West Seattle, Washington
17 Wednesday
That’s a video compilation with many more angles on the 4532 42nd SW demolition (see our first report here, including links to info on what’s coming to the site), shot and edited by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli. If you’re interested in checking it out in person, he says the teardown crew’s back at work after lunch break. (This is barely a block north of Alaska on 42nd, one house separated from the Capco Plaza [QFC/Office Depot] megaproject.) ADDED 5:05 PM: Went back just after sunset – nothing left but debris:
(added noontime, photo by Christopher Boffoli)
ORIGINAL 9:14 AM POST: Just started a few minutes ago. More to come… ADDED 9:45 AM: iPhone photo:
10:33 AM UPDATE: Uploading video now. Big house, so the job’ll take a few hours. WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli took over at the scene so we could head back to HQ. For past coverage of this site, click here (archive of all mentions, newest to oldest – going back to 2006). A few people who stopped by to watch the demolition this morning in the early going had memories to share – one woman said she needed to go call someone who was born there 75 years ago, when it was a hospital. ADDED 10:48 AM: Video from the “first bite” (to be followed shortly by a clip from further along):
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
ADDED 10:56 AM: This clip is from about 20 minutes into the demolition work, as part of the upper story was torn away. As soon as this part was done, a massive cloud of paint etc. flakes wafted across the street to where we were watching, and beyond. Going to have to bring a mask to the next demolition.
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
Here’s the rendering of the future project, from the last Design Review Board meeting June 13:
You can see the entire presentation from that meeting here. Meantime, though the passages marked by these types of demolitions certainly can evoke nostalgia, that’s not the case for everyone, particularly when structures like this are left to deteriorate and be vandalized: One neighbor who came by in the early going — who said he’d lived in the area a long, long time and pointed toward the homes further north in the block that will come down for the 42nd/Oregon project — grinned, looking at the demolition work, “It’s about time.”
Brian Presser at TouchTech Systems in The Junction sends word that the crane at Mural, Harbor Properties‘ mixed-use building across from Jefferson Square, “is coming down” – and included that photo — clearly no acrophobes in that group! We showed you the crane’s arrival nine months ago; Mural is scheduled to open in April. (added 10:33 am) Here’s a crane piece, ready to be trucked away:
Meantime, WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli has an update on 4532 42nd SW, the doomed house a few blocks north of Mural:
That’s one of Christopher’s archive photos of the house, whose storied past includes service as a hospital. It’s been tabbed for demolition for a while – we were told of a late October target, and have seen a backhoe in position behind the house for a while; Christopher says the “heavy equipment” has shown up today – updates to come. (To see what’s going in at 4532 42nd, see the second half of this WSB report.)
From tonight’s Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting: Updates from Harbor Properties, which has three Junction/Triangle mixed-use projects in various stages of development — Mural (rendering above) across 42nd from Jefferson Square, Link along 38th from Alaska northward (Huling garage/West Seattle Montessori site), and the as-yet-unnamed future project for the ex-Travelodge/current Seattle West Suites motel property two blocks east of Link. For starters, Harbor’s Emi Baldowin says the remaining two retail spaces in Mural are now leased – read on for details on that, and what else was discussed at tonight’s JuNO meeting at Ginomai:Read More
(October 2008 photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Driving by the Fauntleroy Place (Whole Foods) project daily, we started pondering a goofy little question once major excavation began: When you dig a big hole like that, what happens to the dirt? Since we (and other small news organizations around Puget Sound) work with the student journalists at the University of Washington News Lab, we offered them the assignment. Read on, to see how the answer turned out to be not as simple as you might think:Read More
It’s been three months since our first report about the “reinvention” plan that would demolish that historic building and most of the other structures at The Kenney, in a $150 million plan that leadership of the retirement complex says is essential to its future success — at the project’s first Design Review Board meeting last month (WSB coverage here), CEO Kevin McFeely said, “… without this, we are not going to be able to survive financially.” At the end of that meeting, we reported that reps from Morgan Community Association and Fauntleroy Community Association were talking about co-sponsoring a community meeting before The Kenney’s next Design Review session. Now the date for that meeting is set: December 4th. Time and place are still being finalized, but MoCA’s Cindi Barker says the city planner assigned to the project, Michael Dorcy, “will be there the first 30-45 minutes to give a recap of all the process steps the Kenney must move through” and provide other information the community needs to know regarding . The date’s being driven in part by the possibility that The Kenney might return for that next DR meeting on December 18th. We expect to get more information at tomorrow night’s FCA meeting (7 pm, Fauntleroy Schoolhouse).
