Concerned business and property owners around Leary and Ballard Avenues Northwest may have won their battle with Teutsch Partners, a development firm who plans to build a 150-unit assisted living and retail development, the Ballard Landmark Inn, at the old Wilson Ford dealership site on Leary Avenue Northwest.

A group of citizens who call themselves the Downtown Ballard Neighborhood Association (DBNA), have been concerned the new development will not adequately meet the parking needs they think it will create in an area already short of parking.

In 2001, Teutsch Partners acquired a Master Use Permit with the site when they bought it from a previous developer who had planned to build a 145-unit multi-family and lower level retail building at the site.

The DBNA believe Teutsch partners should apply for a new Master Use Permit because parking and traffic impacts have not been evaluated for the new project.

The pressure was too much and at a public meeting last Thursday, Teutsch Partners announced they would add 44 stalls of additional parking to the required 75-stall garage and apply for a new Master Use Permit from the city, which will include a State Environmental Policy Act to evaluate potential environmental impacts.

"Our planner felt like the project had changed substantially from what had been previously reviewed with the multi-family project," said Alan Justad, media relations manager for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.

"We are trying to be sensitive to the communities needs," said John Teutsch, of Teutsch Partners." We want to be a part of this community."

Fewer parking stalls than living units are required for assisted living facilities because only about 25 percent of the residents have vehicles, said Leon Grundstein, president of GenCare Senior Living, the assisted living company that will manage the residents of Ballard Landmark Inn.

Still, many of those at the meeting were not persuaded that 119 parking stalls in the facilities underground parking garage would meet the parking needs of the residents, their visitors and customers shopping the building's retail stores.

There will be an added monthly charge of $40 to $60 for residents to use the facility's parking, and the average age of residents will be about 82, said Grundstein.

Grundstein, who has ownership in nine other assisted living facilities in the greater Seattle area, said he believes all of the residents with vehicles would pay for a parking spot.

"At that age, they aren't interested in parking on the street," he said. "They like the safety and convenience of a parking garage."

Grundstein said they only expect about 10 to 15 visitors per day, and designated free parking would be available to them in the building's garage. He guessed a little more than half of them would be driving.

About 7,000 square feet of retail is planned for along the west side of Ballard Avenue, and 3,000 square feet of retail on the east side of Leary Avenue.

Teutsch explained that the retail on Leary Avenue would be related to resident's needs and their intention for retail on Ballard Avenue would be complimentary to other shops along the historic street. No restaurants will be allowed, as they usually require a lot of parking, he said.

Free, designated parking for shoppers would be available in the building's garage as well, said Teutsch.

Grundstein said most of his assisted living developments are also in the center of busy business districts like Ballard because the residents like the convenience of being able to walk to almost any service they need.

"They put a lot of money into the community," he said, adding that many of the residents who have vehicles often opt to use the facilities transportation services.

As part of their monthly fee, GenCare residents have access to one to three meals a day, housekeeping, social and recreational activities and transportation to take them anywhere they need to go.

The new facility is primarily an independent living community, and as part of the GenCare standard, about 90 percent of the residents will come from within a 5-mile ring of the site, said Grundstein.

Many at the meeting wanted to make sure the new building won't look out of place on historic Ballard Avenue.

Kevin Ryden, a principal with Hewitt Architects, the firm designing the building, said they have been working closely with the Ballard Landmark Association to construct that part of the building to fit in with the architecture of other buildings in the historic district.

Construction is expected to take 15 to 18 months. A design meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12 and there will be opportunity for formal public comment in mid-January. The Ballard Landmark Inn will be located at 5433 Leary Ave. N.W.