I hate that things impact it as much as they do.
Right. I agree. The question is what do you see as the answer to development that ‘promotes density and supports long-term residency, walkable neighborhoods, etc?’
One of my favorite parts of Seattle is how we’re surrounded by water. But that also means any development is going to go ‘up’. Taller buildings, I mean. There is no land to sprawl out in the city. My reason for saying this is that as our city grows…we face the reality of development. But it sounds like your concern is more on the quality of development?
As for advancing past the cookie-cutter housing projects…I think our current downturn is most certainly weeding the cookie-cutter builders out. Gone are the days when you can throw up some walls, sell quickly and make a profit. Very few builders will be left standing in a few years and they will have to adapt to the demands for quality.
As a long-time resident of Wallingford, I am a little hesitant to embrace too much change. However, I think change is great if it is done properly. This is a great opportunity to add to the Stone Way landscape. No offense to Nick, but those buildings do look a little tired, and I bet it will cost a tremendous amount of money to keep them functional in the future. I think I remember work crews there a few years ago doing some major renovations and I know I have seen workers around there on a regular basis since then. Also, while the apartments do look like they creat a nice community, the building next door is hideous. Maybe they could just develop half of the block 🙂
On another note, the commercial space the developer plans on putting in is a requirement of the City. I bet if you asked them their preference would be no commercial space at all. I didn’t go to the meeting, so I am not sure how much commercial they are planning on, but I do agree, the last thing Stone Way needs is more empty commercial space. I guess the bright note is that the developer doesn’t plan on building until the market improves.