Tonight’s Fairmount Community Association meeting was the first neighborhood-council gathering at which BlueStar Management has publicly discussed its plan to acquire yet another piece of Junction/Triangle real estate: the Huling Chrysler site just east of the 76 station at Fauntleroy/Alaska. It’s immediately across Fauntleroy from one of the projects BlueStar already has on the drawing board, Gateway Center (the old Huling Buick site), which in turn is across 39th from BlueStar’s Fauntleroy Place (Whole Foods). Shown in the photo above, from tonight’s meeting in the Providence Mount St. Vincent chapel, is BlueStar’s Easton Craft; read on to see what he had to say about the new proposal and the seemingly endless questions about whether the Whole Foods project is really going forward, plus other notes from the meeting (including Harbor Properties‘ presentation):Read More
From the city’s latest semiweekly Land Use Information Bulletin: Formal applications have been deemed “complete” for for the two buildings that Conner Homes proposes in The Junction, California/Alaska and Alaska/42nd. That means the formal comment period is open — for the next 13 days. You can send those comments through Nov. 19th via the city’s online form, by clicking “comment on application” on this page for the California/Alaska building and on this page for the Alaska/42nd building. The city pages now describe both as 7-story buildings, with 72 residential units in the California building and 126 in the 42nd building, plus the 307-space underground garage (requiring a subterranean “alley vacation” that needs City Council approval). P.S. Today’s LUIB also included a reminder of the next Design Review meeting for the Admiral Safeway project; as we first told you a week ago, that meeting will be at 6:30 pm 11/20, West Seattle (Admiral) Library branch.
From the WSB Events calendar, a busy night: The first official Parks Department-organized meeting on the proposal for a “play area” at the California Place mini-park in North Admiral is at Hiawatha Community Center, 6 pm; Fairmount Community Association gets an update on the nearest Triangle developments and more, 6:30 pm at the chapel at The Mount; several fun events too including the Get Yr Fash On runway show at Mission (doors open 6 pm).
A week and a half ago, we reported from the courthouse as King County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Barnett announced the latest decision in the fight over what, if anything, will be built on the lawn of the landmark Satterlee House (aka the “Painted Lady” of Beach Drive). She ruled against Satterlee House owner William Conner in his appeal of a decision made last April by the city Hearing Examiner (WSB coverage here). That decision in turn had affirmed a vote last year by the city Landmarks Board, denying Conner permission to build three 3,000-square-foot-average homes — not denying permission to build ANYTHING on the lawn, just rejecting this specific proposal as potentially marring the characteristics that led to the property being designated in the early ’80s as a city landmark. After Judge Barnett’s ruling on October 24th, Conner’s lawyer Richard Hill told WSB they would “digest” the ruling before deciding whether to continue the challenge; we checked back with Hill this morning to see if a decision had been made, and he replied, “Yes, Mr. Conner intends to appeal.” Next stop, the state Court of Appeals; we will continue to cover this, every step of the way.
There’s a lot going on in The Junction — not just, oh, say, visits from the governor, but also, a thriving business district gearing up for the holidays. In fact, the West Seattle Junction Association just rejoined WSB as a sponsor to launch its “Live Local” campaign (more about that here, and in a WSB shopping-season preview tomorrow). Then, there’s the movement to “Eat Local,” and that’s where today’s story comes in. The photo above shows the ground floor of Harbor Properties‘ Mural, on 42nd SW across from Jefferson Square. That particular space, the northeast quadrant of its first floor, will become the home next year of Fresh Bistro, a new restaurant from the folks behind West Seattle-based caterers Herban Feast. A few months after news of the new restaurant emerged, we met with proprietor BJ Duft at the site recently to get the newest details about what’s in the works — from the food (with a chef from legendary Canlis!) to the hours (good news for night owls) to the innovative plan for takeout:Read More
Just posted on the city webpage that provides first notice of upcoming Design Review Board meetings: The proposed Admiral Safeway rebuild goes back before the Southwest DRB for a second round of Early Design Guidance (the first one didn’t go well) at 6:30 pm November 20th, West Seattle (Admiral) Library branch. (P.S. Want to be on the board? They’re recruiting! Scroll down this page to “2009 openings.”)
