The city has approved the land use application for Rhapsody Partners to move ahead with Market Street Landing, the large condo-retail project planned for the corner of 15th Ave. and Market St.
Back in March, the project won approval from the Design Review Board after making several modifications. Now the Department of Planning and Development has approved Rhapsody’s land use application without an environmental impact study, but with several conditions such as construction noise limits, pedestrian access and parking. You can read the ruling here (.pdf).
Rhapsody said they plan to demolish the blue house on the property before the end of September, but no word on the demolition of the other building.
Market Street Landing wins land use approval
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Money is going to be the biggest hurdle.
yeah, but what do I know.
The park is paid for dude.
No money, no hurdle ;-)
At the end of the day we can all thank the Monorail committee for this… I hope they don't get funding and the city takes the property back for a future Mass Transit station.
Give it up, why don't you.
really, really unfortunate.
this abortion is worse than the other ones popping up all over ballard.
freiheit & ho, and any other architecture firms putting up equally heinous buildings should have their licenses revoked by the AIA.
city doesn't need that much space…
it could be a nice street car stop and urban park.
Good. The sooner they build it, the sooner they can start losing money as it sits empty.
The design is less than inspiring, but is it really worse than an empty building or lot (Sunset 1+ years, Leilani 4 years)? It bothers me more that developers take something away from the community, like the bowling alleys and then leave it unused, paying minimum taxes on it.
oh yeah! another gigantic, bland, boring, multi-colored building in Ballard. And right on the major corner too! Such creativity and vision for the future. I hope they pull in several manicure shops and at least a couple of dentists. We just don't have enough of those around here yet. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
What an immense piece of crap.
that building, its, its beautiful. i have not seen anything like it, ever, in all my days. the resplendant majesty of its design will live on in my bowels forever. there is nothing anyone could do, ever, to make this building more appealing to me. seattle needs more crappy strutcures like this to keep the californians out, in my opinion.
It's just a good reminder of who got us into this mess. It doesn't mean that people should forget who caused the problem. It's far more likely that they won't get funding when investors do any due diligence. It's quite possible that the lot will sit vacant for a decade.
I like that Street Car fantasy… tell me more. Maybe we could form a committee of really expensive people that think they are smart and have a car tab tax to pay for it. :D
Maybe we should just hire a thrift Asian or European company to build a system. They seem to know how to get these systems built for a fraction of what it cost to build here. We could outsource all the labor just like how Microsoft and other local companies are and we'd all be happy in the end. :D
GREAT IDEA, I think Ballard needs some more condos.
:(
What would you rather have than these abandoned lots?
A bowling alley. :-)
And what of the landowners that sell their properties? If you had a property that would secure your families financial well-being would you honestly pass it up? Who do you think owns these properties? They're not out of towners. Perhaps more scary, I'm aware of what properties are available for sale and the associated zoning (density available). I suggest you drive around and take a gander at all the surface parking lots. Contact the owners tell them what they shoudn't do with their property see how well that goes over. I know what offers are just months away from being sent to them. To catch a cycle, you need to start when everyone says it will assuredly fail.
Yes. Because the other three corners of the intersection are so beautiful. The represent OB so well with their strip mall aesthetics.
If our design aspirations are to simply produce something better than a parking lot, we're in for a world of hurt.
Sadly, you don't have to be a good designer to hold an architect's license.
A building that doesn't look like 3-D vomit.
a city park instead of this proposed abortion.
yes, an unfortunate consequence of a weak architecture lobby and a substandard education system.
Yawn.
Can come up with fancy CGI but can't clean the 1,000+ cans of HIGH GRAVITY from their property.
well…goodbye, Ballard.
Olsen's closed, the sunset is gone, what's next? prepare for a mass exodus from Ballard by a lot of people. Ballard has/has been chang(ed/ing) for the worse. those buildings are yet another blemish on a wonderful, historic Seattle neighborhood.
i would almost say a vacant lot grown over with grass would be more desirable than the cookie cutter crap that they've proposed.
…or, i agree, a bowling alley would have been nice.
