It turns out that Vulcan doesn't get everything they want after all.
Last week we heard that Vulcan was trying to strong-arm the Seattle City Council into moving quickly on their Block 59 proposal that would build three 24-story towers just north of Lake Union. The deal would have included $10M in Vulcan-owned land becoming available for low-income housing.
Alas, the council's concerns about development costs and future plans for the project precluded them from stamping their approval on it and as far as they're concerned, it's off the table.
The council's postponement — and possible rejection — of Block 59 marks one of the few times in the past decade that city government has spurned a proposal from Vulcan, the largest property owner in South Lake Union, and the catalyst for the area's widely praised redevelopment from a sleepy warehouse district into a vertical community anchored by Amazon.com. This doesn't mean the rezoning of SLU is off the table. However, the current rezoning plans call for buildings no higher than 160 feet unless the building provides "extraordinary additional public benefits." Expect Vulcan to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to pull that off.
· Council shelves Vulcan's 'Block 59' Lake Union towers plan [Seattle Times]
· Vulcan To Seattle: Hurry Up & Rezone South Lake Union Already [Curbed Seattle]
· Vulcan Looking To Build Behemoth Towers in South Lake Union [Curbed Seattle]