Thanks to Luckie for that video of the roof getting torn off 3038 44th SW (map) today. It was a century-plus-old house, to be replaced with a new house (city project page here); Luckie also uploaded another clip, showing the front of the house coming down. And she sent this photo of the end result:
Meantime, another demolition is apparently impending:
That’s 4532 42nd in The Junction (just north of Alaska), discussed here several times before, with comments describing its storied history – once upon a time, it was even a small hospital. After previous development plans went on hold for a while, the site plan reactivated earlier this year with a Design Review Board session (WSB coverage here); the demolition permit was granted a week and a half ago, with one tipster telling us the backhoe is reportedly expected this Thursday. As discussed at that DRB session in June, the project is set to be about 65′ high, with 35 residential units and 3,000 square feet of retail.
Two sites to update in North Delridge — one more mysterious than the other. That would be the one shown above, right behind the DSHS/Kidney Center building. Its official address is 4040 26th (map), and we got a few notes after that fence went up around it a week or so ago. No activity has ensued — yet — and its official city webpage doesn’t show any recent permit-granting; most of the applications were from a few years ago, save a “phase III” construction permit application last May. In the original 2005 application, for which a land-use permit was issued in 2006, this was proposed as a “six-story, 154-unit apartment building with 2,500 square feet of retail and 11 live-work units.” We contacted Anka Developments, listed as the applicant on most of the DPD pages, and a spokesperson wrote back that the company is no longer involved with the site, noting that it was sold a year ago. The purchaser, PortVue LLC, has the same address and phone number as Woodinville-based Sierra Construction, where we have left an inquiry that has so far gone unanswered; we’ll keep working it. Meantime, there’s a fuller picture of information about this nearby site:
From the corner of Delridge/Dakota, that’s a look across the street toward the site that’s in city records as 4106 Delridge, subject of its first “early design guidance” meeting this past week – reviewers told the architect they want to see the project for a second round – read on to see why:Read More
ORIGINAL 11:27 AM POST (followed by updates): We’re at the King County Courthouse downtown, where Superior Court Judge Suzanne Barnett has just announced her ruling on Satterlee House owner William Conner‘s appeal of the city’s denial of his proposal to build three houses on its front lawn. The ruling comes a week and a half after both sides presented oral arguments (WSB coverage here), as part of Conner’s court challenge, filed following the city Hearing Examiner‘s affirmation in April of the Landmarks Board decision to say no to this specific development proposal. (Conner needed board approval because the Satterlee House, at 4866 Beach Drive [map] and also known as “The Painted Lady,” is an official city landmark.) Now, the ruling: The judge has affirmed the Hearing Examiner and Landmarks Board decisions against the development proposal. She said she did not agree with any of the reasons made by Conner and lawyer Richard Hill regarding why they felt the decisions were in error. We’ll add more details shortly, and we also will be following up on whether Conner plans to appeal the decision (the next step would be the Court of Appeals); important to note, again, this does not represent a ruling that no development can happen on the site – only that this it was legal for the city to deny this particular proposal for three 3,000-square-foot-average houses (which the judge termed “mini-mansions”) on the home’s front lawn along Beach Drive. 12:40 PM ADDENDUM: We talked to Hill outside the courtroom; he said they would “digest” the ruling before making a decision on whether to challenge it (they have 30 days to do that). 1:19 PM ADDENDUM: Here are details of what Judge Barnett said today in court:Read More
Isn’t there some way to save The Kenney‘s century-old original building, Seaview, as part of the redevelopment project? That was one question heard repeatedly Thursday night from both Southwest Design Review Board members and concerned neighbors, dozens of whom packed the project’s first official SWDRB review. After two hours of presentations, questions, criticisms, concerns, and suggestions, reviewers told The Kenney’s CEO and consultants to try again, ordering a second round of “early design guidance.” Board chair David Foster pronounced the situation more “complicated than any (he’d) seen in (his) 3 1/2 years on the board,” but in the end, the meeting was more constructive than confrontational — read on:Read More
Detailed report to come. Bottom line, though, after two hours laden with thoughtful public comments and concerns about the major redevelopment project at The Kenney – the Southwest Design Review Board (with only two of its five members in attendance) asked The Kenney to come back for a second round of “early design guidance” — that means at least two more meetings before it passes all the way through Design Review.
DESIGN REVIEW: We’re midway through tonight’s Southwest Design Review Board meeting. First project, a mixed-use building proposed for what’s currently a sloped, treed site at 4106 Delridge, is being sent back for a second round of “early design guidance” – board members said they weren’t seeing enough distinct options for the site. The Kenney‘s redevelopment project is next up. More details on that, and the Delridge review, later. (The Delridge writeup will be later Friday, after we can get some on-site photos of points raised during the review.)