The AIA has nothing to do with architecture licensure. it's merely a guild of people who shell out $500/year to put the little 'a.i.a' after their name. it has absolutely nothing to do with competence and frankly seems a little haughty to me.
“a mass exodus from Ballard by a lot of people. “
No, just the pi**ers and moaners. No one will miss them. they can all move to Kent and celebrate squalor that never changes.
as an organization actively engaged in advocacy and lobbying (albeit poorly), they could do something about it.
but yes, it's a fairly lame (and haughty) association.
You miss my point entirely. I have no problem with the folks that sold the bowling alleys. Good for them and anybody else that wants to sell their 'parking lot'.
My problem is with the new owners who are allowed to sit on vacant land for years on end. They've taken something away from the community and have given nothing back. At least building the condos/apts or whatever would provide 'something' even if people don't like the design, it's still better than a weed infested lot. If my house looked like that, the city would be at my door with a citation.
Yes. The homeless need more parks. Remember when Paul Allen wanted to donate the South Lake Union to create a massive central park? Then it was voted down multiple times. Now everyone complains that he is seeding a biotech and mixed use community. One cannot win.
You payin'?
I must admit I do miss the old building, not because of Denny's (I never stepped in it once it became a Denny's) but because it used to be Mannings back in the day.
My folks would take us there for breakfast on weekends growing up.
I really am looking forward to the new building as I cannot stand the empty lot. Empty lots are an eyesore in general but this one is abnormally bad. Same goes for the bowling alley.
The condos may sit empty for a bit but they'll be sold, though probably not as fast as in the not-to-distant past. Then the traffic in my beloved Ballard will get even worse, if that is at all possible!
What we need is for the cops to ride the bums out; send them to Fremont where they'd fit right in south to Downtown or better yet to a chain gang where they can earn their keep.
Yet another reason for Ballard to become its own city . . . again.
The design maximizes the number of units within a given volume of space and strives to maximize the size of each unit. Exterior flourishes or a building-as-art will do neither and only serve to keep it empty longer ad decrease profits.
You want art, go to SAM.
That would be nice!
With a sports bar area in one end and some pool tables and perhaps, a few soft-tipped dart boards.
A place for the little ones to play, at the opposite end of the sports bar, wouldn't be bad either.
I wouldn't mind if my tax dollars went towards a park as well as a security officer at each park to keep the bums out and enforce the laws regarding parks that are already on the books but are ignored by the SPD
It still looks like a maxium security prison.
It'll be the best looking thing on that intersection.
First let me say that this is an ugly development, I am in complete agreement. That one tower reminds me of Caesar's Palace.
BUT – as a commercial architect, I have to defend the profession just a bit. I worked on a building project in another Seattle neighborhood (which incidentally remains an empty lot 3 years later) with a large developer. I sat in meetings with co-workers and the developers for something like 18 months and I remember some very distinct conversations with the developers:
1) “corners cost money. we need to minimize them.” Hence the boring rectangular stuff you're seeing…
2) “we have [insert pathetically small amount of money] budgeted for exterior cladding.” In this building's case we were stuck unhappily with precast concrete panels. They can face them with brick veneer, but please. It's not attractive.
So, when you've got to deal with these kinds of constraints not to mention things like “we only want to buy windows in 2 sizes”, etc. it's no wonder that monstrosities like this 15th & Market street development come to be.
AND THEN – if you make it through the design phase with some half-way attractive, interesting building, all the nice doo-dads get value engineered out during the costing phase.
I used to come home at night and feel like I needed to take a shower.
I realize everyone in the building industry wants to point fingers at the other sectors for the ugly stuff that gets built. This is just my observation from “my side” of the table. Architects are the ones working late (and getting paid the least) scratching their heads trying to figure out how to make the client happy and not embarrass themselves at the same time.
Why should we settle for ugly just because it's better than hideous?
hyperbole!!!
Oh my goodness. A few questions for all those throwing terms like “abortion” and “bland, boring” etc.
1. Why is condo a dirty word?? Building dense housing along transit routes will save more carbon from being released into the atmosphere in the long run than silly plastic bag programs, ok?
