The Ballard Avenue Landmark District Board approved a design proposal last week for a new 146-unit senior housing facility on Ballard Avenue Northwest after the developers, Teutsch Partners, altered their original plan to meet the historic district's guidelines.

The Ballard Landmark Inn is a mixed-use development for an assisted and independent living facility at the site of the old Wilson Ford dealership in the Ballard Avenue Landmark District; an area the city of Seattle has designated to retain its historic character.

New construction or design changes to buildings in this district that are visible from public right of ways like a sidewalk or an alleyway requires approval from the landmark board. Last year, Teutsch Partners were told the project's preliminary scale and materials didn't meet the board's guidelines, said Heather McAuliffe, director of the Ballard Avenue Landmark District Board.

It was first proposed to add five stories 12 or 14 feet back from the roofline of the Wilson Ford building, but buildings in the Ballard historic district have a consistent pattern of heights ranging from one to three stories, McAuliffe said.

"(Also), the materials they proposed were not compatible with the historic district," she said.

Originally, plans called for concrete masonry units, but a new plan presented to the board last week by David Hewitt, a senior principal at Hewitt Architects, utilizes mostly stucco and brick masonry units as primary materials, which are common in the district.

The revised plan includes a three-story addition above the Wilson Ford building 20 feet back from the facade and a four-story additional approximately 20 feet further back.

New buildings should be no taller than 50 feet, according to the historic district's guidelines. The new design meets the height restrictions and the board said the tiered additions would be adequate in reducing the scale of the building.

The plan includes partial demolition and restoration of the existing Wilson Ford building and construction of a new three-story brick facade structure north of the showroom over an existing parking lot on Ballard Avenue. The new, three-story building will stand no taller than 42.5 feet.

Except for the portion along the southern 50 feet of Ballard Avenue, the Wilson Ford building will be demolished for new construction due to severe deterioration. The northern 50 feet of the Ballard Avenue facade will be demolished and reconstructed to match its original early twentieth century conditions, including dimension, scale, color and texture.

"The intent is that it will look just like the original storefront," said Hewitt.

The developers said they plan to use an early photo of the building from city records to ensure accurate restoration.

Two properties that are now occupied as parking lots adjacent to the historic building will also be a part of the project.

A new five-story wood frame structure will extend along Leary Way Northwest above a one-story, concrete commercial base. The new structure along Ballard Avenue will have a three-story portion that will include two stories of senior residences above a one-story retail use. There will be about 6,300 square feet of retail use at street level along Ballard Avenue and 2,600 square feet along Northwest Leary Way.

Two levels of underground parking will be built with 102 new parking spaces, exceeding the 64 spaces that are required. Last year, Teutsch Partners agreed to install additional parking after residents and business owners said they were concerned the new development wouldn't provide enough parking for its tenants and retail customers.

Board member Mathew Wasse said he was concerned that the east side of the four-story addition on Ballard Avenue could be seen from Leary Way, making it technically within the board's jurisdiction.

The east side of the four-story addition is separated from the six-story structure on Leary Way with an open courtyard.

But McAuliffe told Hewitt that undetermined restoration and design details wouldn't "hold them up."

"Since the board has approved the project...they can then get their building permit immediately," said McAuliffe.

The board will review those details along with restoration of the west facade of the Wilson Ford building at a subsequent meeting yet to be scheduled.

The Ballard Landmark Inn project would be located at 5433 Leary Way, which is mid-block between 22nd Avenue Northwest on the northwest and Northwest Vernon Place on the southeast.