Construction

Outdoor basketball court at the RECC getting a makeover

May 25, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 9 Comments

The outdoor basketball court behind the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center is getting some work done.

Weather and contractor permitting, over the next week or so (starting Tuesday, May 27), apshalt-cracking tree roots will be removed, the playing surface will be repaired and leveled, and new standard-height hoops will be installed.

RECC users and visitors: The small parking lot off Ravenna Avenue NE will be closed during the project for staging equipment.

Workers began removal of the old basketball hoops on Thursday, May 22.

In case you’re not sure where it is, the RECC’s outdoor basketball court is tucked between the small parking lot off Ravenna Avenue NE and the tennis courts. The court lines are faded. The playing surface is uneven, cracked asphalt. The hoops are not set at a standard height.

RECC coordinator Tim Ewings tells us that last fall the Ravenna-Eckstein Advisory Council put the wheels in motion to get the project started, requesting funds for a 2014 capital project. The plan was approved (funds coming from the Associated Recreation Council who partners with Seattle Parks and Recreation to provide instructors), a project manager fleshed out the details, timing, and final pricing, and the work has begun.

In the event that the work schedule changes, we will post updates here.

Filed Under: Construction, Families, Kids, Open/Closed, Ravenna, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

So, about those boarded up houses at 15th and 65th…

May 5, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 21 Comments

With Tuesday’s Ravenna-Bryant Community Association spring community meeting roster including City Attorney Pete Holmes, we thought we’d take the opportunity to assemble some reading material about one Hugh Sisley.

We don’t know how much Holmes will be able to say about the city’s plans for collecting the three million dollars in fines owed by Roosevelt’s most well-known landlord. But we do know that there are strong feelings running very deep about Mr. Hugh Sisley, and providing a more focused review of the situation (in terms of current, property-related events) wouldn’t hurt.

Graffiti on one of Hugh Sisley’s properties. The words on the right read. “I [heart] urban decay.”

The following information focuses on Sisley’s properties in and vision for his corner of the Roosevelt neighborhood, his position as a landlord in the area, and his relationship with the City of Seattle.

Map

We’ve spent a few weeks over at the King County Parcel Viewer, looking up publicly-available property information for the map you see below. The cool-colored markers (and accompanying brown shapes) are properties where the primary taxpayer is listed as either Hugh Sisley, Hugh and Martha Sisley, or the Roosevelt Development Group.

View Properties around Roosevelt High School in a larger map

For more information about the map, including the description of the all symbols used, please open the map in a new window.

We will continue to add to it as we find more owners of multiple properties in the area.

Seattle Weekly articles

Earlier this year, the Seattle Weekly published a duo of articles on Mr. Sisley and his dealings (or non-dealings) with the city in terms of his housing-code violation cases and fines:

Seattle Weekly (January 10, 2014) “The Reign of Seattle’s Most Notorious Landlord Could Be Coming to an End”

The 86-year-old is facing a record $2 million fine that continues to increase at the rate of $1,600 a day, plus 12 percent interest. And now, after years of foot-dragging of its own, City Hall is finally moving to collect the debt. As officials launch a new initiative approved by the City Council to inspect every rental unit in town, City Attorney Pete Holmes is planning to recover what the stubborn rental king owes by confiscating prized Roosevelt properties held by the penny-pinching millionaire.

And then, a follow-up, just 10 days later: “Hugh Sisley’s Slumlord Tab Now $3 Million, City Says After Recalculation.”

Sisley, whose property is concentrated in the Roosevelt neighborhood, has amassed close to 200 code-enforcement cases dating to the 1980s, according to city records. Among them are violations for faulty wiring, unsafe conditions, insect infestation, junk storage, emergency situations, and unfit vacant buildings subject to demolition.

RR Hardware, on 15th Avenue NE. “Total chaos envelopes the customer who bravely ventures into this 1940’s holdover,” says one reviewer on Yelp.

hughsisley.com

For a glimpse at Hugh Sisley’s vision for Roosevelt, we need only get on the internet and time travel a bit.