2. If you don't want housing, what is the alternative use of this land you propose?? More greenspace?? Urban park??? At Market and 15th?? Really??
3. Give an example of condos that you find aesthetically pleasing and do some cost analysis on them. I personally would MUCH prefer something that looks like a centerfold in Dwell magazine but there is the issue of finances for more design, no??
4. Do you believe the world of Dennys, bowling alleys, and Leave it to Beaver was really all that swell that it's worth even mentioning?? Aw shucks, time keeps on slipping slipping into the future. Change we can believe in. Aren't the solutions to the problems of Seattle and this country found by looking ahead and not backwards?? Did you people vote for Obama because you wanted real change or simply because he wasnt Bush?? Change is hard and uncomfortable sometimes.
The prettiest condo development in the world isn't going to make your life better.
It's not ugly, it looks like a fine building. Do you prefer a gas station, like the other two corners? Now we need to run the fast food outta the hood and we'll be on to something.
They got their land use approval, and financing is opening up. They have deep pockets anyway. Welcome to the neighborhood! Bring people that don't complain so much and that have money to spend…
Leave the fast food; it is still better than most “slow' food outlets in Ballard; they seem to change over quite frequently but the fast food places have been around since the Nixon administration.
You just don't get a choice Nora, unless you are an owner. You do however have other choices based on your circumstances. No one will force you to live there. Please fell free to walk by and think it ugly every chance you get. You also can choose to live in a more pleasing area. It's all about choice.
What do you have against fast food? Like this building, I don't have to like it but some may. Hands off Taco Bell!
I can choose not to like it, Sweet Rose. I can also choose to have an opinion about anything that happens in my neighborhood. There are still enough things I love about Ballard to keep me here. Afraid you're stuck with me and my opinions.
I'd be happy to have one with a dingy bar featuring horrible karaoke…oh wait we did.
Have you no sense of aesthetics? No sense of community?
This building could be something more, but because the company threatening to build it is too cheap, or too incompetent to come up with a design that is pleasing to the eye while still meeting a bottom line we will have to look at an ugly building in a prominent location. A building of this scale sets the tone for the neighborhood and so it does affect those of us who don't live in it.
Yes it could be worse, but that's never an excuse for anything.
1. condo isn't the issue. Poor design is. We just want something on this corner that isn't an eyesore. Since it will have it's own parking and is on a major transit route, the density isn't a big issue.
2. I don't think anyone has an issue with more housing. Some might question the viability, but long term that's not a big deal. Since it will be a couple years at least, a lot of us question why we have to lose our viable businesses to sit empty while the developers sort it out.
3. Yes, sometimes good design does cost more, but it doesn't nec need to. The other question is how much profit is enough? Would Rhapsody Partners take 1% less in profit if it meant that their building would be more aesthetically pleasing? Would they be ok with earning a bit more by putting an eyesore in a neighborhood they'll never see after the project is finished? Without the neighborhood having a real voice, we wind up with the cheapest crap the builder can get away with.
4. Change happens, we accept that, but when that change is for the worse don't be surprised if we say so. The loss of the Denny's and Sunset Bowl also means the loss of jobs and loss of things for us to do. When it's not replaced by anything except a meth house and vacant lot of garbage how is that change for the better?
The prettiest condo may not make our lives better, but how is lowering your standards to such a low level ever going to make anyone's life better?
How do you defend something this ugly as though it's a good thing, except for purely contrarian motives?
I agree sense of community can be derived from communal places but isn't it a bit of a stretch to connect one's sense of community with some subjective notice of building aesthetics? There is a loose correlation I guess but let's not overstate it
What “more” can a condo building be?? A cathedral? A town square? Give me a practical example to work with
Ugly is in the eye of the beholder, no? I see MANY ugly 60s/70s whatever apartment dwellings all over Ballard. You know the ones, with names like The Landing or whatever. But I don't hear a huge groundswell to raze these (and sorry, they are far more ugly than most of the newer stuff) because they detract from our sense of community.
2. What viable business have been lost as a result of these developers actions? Explain. And aren't these developers feeling the brunt of this economy too?