PARKS BOARD: Meeting at Parks Department HQ downtown tonight, the board is taking public comments on its “request for proposals” that will soon be issued to seek a private operator for West Seattle Stadium. 
According to Morgan Junction‘s Cindi Barker, Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher also had another West Seattle note in his informal briefing at the start of the meeting – artists who are being displaced by the Magnuson Park redevelopment project might be moved to the Hughes School site (photo left; it temporarily housed South Lake High School for the past few years but is vacant this year). We’ll be checking to find out more on the status of that proposal.
FIRST IN-STORE TASTING: The two photos below are from the first wine tasting Thriftway in Morgan Junction hosted as part of its participation in the state’s pilot program of beer and wine sampling in grocery stores. We dropped by just as the event was starting at 4 pm. Thriftway charged $5 for the tasting plus snacks from the lavish appetizer spread you see below; the tasting’s theme was “Washington vs. Italy – Taste the Difference.”
It’s all on the WSB Events calendar, but for extra emphasis, a few highlights: West Seattle Democratic Women lunch; first in-store wine-tasting at Thriftway; Design Review for The Kenney and 4106 Delridge; city Parks Board looks at West Seattle Stadium private-operator search; South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition; WS Ministerial Association’s Initiative 1000 forum; Alki Idol; West Seattle Pins and Needlers. Plus two open houses: Family Promise (previewed here) and Explorer West Middle School. For times/places/links, just go here. ADDED: Seattle Lutheran High School has an open house tonight too, 6:30-8 pm in the gym, on Genesee east of 42nd.
WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli captioned that recent photo from the Fauntleroy Place worksite as, “They put the ‘hole’ in ‘Whole Foods’.” The developers behind that project and two others are part of an all-star slate lined up by the Fairmount Community Association for a meeting to which you’re invited: Reps from BlueStar and Harbor Properties (six Triangle/Junction projects between the two) will be there; the association plans to ask them to speak specifically about the projects closest to its neighborhoods, the ones planned along SW Alaska. Also expected to attend, City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Sally Clark. The Fairmount Community Association meeting is at 6:30 pm November 6th in the chapel at The Mount. Those six projects are all in various stages — for BlueStar, Fauntleroy Place is well under way, Spring Hill has finished Design Review, Gateway Center hasn’t gotten to DR yet; for Harbor, Mural is in its final months of construction, Link has finished Design Review, the motel site hasn’t gotten there yet — and this will be an excellent chance to hear what’s new, as well as the latest on new development rules (like the multifamily code proposal — aka townhouse design — Councilmember Clark helped unveil three months ago).
We’ve reported several times in the past two months about The Kenney‘s major redevelopment proposal (here’s our first in-depth report from August; here’s our coverage of last month’s community meeting), which has stirred some concern because one of the buildings is proposed to be six stories high. This Thursday night, it’s one of two projects going before the Southwest Design Review Board for “early design guidance,” and the city has posted the presentation submitted by The Kenney and its consultants. You can see the full 20-page presentation here (including side views of the three proposed alternatives); the third option is the one closest to what was presented at the community meeting, including a re-creation of part of its “park-like” northwestern corner:
The design-review meeting for The Kenney’s proposal is at 8 pm Thursday, in the Madison Middle School library, following reviewers’ 6:30 pm look at 4106 Delridge (5 stories of residential and retail; city project page here; that project’s presentation is not online yet – we’ll let you know when it turns up).
According to this P-I story, roofing work that’s under way at a house near Schmitz Park represents the final chapter in a decade-long fight over neighborhood views. (More background in this story from three years ago.) For those who like to read court documents, here’s one of the appeals court rulings; interestingly, we also found the case cited in the court fight over the Lora Lake Apartments in Burien. 11:18 AM NOTE: This one’s turning up on TV – two channel 7 trucks in the driveway.
Heartening to see new faces at both neighborhood-group meetings covered tonight by Team WSB, after our exhortation-let as the week 
began … Our first report: The Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s monthly meeting, at Admiral Congregational Church. Turnout was about double the average crowd – up to about 20 in the room at one point – most there to hear the latest on a proposal for improvements at California Place, the mini-park adjacent to the church – and new developments were revealed, as well as other agenda items, all ahead:Read More
| 2 COMMENTS