Update: The design review board approved the plans as they are so everyone's cats should enjoy the open space while they can.
Original: The plan for 614 13th Avenue E is Capitol Hill is for a five-story apartment building with 20 market-rate apartments. The complex, owned by Robery Hardy and designed by b9 architects, would not include parking or any retail/commercial space.
That plan isn't sitting well with a lot of locals, who have concerns about the building's height, bulk, and scale, not to mention the loss of sunlight and open space currently found on the lot. The issue is exasperated by the fact that it would go up right next door to The Maryland, where residents have enjoyed a certain quality of life for some time and don't want to see development move in and ruin that.
Not for them and not for their cats.
Lastly, the removal of the tree coverage will affect nearly a dozen neighboring cats who are indoor-outdoor pets and roam the foliage and have even been known to make friends with the old family of raccoons who often take rest in the trees at night. My cat, Prince Tugboat enters and exits my home from the photographed windows above, and I cannot tell you enough how devastated I would be should the trees all come down, or heaven forbid he becomes injured as a result of the shoddy design or craftsmanship this developer (Bradly Khouri) is known for.
As SLOG points out, its strange that residents of a four-story building with 20 units would call out the development of a five-story building with 20 units for being too big for the neighborhood, but opponents say the new structure will feel bigger because of it's bulk. They've also voiced concerns about the size of the units themselves, but that's Concern Trolling 101.
The neighborhood mobilized for a recent design review board meeting and the whole thing is reminiscent about a recent spat between Pioneer Square neighbors and an upcoming development that was considered out of scale for the neighborhood. The locals won and the project is going back to the drawing board.
Will that happen here in Capitol Hill? It certainly seems to be the sign of the times in Seattle.
Build more housing, just not near me.
· Proposed five-story development gets cold reception from 13th Ave E neighbors [CHS]
· Another Group of Neighbors Fighting an Apartment Building Because It's "Out of Scale" [SLOG]