3. How much profit is enough? Not for you to decide. Sorry. Not your money. Especially when the reasoning is that it could by “better” design. Again, design is subjective and eeevil Rhapsody is taking the risk and allowed to reap the rewards.
3. Without the neighborhood having a real voice?? That's funny. I lived in Chicago for 15 years. Let me tell you a thing or two about neighborhoods not having a real voice on issues of development. Why would Rhapsody want to make the cheapest crap possible? Are people here so stupid they buy the cheapest crap?? Doesn't Rhapsody want people to actually by their condos??
And sorry; there are plenty of breakfast spots. A corporate chain like Denny's–that REALLY WAS EVIL BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T LIKE SERVING BLACK FOLKS–is not a real loss. Plenty of local Breakfast spots.
I'm not defending the design either; read my post. I wish it were better looking. But the fact that it's not isn't a BAD thing. Not every issue should be reduced to the simple Good/Bad format right?
My motivation to post was to point out how much incessant whining and wasted energy is put forth here–with still no proposed alternative. You never gave me an example either
All of you complaining about wanting a bowling alley…You had one! And because none of you gave it any business the owner decided to sell it and now you're mad….please get a life.
I completely agree. No matter what we, the community think about this project, there is no developer (particularly in this economy) who is going to sacrifice profit for design.
It would be nice if there was an alternative to a big, blocky condo, but unless we're going to ask for a giant office building or something like that – which in my experience the community hates more than housing due to increased parking demands – I think we're kind of stuck.
A park on this corner would not improve the situation – you'd just get those same homeless people hanging out there who hang out in front of the empty lot now (and they'd probably invite all their friends to join them) and the park would remain empty most of the time because of its very unfriendly location. I've got a toddler and I would never take him to a park next to that kind of traffic.
It is the perfect location for a transit stop – I actually worked on the monorail project and got to work on some of that early station planning – but we all know what happened to that umm…dream…
Look at the other potential monorail stations in ballard: ugly building on 65th and a dry cleaner on 85th. It's too bad it didn't work out, but it's time to move on.
DULL!!! We'll now be able to imagine ourselves at any intersection in the suburban area. Absolute LACK of character… expect tacky signs i.e. “Fancy Nails”, “Yo-GURT!” etc. soon as those corner spaces find occupancy.
Sigh…..
And WHAT's with the name?!?! Market Street Landing… There's no dock or boat launch close for gawds sake! Use some imagination! 8}
Maybe there'll be a Heliport.
It's not so much losing the bowling alley, it's more losing the bowling alley and having nothing but a dead shell of a building there all this time.
Hey, a heliport would at least be interesting.
No business? Every time I was there, it was packed.
It was busy, but the family wanted 7 million dollars instead of running a busy business without near that much profit. They pretty much won the Lotto.
Fast food makes people fat, fat people cost this country $147 billion dollars a year. Get rid of it.
I don't know…this crowd would probably complain about the noise from the helicopters.
There was plenty of business. Plenty of us went and bowled, and drank, and howled out bad karaoke after too much of the former.
The Sunset closed not because it wasn't a successful and profitable bowling alley, but because developers thought that the land underneath it could be more profitably used as a mixed use retail residential development when money was cheap and housing prices were only going up.
Just because it could be worse, doesn't make it better.
I would. This is no place for a heliport.
“No matter what we, the community think about this project, there is no developer (particularly in this economy) who is going to sacrifice profit for design”
..and that is just so sad. We are truly screwed.
Oh, I completely agree.
Given the strong emotion and disagreement already seen here (and on other threads on this blog) how in the world could any design ever pass with ballardite approval?! It's easy to knock something without providing an alternative building design, but really, what are the odds anyone here would EVER agree on any design?
What are the odds that everyone here would agree with anything? There are some contrarians who have to say the opposite of what you say, no matter what you say. There are some dolts with no taste. BUT, the majority of us have seen this and have all come to the same conclusion…it sucks.
The building proposed to replace the Sunset Bowl isn't that bad.
The Kolstrand renovation by Evo Properties gets the thumbs up.
Sadly other than that I can't think of very many buildings in Ballard that would win any awards or make too many people happy to see them built.