Sharon spotted a new development project going through the permitting process at 1240 Midvale Pl N (that little triangle across the street from Fuerte Fitness, where 45th St forks, curves up and merges with 46th).
The project calls for “a four story structure containing 33 residential units above 2,300 sq. ft. of commercial space. Existing structure to be demolished.”
The existing structure is The Back Clinic.
An Design Review Early Guidance meeting will be held on October 13, 6:30 pm at the University Heights Comm Center (5031 University Way NE) in Room #209. The design proposal is not yet available.
The owner of the building is Joe Paar and the architect Kim Fong.
The Wallingford Community Council will be hearing from the developer and discussing the project at its meeting tomorrow night (Wednesday, October 1) 7:15 at the Good Shepherd Center. Everyone is welcome.
I encourage everyone in Wallingford to get involved with the Wallingford Community Council, as the work they do behind the scenes in dealing with developers is REALLY crucial in keeping Wallingford the neighborhood that is currently is. With the increase in development, they need your support! I was “fortunate” that during my tenure as Community Council VP, that development had slowed down, and was not overwhelming. Now that the economy has heated up again, it is more important than ever for people to be involved!
Lee, keep up the great work!!!
It’s quite sad that only apartments/condos are being built. Why aren’t houses being built? (I know the answer to that). This is just pushing us (mid-30’s decent waged couples) out leaving either the grandfathered in folks and the rich to live in Wallingford/Fremont/Ballard.
Uh oh…
Sarah, my sentiments exactly! I am for well-planned growth, after all Seattle is a fast (if not the fastest) growing city. But these micro-unit projects are not affordable or sustainable. Rental prices are skyrocketing, let alone buying… I’m also concerned about the strain on the infrastructure – especially the buses that are already overloaded (especially the #44 corridor) and Metro is struggling.
Since all projects in the city seem to follow the “ask forgiveness later” philosophy, AND the city seems to reinforce this approach, I think we should aim ahead of the curve and at least require this project to rehabilitate the triangular green-space across the street. Every time I walk past that little triangle I think about the potential for a mini park to be built there that can be enjoyed and permanently held as a micro park green space. If we can not stop the project let’s at least leverage them to enhance other parts of the neighborhood.
Noone has mentioned the new construction plan on Woodland Park at 44th.. decimating a fourplex for a much larger building. It is all around us.. I want to say “greedy pigs’ bit that wouldn’t be nice.
Just wondering if the “greedy pigs” are the landowners who cashed in in each of these cases? If you were a land owner sitting on high value LR or MR or NC zoned land, would you refuse to sell?
It does seem to be tiny apartments or HUGE houses that sell for a million. You can rent or you can leave. I understand wanting to get what you can when you sell (so you can afford to still live here?). I also understand the surveyor stakes that just went into what I thought was our side of the fence today. I’ve seen how ‘friendly’ new developments have been in my neighborhood so far. Not boding well. Not at all.
If you’re losing more than an inch or two and you have some spare money laying around unneeded, you could get your own survey. I don’t know if anyone ever does this, but if no one does, I guess they can just take what they want, right? A survey is expensive, though, and then if there really is something to dispute, that probably is just the beginning of the expenses.
Regarding Land Surveys: Surveys are required to be filed with the King County Recorders Office. You can see the image on-line at kingcounty.gov and get a certified copy in person at the King County Administration Builing downtown, and then compare it to your property’s legal description. Good Luck!
I agree with Jon and Lee. A vibrant and effective Community Council is one of our best resources for mitigating development. In the 15 years that I participated in multiple committees and projects, I had great successes like the Playfield, and some less than successful, like trying to get Hamilton a bigger home with a sportsfield, getting a larger library, or getting a community center. The failures are discouraging, but not over, and the successes really shine.
You will find a roadmap to all of this in the Wallingford Neighborhood Plan. Read it. It is legislation adopted by the City Council. The Council can, and should, be held accountable to the agreements represented by the Plan. The community was promised amenities to help deal with growth – open space, better transit, a community center, traffic and parking management. These have not been forthcoming.
City designated growth targets for our neighborhood were exceeded before the plan was complete. Twenty year targets set in 2005 have already been reached 10 years early. Not only are amenities NOT being delivered to mitigate the growth, the City and DPD appear to be trying to encourage even MORE growth by relaxing standards for parking, traffic mitigation, and open space even further. This is not fair.
There are still some folks at the City that feel Seattle’s distinctive neighborhoods are important to preserve. Development and growth will happen, but that is not to say it must be done strictly to benefit developers. We are seeing more growth than planned. Some owners are admittedly in it for the quick buck, but others sincerely want a successful project that contributes to the community. Growth happens, mitigation allows quality of life to maintain… but mitigation is not happening. The Wallingford Neighborhood Plan is the legislation that can make it happen.
Save Wallingford. Spay and neuter developers.
Wallingford needs to find a candidate for the new City Council Districts 4 and 6 who supports growth management and the neighborhood plan.
I think GregF would be an ideal candidate for a City Council district seat! Hope he will give it his fullest consideration.
Great and informative post, GregF! You’d get my vote if you ran for a City Council district seat!
Re: the outdated Wallingford Neighborhood Plan: Can we change laws to require a developer’s request/plans for development to be made public and have a public forum for community response before any approval happens? That, in itself would slow down developments and make them more representative of community interests – one would think.
Is there an Email address for the Wallingford Community Council?
The email address for the WCC president is [email protected] .
The WCC met with the developer and discussed this project at its meeting last week.
Fantastic news for the residents of Wallingford.
@Raven, Thank you for providing the KC survey link.