A Land Use Application has been filed with the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections to allow a 5-story, 77-unit apartment building with 73 apartments, 4 small efficiency dwelling units, and office at 9208 20th Ave SW.

No parking is proposed. The existing building would be demolished. Early Design Guidance conducted under 3036618- EG.

The full design proposal is here

The project is being designed by architectural firm Atelier Drome.

MEETING INFORMATION 

Date: 

Thursday, July 01, 2021 

Time: 

5:00 PM 

Location: 

Meeting: https://bit.ly/mtg3036513 

Listen Line: 206-207-1700 Passcode: 187 348 4398 

Comment Sign Up: https://bit.ly/Comment3036513 

All meeting facilities are ADA compliant. Translators/interpreters provided upon request. 

Contact the Public Resource Center at PRC@seattle.gov or (206) 684-8467 at least five business days prior to the meeting to request this service. 

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT 

SDCI will accept written comments on the design to prepare for the Design Review Recommendation meeting through June 30, 2021. Submit all comments and requests to be made party of record to PRC@seattle.gov or City of Seattle – SDCI – PRC, 700 5th Avenue, Suite 2000, PO Box 34019, Seattle, WA 98124-4019. 

PROCESS 

A Design Review application for future development of this site has been submitted to the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI). This second stage of Design Review is the Recommendation phase. At the Design Review Board Recommendation meeting, the following occurs: 

1. Presentation by the applicant about the proposed design and response to the previous Early Design 

Guidance meeting(s). 

2. Comments by the public regarding the design of the new development.* 

3. Deliberation by the Design Review Board providing their recommendations on the design to SDCI. 

*Please note that public comment at the Recommendation meeting is limited to design considerations. 

(If environmental review is triggered, comments related to environmental impacts, such as traffic, parking, noise, etc. may be sent to SDCI following notice of that review.) 

From the Early Design Guidance proposal:

CONTEXT + SITE

The project is located in the Westwood Highland Park residential urban village, a neighborhood currently in transition since much of it was up-zoned through recent HALA legislation. A mixed area, comprised of primarily single family and low rise zones served by pockets of commercial zoning clustered along Delridge Way SW and also Westwood Village Shopping Mall to the west; the urban village serves as both an anchor for the Westwood Highland park neighborhood, and an intersection point for much of the expanding public and bicycle transit planning in the area. New development in response to the increased height and density potential of the rezoning has begun and is expected to continue at a larger scale. With a full block of frontage along the north end of the parcel, and located at the intersection of the Delridge Way SW arterial and two neighborhood access roads, the project has the opportunity to be a foothold for the larger scale commercial development to come. At present, there is low-scale commercial activity along both sides of Delridge Way SW in the form of single-story, stand-alone buildings as well as a mix of older single-family homes with newer townhouse and 3-4 story apartment building developments (the project is located kitty-corner to the larger developments to the NW including Bluestone and Livingstone apartments). On the west side of the site is an existing single-family residential neighborhood that was recently up-zoned to LR3(M) from LR3 and RSL(M) from SF5000. The parcel immediately to the south is zoned NC3-55(M) and is developed with a cell phone tower as well as smaller scale accessory structures. Beyond that parcel are LR1(M) lots which were rezoned from SF5000. The site has good solar access throughout the day and year as most of the nearby buildings to the south are of a smaller scale. For now, the future building will provide views towards the Puget Sound and downtown at the upper levels.

The site is well served by public transit along Delridge Way SW, with multiple bus routes providing connections to downtown Seattle, Georgetown, Tukwila and Southcenter. The planned H line Rapid Ride line will provide transit stops at SW Henderson Street and SW Barton Street within easy walking distance of the proposed building site. Pedestrian sidewalks and main vehicular access are provided on all three street fronts of the parcel. The closest cycling routes are the neighborhood greenways along 16th Avenue SW and 30th Ave SW, and Delridge Way SW is currently hosts a sharrow with future bike lanes planned.