Sunset Hill demolition makes way for new townhomes

Meghan Walker Ballard

A small building on the corner of 32nd Ave NW and NW 65th St. disappeared this week, just down from the shops in Sunset Hill.

“Well that’s gone,” Dean Souza writes on Facebook.

The building has been there many years most of the last year, but it was torn down to make way for four live-work units and two town homes, according to this application posted on the the Seattle Services Portal a year ago.

While this type of news can be hard to stomach for a lot of Ballardites, Zach Gaul welcomes the change. “It was an almost windowless storage building on a busy corner. Amazing this thing survived for as long as it did,” Gaul writes on Facebook. “Nothing wrong with progress and density in certain places.”

No word from the Department of Construction and Inspections on when construction will start; we’ll keep you updated.

(Thanks Dean for posting the photo to the My Ballard Facebook Group!)

Correction: Thanks 61stmama for pointing out an error in the story: the building that was demolished has been there for several years.

22 thoughts to “Sunset Hill demolition makes way for new townhomes”

  2. Oh wow. I always hated the building that was there. It seemed like such a poor use of a high traffic intersection.

    Hopefully with the live-work units we get at least one little shop that serves the neighborhood in some way.

  3. For a neighborhood blog, it’s odd that it’s written as if the writer has no familiarity with this intersection at all. The building had been there for years (at least since 2003, when we moved in), not just “most of the last year.” And the corner location is just uphill (not down) from Sunset Hill shops.

    Thanks for the photo and attempt at an update, but a little journalistic energy would be greatly appreciated.

  4. That was one of the ugliest buildings in Ballard, nice to see its gone. I believe they did photography work there if memory serves.

    2. I believe they did woodworking or carpentry-type work there, but don’t know if that’s true. I definitely heard powertools on warm days when they had their back doors open.

  6. Hmm. Parking near the 2-yr old townhome 2 blocks south (6312 32nd Ave NW) for the two units without parking, but are live-work, can be hard to find depending on the time of day or night. I REALLY hope the new structure has at least one parking spot per unit, as parking near that corner is limited. It’s irresponsible to build units that are $500k-800k+ but have no parking and poor bus service. Perhaps that’s why the “rooftop yoga-wellness-clean eating” business did not make it there.

    1. If I can’t park there, i won’t go there if it’s outside of a five block area and it’s raining. That has caused me to divorce some beloved favorites over the past couple years. And don’t even get me started on the actual drive. Ballard businesses should be thanking SDOT every night in their prayers because I am hemorrhaging all my disposable income in a three mile radius. Good bye to all that downtown, Cap Hill, Pioneer Square…hello Ballard and Fremont.

  7. Im ok with building new homes and apartments. But i am sick of these town homes being built that look more like thet belong in San Francisco than in Ballard.

  8. I lived on this corner for 33 years and this small building was where they developed the Santa Claus pictures from Frederick and Nelson and then other locations after Frederick and Nelson closed.

  9. I always wished that they would’ve turned that windowless building into a post-apocalyptic themed bar. Radioactive drinks. No chairs – just sand bags to sit on. That would have fit old Seattle.

  10. With probable decreased visibility, there should be a traffic light there. I’ve seen lots of people just blow through that North to South intersection, totally not seeing the stop sign..

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