Marion Green Courtyard Townhomes

Meeting time changed to Tuesday, April 9th, 7:00pm.  SAAS 12th Avenue Conference Room (1140 12th Avenue, in middle of block between Spring and Union/Madison streets. 

This week we started the permit review process for Marion Green, our first project for which we are both architect and developer.

Following in the footsteps of our Beacon Green project, we are pioneering an entirely new approach to small scale multi-family housing:  The Courtyard Townhouse.  These projects represent a huge step forward for infill development that we are hoping will supplant the typical “4-pack” auto-court projects that have dominated the market for the past 25 years.  This new housing type mitigates the visual impact of the parking, provides generous open spaces, facilitates connections between neighbors, increases access to natural light, and creates a community center for all the residents to share.

The courtyard is the way in and out of the project.  It’s the front porch for the rear units (and the back porch for the front units).  Living rooms and kitchens look into the courtyard.  Semi-private deck spaces for each unit ring the periphery, and the center of the court provides communal space for group events.

Garage Level Floor Plan

Courtyard Level Floor Plan

The courtyard townhouse has a unique parking solution.  Parking is located in the middle of the site and  buildings are pushed out to the edge of the property creating a large space between the buildings.  Cars are parked in the center, and then covered with the courtyard roof deck.  In addition to concealing the parking area, this configuration is also a more efficient way to park cars and maneuver them.

Where a typical development would provide five parking spaces, we are able to provide parking for seven.  This extra parking allows us to create housing that’s more appealing to families, and so we are able to target some of the units to a whole different demographic than a typical townhome project.

The project will provide five new townhomes.  Three of the homes will be larger 3-4 bedroom units with 2 car garages.  Unit 4 will be a small 2 bedroom unit with a one car garage.  Unit 5 will be a 1 bedroom unit with no parking.  It’s a project made up of units that are either in the top 20% or the lowest 20% in terms of size.

Marion Green is a three story townhouse with roof decks on a block composed mostly of one story houses from the early 20th century.  There's no way for this project to seamlessly fit into its context, but we did want to find a way to help stitch together the old & the new.  To this end, we decided to keep the old terraced garage structures along the street & re-purpose them as gateways into the project.  One garage is used to frame the car entry drive, while the other marks the pedestrian entry stair.

Public Notice of the Streamlined Design Review process will be sent out to nearby property owners sometime next week.  We have also arranged with the local neighborhood council (12th Avenue Stewards) to do an informal public meeting to present the project & get feedback from the neighbors.  Meeting info:

Tuesday, April 9th, 7:00pm.  Seattle Academy (SAAS), 12th Avenue Conference Room (1140 12th Avenue, in middle of block between Spring and Union/Madison streets.