Development

The Port of Seattle is getting underway on its 20-year plan for FIshermen's Terminal that, according to the Port, will provide an analysis of customer and tenant needs and help develop a long-range plan for Fishermen's Terminal.

The plan is a way of projecting out the needs of the fishing fleet and how to best use and improve the 20 acres of upland area of Fishermen's Terminal, Joseph Gellings, project manager for the Port of Seattle, said at the Nov. 11 Ballard District Council meeting.

A number of meeting attendees expressed concern that the Port would ignore the needs of the fishing fleet in favor of development interests, such as condos.

Getting the highest returns on the property is not the goal of the 20-year plan, Gellings said.

"The Port is bound by the primary mission of serving the needs of the fishing fleet," he said.

He said the study will determine how much, if any, surplus land at Fishermen's Terminal exists that is not being used by the fishing fleet and what can be done with it.

The Seattle City Council unanimously passed legislation Nov. 2 that will allow detached accessory dwelling units, known as backyard cottages, throughout the city.

"I think this legislation strengthens our neighborhoods instead of damaging them," councilmember Tim Burgess said.

There had been some public resistance to backyard cottages at meetings and public hearings held since August, but councilmembers said they heard more positives than negatives.

Backyard cottages have been allowed in southeast Seattle since 2006, during which time 20 have been built.

A survey of residents near backyard cottages in southeast Seattle showed they largely felt no impact from the cottages, councilmember Sally Clark said.

She said 75 percent of speakers at a September public hearing were in favor of the legislation.

A number of nearby cities, such as Redmond, Shoreline and Kirkland, allow backyard cottages.

"The experience has been good in other cities; it's been good in southeast Seattle," Clark said.

The Southwest Design Review Board met Oct. 22 for a design doubleheader addressing two major West Seattle projects. The six-person board deliberated over a proposed expansion of the Safeway in the Admiral neighborhood and The Kenney property along Fauntleroy Way Southwest.

Board members gave the Kenney project the green light, but asked Safeway developers back for another round of design guidance meetings. Members of the board agreed that the designed storefront needs to be more open to sidewalks along California Ave. S.W.

The new Safeway expands the current store from 36,000 square feet to 58,000 square feet, while adding a four-story apartment complex, some small office space and a parking lot on the store’s roof. View the current designs here.

That rooftop parking also drew criticism from the board, which said it conflicted with the neighborhood’s sustainability goals.

“This building is saying in 15 years this building is going to be okay and then it's just going to be going backwards,” said Joseph Hurley, board member.

The Admiral Junction seems to be exploding with new energy, and customers, as it quickly transforms from the quietest Junction to the “Upstart Junction," trying to stand on equal footing with its two bustling rivals to the south, the Alaska and Morgan junctions.

Porterhouse, the restaurant and bar that took Blackbird Bistro’s space, and the Brickyard BBQ each opened in August. The Shipwreck Lounge opened Oct. 10. The refurbished Angelina’s Trattoria opens within two weeks, and even the old Admiral Benbow Inn space, next to the Shipwreck Lounge, will open as the Heartland Restaurant next year, with late-night hours on the menu.

Also, the historic Admiral Theater seems to be responding by offering more live entertainment.

According to Admiral business district owners and observers, the new kids on the block help draw crowds to the more established restaurants and pubs, including the Admiral Pub, Mission, Circa, Yen Wor, south to Prost! and the Bohemian.

Mayor Greg Nickels is looking for qualified candidates to fill twelve upcoming openings on the city of Seattle’s Design Review Board, including one on the Southwest Board, which reviews large-scale developments in West Seattle.

The volunteer positions will be available April 4, 2010 when retiring board members’ terms expire.

“We are looking for professionals in the design and development fields, who have proven skills and established careers," said Nickels in a statement. "We also need community and business leaders with an interest in shaping new development in their neighborhoods, and a passion for keeping Seattle a great place to live, work and play."

Applications will be accepted for the following twelve board positions:

Southwest Design Review Board

• general community interests representative

Northwest Design Review Board

• development interests representative
• local residential interests representative

Northeast Design Review Board

• design professional representative
• development interests representative

Queen Anne/Magnolia/South Lake Union Design Review Board

• general community interests representative

Mayor Greg Nickels is looking for qualified candidates to fill twelve upcoming openings on the city of Seattle’s Design Review Board, including two on the Northwest Board, which reviews large-scale developments in the Ballard area.

