All Policy is Local Podcast - The Case for Building More Microhousing

 

Councilmember Andrew Lewis invited me in to his office a few weeks ago to talk about microhousing: Who needs it, how we killed it off, why we should bring it back, and what needs to change to make that happen. The fact that this episode got made and aired is a pretty good indicator that policymakers are finally coming around to doing something about Seattle's anti-microhousing policies. A year ago, Mayor Bruce Harrell dropped in an PSBJ interview that he wanted to put microhousing "back on the table" to see if they "can once again become an effective tool to achieve density".  This year looks to be the time when those good intentions may ripen into a legislative agenda. Similar rumblings are coming from the council side as well. I'm hoping this conversation with Councilmember Lewis is a starter's whistle of sorts. Fingers crossed.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/david-neiman-the-case-for-building-more-microhousing/id1650317040?i=1000596317318

701 S Jackson Street wins Approval from ISRD Board

 

At last night's presentation to the International District Special Review District Board, we got formal approval for a new development at 701 S Jackson Street. The project is an eight-story building with 202 apartments and about 7000 sf of commercial space. The apartments are a mix of one-bedroom apartments and congregate housing units (the smallest and most affordable form of micro-housing). In addition to providing units that are generally smaller and more affordable than what you see in typical market rate development, the project will participate in the city’s MFTE program, guaranteeing that 25% of the units are reserved for income qualified applicants at prices set by the Office of Housing.

The building is clad in brick masonry, following in the tradition of the old residential hotels in the Chinatown International District  The building has highly repetitive window arrangements with window openings that are set deep into the façade that create strong shadows that reveal the depth of the masonry.

The building has a step in the massing that is partly driven by fire code height restrictions, but also helps to scale the building down at the corner. A reveal at that step that helps incorporate the step into the whole building design and helps to break down the scale of the overall façade.

The masonry skin employs subtle horizontal banding to break the building composition into a base middle and a top. The base corresponds to the typical storefront heights in the CID of 1 ½ - 2 stories tall. The height of the middle section corresponds to the 5-6 story height of the tallest residential hotels in the historic fabric around us.

A Flemish bond pattern and decorative coursing is introduced into the base of the building to help distinguish the base from the sections above. The windows are set back into the wall to provide a sense of depth to the masonry. The vent openings in the façade needed to meet today’s code requirements for ventilation have been grouped inside the masonry openings along with the window to help keep the masonry looking simple and uncluttered by mechanical penetrations.

The masonry colors were derived from a careful study of the context building to find modern brick that were most compatible w/ the historic fabric. We used a blend of two similar sand colored bricks to achieve the subtle variation that we found in the the surrounding masonry. We also introduced a darker accent brick that allowed us to create decorative patterns and coursing that reflect some of the craft traditions commonly found in historical masonry buildings, while giving them a bit of a modern twist.

Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2023, beginning with a cleanup & remediation phase. The larger construction effort will being in the fall 2023. Doors should open in Spring/Summer 2025