Although hughsisley.com is no longer up and running, the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine has some snapshots stored from the days when it was. Here is the full archived selection, but we’ll point out a couple links to the two different forms the website took while it was live:

“Seattle’s Man of Vision” version from May 9, 2004

“Building Sisleyville” version from January 7, 2008

View of the progress (and the lack thereof) along NE 65th Street. Taken at 15th Avenue NE looking west.

As the Sisleys’ attorney Jeff Grant says in the first Seattle Weekly article mentioned above, “That’s really the story of Hugh and the Roosevelt Neighborhood today. Progress.” This sentiment is echoed strongly on the pages of the old hughsisley.com.

Old Fruit Stand block project

Roosevelt High School standing in the background between two of Sisley’s properties on the NW corner of 15th Avenue NE and NE 65th Street.

The Roosevelt Development Group, which has long-term leases with the Sisleys on many of their properties, is currently working with architectural firm GGLO on a project on one of the three small blocks just south of Roosevelt High School (in orange on the map below).

View NE Seattle Large Development Tracker in a larger map

Project #3013244 at 6505 15th Ave NE is described as a “seven story, 220 unit residential building with 8,000 sq. ft. of retail use at ground level. Parking for 267 vehicles will be located below grade. All existing structures to be demolished.”

Roosevelt High School stands in the background between the two buildings proposed for the Old Fruit Stand block. This view is looking north from NE 65th Street through the half-public, half-private plaza area. Taken from page 30 of the February 3, 2014 design proposal (click to download; 17 MB PDF).

The project is currently in the Review phase, and has been presented twice at Northeast Design Review meetings (Early Design Guidance meeting on August 6, 2012, and a Recommendation meeting on February 3, 2014).

You can view the project’s current permit activity and associated documents here. The design proposal presented at the February 3, 2014 meeting can be downloaded here (17 MB PDF).

At this time, initial information has been collected for a new construction permit, but not a demolition permit.

A graffito adorns a previously graffitied spot on the recently officially shuttered Funtiques (1512 NE 65th Street). We believe it is missing a question mark.

Filed Under: Construction, Department of Planning and Development, Photos, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Real Estate, Required Reading, Roosevelt, Roosevelt High School, Roosevelt Neighborhood Association, Roosevelt Rezone

Brenda the Boring Machine rededicated at Maple Leaf Portal (PHOTOS)

April 29, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 9 Comments

On Monday, April 28, the first of two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will carve the underground portion of the Northgate Link Extension was dedicated at Sound Transit’s Maple Leaf Portal site.

This was the last close-up opportunity for Brenda as the TBM is readied to start her journey underground to Roosevelt Station in June.

Brenda is not Big Bertha’s younger sister. No. Brenda is a veteran TBM, having already carved the paths between between Capitol Hill and the downtown transit tunnel wall in 2011-12.

She looks pristine on the outside now, but…

…on the inside, you can see Brenda’s experience.

Here’s where Brenda will start her journey: The Maple Leaf Portal, where the elevated light rail track leading south from the Northgate Station will head underground.

The right side of the wall pictured above is the southbound tunnel starting point where Brenda will shortly be moved to and start boring into in June. (Here’s Brenda starting to chew on the wall at the Capitol Hill Station a few years ago.)

The TBM’s 21-foot-diameter cutter head (the large green and yellow disc on the front of the TBM) is covered with teeth and holes, turns at a rate of 0.1 to 2.5 revolutions per minute, and can excavate an average of 40 feet of tunnel per day.

It’s also great for posing with.

View inside the cutter head. Here the tailings that have passed through the openings in the cutter head will fall, be carried out by this red screw conveyor, and moved through the body of the TBM.

This is the “trailing gear” that follows behind the TBM. It carries equipment for the boring machine and helps carry the spoils away from the machine. Altogether, the TBM and the trailing gear stretch out to the length of a football field.

As the TBM and the trailing gear carve the route to Roosevelt and beyond, supply trains will ferry equipment from the outside world down into the tunnels. Chief among their cargo will be the pre-cast concrete segments that compose the finished walls of the tunnel as well as provide a surface for the TBM to propel herself forward.

It is these supply trains, running along on metal rails down in the tunnels, that were judged responsible for the noise and vibrations experienced by residents in Montlake back in November 2011.

Good news for those living and working (and attending the UW) above the Northgate Link Extension tunnels: Vehicles equipped with rubber tires will be used this time around for underground deliveries.

