The current design, which finally won approval April 3 from the S.W. Design Review board shows the north building of the three, with a rooftop deck (that top floor was excised from the previous design) and with larger gaps between the buildings.
It took five meetings, numerous cosmetic changes and the loss of an entire floor of one proposed building but the massive 134-unit, 450 foot mixed use apartment/retail building intended for 3210 California Ave. S.W. finally got approved on April 3 by the S.W. Design Review Board. The building will contain 152 parking spaces.
The current design, which will no doubt go through some further changes, is available online but it's a large file at 149 mb.
Neighbors to the project and others were in attendance at the meeting and heard from Boyd Pickerell of Nicholson Kovalchick Architects about the changes that took so long to make. It was all about height, bulk and scale.
Essentially the design team took the northern most building and removed the top floor plus set back the upper stories of the middle and southern buildings. They also reduced the size of the buildings by making the gaps between the three structures 25 feet.
With the top floor of the north building removed, it created an opportunity to establish a rooftop deck.
Color changes were discussed and the additional use of masonry was part of the presentation.
The somewhat controversial "bridge" that would link the middle and south buildings won a board vote.
For the most part, the changes were well received with most public commenters expressing support for the project with one noting that it would create a retail center there and "help tie the Admiral Junction and the West Seattle Junction together. Some however had remaining doubts about the colors, and the seeming urgency to get the project approved at this meeting.
With the same developer now in the planning stages for a similar project across the street at 3211, the pace of large scale development in West Seattle continues.