The volunteer positions will be available April 4, 2010 when retiring board members’ terms expire.

“We are looking for professionals in the design and development fields, who have proven skills and established careers," said Nickels in a statement. "We also need community and business leaders with an interest in shaping new development in their neighborhoods, and a passion for keeping Seattle a great place to live, work and play."

Applications will be accepted for the following twelve board positions:

Northwest Design Review Board

• development interests representative
• local residential interests representative

Northeast Design Review Board

• design professional representative
• development interests representative

Queen Anne/Magnolia/South Lake Union Design Review Board

• general community interests representative

Southeast Design Review Board

• general community interests representative

The ordinance that would allow backyard cottages throughout the city was voted unanimously out of the City Council's Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee Oct. 8. The ordinance is tentatively scheduled to be voted on by the full council Nov. 2.

The committee, comprised of Sally Clark, Tim Burgess and Tom Rasmussen, made a number of amendments to the ordinance before voting on it.

The citywide cap of 50 new backyard cottages per year was removed.

The height limit for cottages was lowered from 23 feet to 22 feet except on lots that are 50 feet wide or have a rear alley.

There was discussion of lowering the maximum height to 21 feet, but 22 feet yields more livable second floor, Clark said.

There is an additional height limit of 15 feet above the height of the main house.

Additional parking will not be required for cottages located within urban centers or urban villages.

Additional amendments deal with the reporting requirements for the Department of Planning and Development and language clarification.

The Northwest Design Review Board agreed to let the new Washington Federal Savings project move on to the recommendation phase after an Oct. 12 early design guidance meeting, but said they wanted to see a simpler design that fits in on Market Street and shows proper deference to the distinctive Carnegie's building next door.

The preferred design of the new Washington Federal Savings building presented by ehs Design is a two-story, 8,400-square-foot building. It is 40 feet tall instead of the maximum 65 feet. It includes surface parking and drive-up tellers on Northwest 56th Street.

The design for the building at 2020 N.W. Market St. includes a sloping roof meant to mirror that of the Ballard Public Library and Neighborhood Service Center.

The Design Review Board urged the developers to simplify the design into more of a background building, such as the Majestic Bay Theater or La Tienda building on the same block. A simpler design would allow the building to act as a bookend to the historic Carnegie's building as the current Washington Federal Savings building does and not distract from it.

The Whole Foods in the new Interbay Urban Center will open tomorrow, Oct. 13, with a grand opening bread-breaking ceremony at 8 a.m., according to Vicki Foley, a spokesperson for Whole Foods in the Northwest region.

To see pictures of the new store and read exclusive Ballard News-Tribune coverage, click here.

In January, developers of the new Interbay Urban Center announced that Whole Foods, 2001 15th Ave. W., would be the anchor tenant in the 80,000 square foot retail center.



The new Whole Foods Market, which will employ about 150 people, will be the fifth Whole Foods in the Seattle area and the sixth in the state.



"Each store is individually designed and operated for the needs of the specific community it serves," said John Clougher, the company's president for the Pacific Northwest region, in January. "The Interbay Whole Foods Market will have an interactive healthy eating center with chefs, a new Whole Values section, an expanded bulk foods section and a new sandwich bar that is unlike anything we have in our other stores."

The Balllard News-Tribune was granted an exclusive sneak peek inside the new Interbay Whole Foods, which will focus largely on catering to Ballard, Interbay and Magnolia commuters.

The newest location of the upscale grocery chain is scheduled to open on Tuesday, Oct. 13, a process that took nearly six years to complete, said store Team Leader Kerri Hunsley.

The project was pushed back further last year when developers TRF Pacific filed a lawsuit against Whole Foods after the company announced it wanted to downsize the store and delay its opening until late 2009.

"It was a bit of a mess, actually, but we were able to resolve it fairly swiftly," said Vicki Foley, a spokesperson for Whole Foods in the Northwest region, about the lawsuit.

Dozens of the store's 140 employees were bustling around the still-unfinished store on Oct. 8 stocking shelves and testing deli recipes.

"It's all hands on deck," said Foley.

Some of the employees live in the Ballard area, said Foley, and several have transferred from the other Seattle Whole Foods Market stores.