Worm’s perspective of the cutter head.

Sound Transit has a great little video showing how tunnel boring machines work. It includes a cross-section graphic of the machine in action, as well as footage from previous excavations.

…

And here’s where we pause the photo essay to share with the Roosevelt neighborhood some potentially great news.

The old plan for tunneling south was for Brenda to dig one side of the route to Roosevelt Station, be trucked back up to the Maple Leaf Portal, and begin digging the other side of the route. Then a second TBM-to-be-named-later would join her in Roosevelt, where the pair would start their journey south to the University of Washington Station. Muck from the tunneling would travel up to the Maple Leaf Portal site and be hauled away there for Brenda’s solo drilling, but would be hauled out of Roosevelt Station for the remainder of the project.

Sound Transit’s Bruce Gray tells me that this may no longer be the case. Via email:

In the new plan the Contractor has proposed two TBMs going from Maple Leaf. The performance of the tunneling and the muck haulage will be closely monitored during the initial drive from Maple Leaf to Roosevelt. If all goes well, the two machines will continue on to UW with spoils removal and haulage continuing from Maple Leaf the entire time. If the new proposal does not perform as planned there could still be muck haulage and/or a third TBM launched from Roosevelt in order to meet the project schedule.

What this would mean for the Roosevelt neighborhood is that after the dump trucks bearing away the soil from the station excavation are gone, they’d be GONE. Muck from the entire Northgate Link Extension would come out the Maple Leaf Portal and be hauled away there.

Again, this new plan is not a given. And it’s going to be a while before anyone knows the contractor’s final decision. Once Brenda gets digging in June, it will take her 10-12 months to reach Roosevelt Station (via Sound Transit’s Gray). If the second TBM launches from the Maple Leaf Portal five months later in October, the pair won’t see each other in Roosevelt until August 2015 at the earliest.

To be continued…

Hey, Roosevelt: Remember when you rallied to bring light rail closer to the neighborhood’s core at 12th Avenue NE (over a station closer to I-5 on 8th Avenue NE)? On January 27, 2005, the Sound Transit board agreed with you, and the Roosevelt Station Alignment was chosen. Here, some stickers from that campaign pose with the machine that’s making it a reality.

A fragile bottle of dedicatory Washington apple cider sits in the shade along with TBM-signing Sharpies and commemorative pins.

The assembled crowd listens to officials during the dedication.

Sound Transit Board Member and City of Everett Councilmember Paul Roberts, and 46th District Representative Jessyn Ferrell, share a laugh during the dedication speeches.

Councilmember Roberts anoints the cutter head with a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage.

Then the signing began. Gathered participants were encouraged to write on the machine.

Some just signed their names.

There were a few drawings. And more than a few children’s names.

Stephen’s self-translated message read: “wish tunnel boring success!”

Representative Farrell’s signature joins the others on Brenda’s flank.

“Go straight. Go on-line. Go safely.” writes this Sound Transit staffer, as photojournalist Josh Trujillo also takes a picture.

A selection of signatures and good wishes for Brenda’s journey.

Sound Transit workers at the site wanted to get back to work, but didn’t mind standing around for a picture or two.

Members of the Sound Transit Northgate Link team pose en masse.

Onward.

Filed Under: Construction, Light Rail, Maple Leaf, Northgate, Photos, Roosevelt, Sound Transit, University District

Help Sound Transit develop light rail station symbols

April 6, 2014 by Oralea Howard 5 Comments

What single image would you use to represent the Roosevelt Light Rail Station? Or rather, what three adjectives and three landmarks you would use to describe the station area?

Sound Transit is developing “pictograms” to identify the new transit stations that are opening in 2016 and beyond. You can help by completing their Pictogram Questionnaire, open now through Monday, April 14.

First section of the Sound Transit Pictogram Questionnaire (click to start the survey).

From the survey:

Pictograms are intended to be station identification symbols for non-English audiences, primarily those that use a non-Roman based alphabet. To be effective, Sound Transit’s Link light rail station pictograms must meet these requirements:

Simple in form, and are an easily recognizable symbol

Readable at many scales; including signage, print material, online and mobile devices

Are individually distinguishable and read as a family

The pictogram may reflect the nature of the environment: neighborhoods, landmarks, geographic locations and may include points of interest around the stations.

Existing station pictograms — Westlake Station all the way south to SeaTac/Airport Station — were developed from points of interest around the station and in the community. Those points of interest were connected like stars in a constellation, and an image representing the station was developed.

The International District Station is a dragon. Pioneer Square is a ship. SoDo is an anvil. Westlake is… a tiara? I’ve always been curious and a little confused by these pictograms and admit to being pretty amused by this extremely thoughtful process (which we’ve heard that Sound Transit is NOT continuing for the new stations). Check out the “Stellar Connections” brochure explaining these transpo-constellations (1.1 MB PDF).

The University Link extension (Capitol Hill and University of Washington stations) are expected to open in the first quarter of 2016). The Northgate Link extension (U District, Roosevelt, and Northgate stations) are expected to be open for service in 2021. Approximately 8,000 daily riders are projected to board the train by 2030.

The other station on the pictogram survey is Angle Lake Station, set to open in 2016 south of the SeaTac/Airport Station at S 200th St.

Filed Under: Civic Envolvement, Construction, Light Rail, Northgate, Roosevelt, Sound Transit, University District

Maple Leaf Portal and Roosevelt Station construction (PHOTOS)

March 21, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 7 Comments

Blessed with some clear skies and lovely spring sunlight, we set out on Friday, March 21 to take some photos of the two Northgate Link sites seeing the most action right now: The Maple Leaf Portal and Roosevelt Station construction sites.

We’ve done our best to explain each scene and the work being done to the best of our knowledge. We will, of course, add additional information for more expert sources if possible.

Each of the photos below can be enlarged with a click of the mouse (or tap of the finger, mobile users).

Maple Leaf Portal

View from the NW corner of NE 92nd Street and 1st Avenue NE, looking north through the length of the Maple Leaf Portal (MLP) construction site.

View east from the same corner. Double dump truck headed to I-5 up NE 92nd Street.

View to the north from the NE 92nd Street overpass. The nearly reassembled tunnel boring machine (TBM) patiently waits its turn. (Here’s a Sound Transit picture of the inside of the TBM during reassembly.)

Zoom from the same location. Sound Transit recently set up webcams at the active Northgate Link construction sites. The camera surveying the scene at the MLP can be seen on the far left side of the photo above. To see what’s happening from the camera’s viewpoint, visit this here EarthCam page.

View from the NE 92nd Street overpass of northbound I-5 drivers all wishing they could be riding a train instead of driving. Another double dump truck headed out with muck from either the MLP or Roosevelt Station sites is traveling with them.

On 1st Avenue NE now. No construction wall here to obscure one’s view of all the equipment and work being done. Looking south a bit here at the TBM.

Looking north at a very large excavator depositing soil into a double dump truck.

Close up of the TBM’s teeth, catching the spring sunlight.

View of the whole cutter head of the TBM, with a worker conveniently seated on the ground nearby for scale.

Street sweeper in action. Common sight, cruising near both the MLP and Roosevelt Station construction sites. Part of the overall construction mitigation plan (457 KB PDF).

One of the pleasant side effects of doing reporting with a toddler around is that sometimes the construction folks wave and/or make faces. Thanks, guys.

Should you have any of your own small children or other construction vehicle fanatics in your circle of friends, there is a lovely viewing point on 1st Avenue NE at NE 95th Street which includes a cement wall perfect for sitting on. Perhaps with a sack lunch. Or a froyo.

Another nice side effect of carrying a cute kid around and using a big zoom lens is that people walking by say HI and ask what you’re doing. And sometimes these people are nice and understanding, and help you get even better pictures from their four floor apartment building. (Thanks, Tom!)

This is looking southwest at the “head wall” of the Maple Leaf Portal. You can see the NE 92nd Street overpass in the background. This head wall is where the TBM will begin its journey down to…

Roosevelt Station

Red crane “rabbit ears” behind the Dwell Apartments. This shot is taken from the parking lot of Roosevelt Square, looking north. We’ve been able to spot these red cranes from all over Northeast Seattle.

Hugh Sisley sighting.

Red cranes again. We’ve seen these machines used to move assembled slurry wall rebar cages from one area of the construction area (the Roosevelt Way NE side) to the others.

This is a large hydromill, used to dig the 130-feet-deep-plus slots into which the rebar cages are later lowered. Then cement is pored in, creating the “slurry walls” that make up the outer walls of the underground station. The walls of the station are built underground BEFORE excavation happens!

One of the rebar cages in some state of assembly.

Unlike the Maple Leaf Portal site, the Roosevelt Station area has many thick and tall construction walls up already. This is great for local residents — part of the construction mitigation which lessens noise and reduces dust — but not so great for taking pictures. Looks good, though. A Roosevelt High School-inspired green.

O HAI, double dump truck. Looks like you forgot to cover your load. *wags finger*

Construction-related vehicles have two entrances/exits at the Roosevelt Station site: One on 12th Avenue NE, and the other on Roosevelt Way NE. Above is a large truck backing out of the Roosevelt Way NE side with the help of a flagger.

A little local flair/signage on the site’s chain link fence. This temporary fencing along 12th Avenue NE will be replaced by more thick, green construction wall in the future.

Excavation work being done at what will be the southern entrance to the finished light rail station, on the NW corner of NE 65th Street and 12th Avenue NE. The piles of soil were steaming in the cool spring sunshiny air (though we suspect that part of this is due to heated water used in the excavation process — looking into it).

Another, smaller hydromill, working in the NE corner of the construction site (near where the northern station entrance will be located). Here, the jaws just emptied a load of soil into a mostly hidden dump truck.

Close-up, post dump. Look at those chompers!

Lots of cement trucks on this day. They were queued up three or four deep, waiting to their turn to pour.

Cement truck during a pour near the center of the construction site.

All vehicles leaving the site get a wheel washdown, another piece of the construction mitigation package.

Close up after the pour was finished.

Happy little cloud.

Cozy bit of sidewalk along the east side of 12th Avenue NE. The cement wall on the right side is the west side of the Roosevelt High School track and field.

Another part of the construction mine field that is now the Roosevelt neighborhood is a new 42-inch sewer main under 12th Avenue NE. You know those metal plates you drive over? This shot shows you how deep the hole goes underneath your tire.

Soil excavation at the southern end of the construction site, along NE 65th Street.

Excavated soil being transferred into an awaiting dump truck.

View from the east side of the site of the rebar cage construction.

More steamy soil, moving out.

Close-up of steamy soil. (It looked really neat in real life, as the clouds of steam were carried away by the breeze. Trust me.)

The NW corner of NE 65th Street and 12th Avenue NE. Decidedly closed sidewalk, but that doesn’t always stop Roosevelt High School students trying to cross the street at open campus lunchtime.

An empty double dump truck headed up 12th Avenue NE, ready to fill up with another load of excavated soil.

Filed Under: Construction, Light Rail, Maple Leaf, Photos, Roosevelt, Sound Transit, Traffic

Hot fashion trends out, hot sandwich shop in on the Ave (UPDATE)

March 17, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 3 Comments

This post is for you, neighborhood living UW students and staff.

Normally for new restaurant tips, we hit up the Washington State Liquor Control Board’s New Liquor License Actions web page for King County. But this time we happened upon one while browsing for construction permits for our NE Seattle Development Tracker page.

Potbelly Sandwich Shop appears to be renovating the old Pitaya clothing space at 4520 University Way NE (here’s the project page with the DPD).

Google Street View of 4520 University Way NE and a few extra storefronts to the north.

Potbelly currently has three shops in Seattle — two downtown and one on First Hill. They’re a national chain based in Chicago, Illinois with nearly 300 locations.

The Wikipedia summary of Potbelly’s offerings says:

Potbelly’s menu features a variety of sandwiches that are all served hot on regular or multigrain wheat bread. All sandwiches can be ordered “thin-cut” style, in which one third of the bread is cut out. Potbelly began offering salads in February 2007. The menu also includes soup, shakes, malts, smoothies, and cookies. Most restaurants feature live music from local musicians during the lunch hours.

You can read all about Potbelly’s Promise, Story (they started as an antique store?), Menus, and more at their website.

UPDATE (Tuesday, March 18): The Potbelly twitter account told us that they’ve got a couple new stores coming to Washington: One in Issaquah, in addition to this one on the Ave. The opening date for the Potbelly in our area is listed simply as “Summer 2014” so far.

Filed Under: Construction, Food, Restaurants, University District, Updates

New, ongoing feature: The NE Seattle Development Tracker page

March 12, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 9 Comments

“Crane and Land,” water color by Kathleen Coyle. Photo taken in Grateful Bread (7001 35th Ave NE).

There’s SO MUCH happening in Northeast Seattle in terms of large developments, we’ve decided to stop writing individual posts about them and give them their own PAGE.

We hereby introduce you to: The NE Seattle Development Tracker page, accessible from anywhere on the Ravenna Blog via a new tab (just to the left of our Search box).

For each development project listed on the map, you can find the following information:

Address
Main project number and link
Current permit activity link
Department of Planning and Development (DPD) documents page link
Description of the project in its final form (# of stories, apartments, retail square-footage, etc.)
Northeast Design Review Board link (to past and future meetings)
Design proposal PDF link
Website of the new project

Not all of the above information will be available for every project — some are far newer than others — but we’ll add new info and links as the projects progress.

View NE Seattle large development tracker in a larger map

Curious about a project you don’t see on the map yet? Leave a comment below with the address of the project (or contact us here, via web form). We’ll do our best to find more information to add to the map.

Filed Under: Businesses, Civic Envolvement, Construction, Department of Planning and Development, Light Rail, metablog, Northeast Seattle, Real Estate

NE Seattle YARNPOLCALYPSE is nigh (UPDATES)

March 5, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 5 Comments

Knit one, purl two, REPENT: For Northeast Seattle may be losing two independent yarn stores.

Acorn Street Shop, 2818 NE 55th St

Current Acorn Street Shop owner Karen Aho is retiring, and selling the shop. They’ve had some nibbles, says the shop on twitter, but as of this writing, there are no official takers. May might be the store’s last month if no buyers come forward.

Interested in owning your very own yarn store?* Contact Karen at acornstreet@msn.com.

Acorn Street Shop in early 2012.

More about the store from the Acorn Street Shop “About Us” page:

Acorn Street Shop was established in 1979 and began as a New England country store in nearby University Village Shopping Center. Soon the needlework department took over and Acorn Street became a full-fledged needlework shop. The shop has been under current ownership since 1986. In 1992, the business moved to its present location, just north of the U-Village, and the needlework merchandise has expanded to fill the old building up to its 15 foot ceilings!

Weaving Works, 4717 Brooklyn Ave NE

“Oh, if Acorn Street Shop closes, it will be sad. But there’s always Weaving Works down in the University District.” BUT FOR HOW LONG. The Weaving Works building is to be torn down and redeveloped into “a seven-story, 56 unit apartment building with 3,600 sq. ft. of retail commercial space at grade.”

There is no date set yet for the demolition, but the permit was filed on January 30, 2014.

Rendering of the proposed development at 4717 Brooklyn Ave NE. Click the image to download the entire proposal (8.2 MB PDF).

The most recent design proposal for the site (available above) was presented to the Northeast Design Review Board on July 15, 2013. It was passed unanimously. You can read the board’s full report from the meeting here (249 KB PDF).

We’ve contacted The Weaving Works for more information about the store’s future, and will post a reply here if/when we know more.

UPDATE (Wednesday, 7 PM): Good news about the future of The Weaving Works, via their twitter account:

@RavennaBlog We’ll still be here! Just in search of a new location.

— Weaving Works (@WeavingWorks) March 6, 2014

UPDATE (Monday, March 17): In the latest Weaving Works newsletter (PDF), the store announces that their annual Mother’s Day sale will be more of a Moving sale (to help make the move easier); however, they’re still keeping the new location under wraps.

Acorn Street Shop also holds an annual Mother’s Day sale.

____________

*Best possible place to work, in the event of an earthquake.

Filed Under: Businesses, Construction, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna, Real Estate, University District, Updates

Design Review Board meeting on the old Fruit Stand blocks (LIVE COVERAGE)

February 3, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 7 Comments

Tonight, Monday, February 3, the Northeast Design Review Board will meet to decide the next steps for the development of the “old Fruit Stand block” just south of Roosevelt High School.

The meeting takes place at 6:30 PM at the University Heights Community Center (5031 University Way NE, Room 209). There is a public comment period during the meeting, but it is only 20 minutes in length and not for Q&A-style discussions.

Ravenna Blog will be in attendance and providing LIVE COVERAGE below, starting around 6:30 PM.

Page 12 from the Roosevelt Development Group’s Design Review Recommendation presentation. Click the image to download the entire presentation (17 MB PDF)

The Roosevelt Development Group will be presenting their preferred project design (by Seattle architecture firm GGLO) for 6505 15th Avenue NE (Project #3013244) to the Northeast Design Review Board at tonight’s meeting.

Three different design schemes were presented during the early design guidance meeting on August 6, 2012. (You can find the notes from that meeting here.) Tonight’s recommendation phase design is the third of those three designs and features:

Approximately 221 dwelling units, in a mix of multi- and groun- level configurations;
7,500-square-feet of ground-level commercial space;
175 parking stalls, accessed from 14th Avenue NE;
Overall height of 7-stories (building heights ranging from 55 to 75 feet, depending on the slope of the property)

Jim O’Halloran, past Roosevelt Neighborhood Association Land Use Chair, had this to say about tonight’s meeting and the current design plans:

“Now that a zoning decision for the high school blocks has been made, and that a reasonably attractive building has been designed for the site with some engagement from the Community, let’s get on with it; build the building. If for any reason the project will be further delayed, then it is important that the existing decrepit building structures be removed without further delay. Allowing this sore spot to fester without near term improvement would surely undermine RDG’s relationship with the Community.”

Filed Under: Construction, Department of Planning and Development, Live Coverage, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Real Estate, Roosevelt, Roosevelt High School, Roosevelt Neighborhood Association

Upcoming Design Review Board meetings of note (LIVE COVERAGE)

January 13, 2014 by Rebecca Nelson 6 Comments

Two large development projects on NE 65th Street may before the Northeast Design Review Board in the next three weeks: The old Children’s Home Society of Washington land up at 33rd Avenue NE (recently sold to Polygon Northwest), and the old Fruit Stand block at 15th Avenue NE (owned by Hugh Sisley and leased to the Roosevelt Development Group).

Northeast Design Review Board meetings are held at the University Heights Community Center (5031 University Way NE, Room #209). You can see all upcoming meetings (and the links to their respective project information) at this Design Review Meetings page at seattle.gov.

For more information on these two particular projects (including links to design documents and their respective Department of Planning and Development permit pages), click on the map below.

View Jan/Feb 2014 NE Design Review Board meeting topics in a larger map

Ravenna Blog plans on attending both meetings and providing live coverage at ravennablog.com:

LIVE COVERAGE of the Monday, January 13 meeting (CHS of WA/Polygon Northwest) begins below around 6:30 PM.
LIVE COVERAGE of the (tentative-at-this-time) Monday, February 3 meeting (old Fruit Stand block/Sisley/Roosevelt Development Group) will be posted to a page-to-be-named-later.

Filed Under: Construction, Department of Planning and Development, Live Coverage, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Real Estate, Roosevelt, Roosevelt Neighborhood Association

Outdoor basketball court at the RECC getting a makeover

So, about those boarded up houses at 15th and 65th…

Map

Seattle Weekly articles

hughsisley.com

Old Fruit Stand block project

Brenda the Boring Machine rededicated at Maple Leaf Portal (PHOTOS)

Help Sound Transit develop light rail station symbols

Maple Leaf Portal and Roosevelt Station construction (PHOTOS)

Maple Leaf Portal

Roosevelt Station

Hot fashion trends out, hot sandwich shop in on the Ave (UPDATE)

New, ongoing feature: The NE Seattle Development Tracker page

NE Seattle YARNPOLCALYPSE is nigh (UPDATES)

Acorn Street Shop, 2818 NE 55th St

Weaving Works, 4717 Brooklyn Ave NE

Design Review Board meeting on the old Fruit Stand blocks (LIVE COVERAGE)

Upcoming Design Review Board meetings of note (LIVE COVERAGE)

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Seattle Weekly articles

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Old Fruit Stand block project

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Weaving Works, 4717 Brooklyn Ave NE

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