Emerald Bay Equity has broken ground on the Seven Hills development at 1919 Queen Anne Ave. N., beginning with the tearing down of two existing structures long standing vacant in anticipation of the project.

The much-delayed project is the third piece of the four-part mixed-use retail/residential development group on the top of the hill called The Commons, which includes the finished Sweetbrier and Eden Hill buildings next door and down the block from the Seven Hills site, and the forthcoming Met Market redevelopment directly across the street.

Just last week Emerald Bay Equity, which had been attempting to sell all four properties in The Commons since April 2010, opted to break up the group and sold the completed Sweetbrier and Eden Hill buildings to affiliates of RREFF, a real-estate subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, for $44 million.

Despite the sale, Emerald Bay Equity has continued construction plans with the remaining two developments, securing approval from the Department of Planning and Development to move forward with the Seven Hills project back in May, with plans to begin construction last month. The Met Market redevelopment project is expected to break ground in 2012.

The completed Seven Hills development will be a four-story mixed-use building with 57 residential units, 8,180 square feet of ground-level retail and underground parking for 68 vehicles. For more information on this project, take a look at the DPD’s decision here (.pdf), the design review proposal here (.pdf), and our past coverage.

A new residential building is in the works on the western edge of Queen Anne near the intersection of West Dravus Street and 15^th Avenue West in Interbay.

The land use application was completed last week for a seven-story building at 3040 17^th Ave. W. with 5,500 square feet of ground level retail spaces and 234 residential units above. The existing structures on the property would be demolished.

Some of the steps yet to be completed include the SEPA Environmental Determination and getting approval from the design review board. Community members are invited to make comments on the proposed development, which can be submitted through next Wednesday, April 27, 2011.  Reference project #3010370 when filing a comment.

Another mixed-use residential/retail building is in the planning stages for Lower Queen Anne, at 101 John Street. The proposed six-story development would include 25 residential unites and ground level retail/commercial space.

The development is adjacent to the Fiona Apartments, located on the same site. The site, at the corner of John Street and 1st Ave N, is currently the home of Rice ‘n Spice Thai and another building, both of which would be torn down to make way for the project.

The Department of Planning and Development has scheduled an early design guidance meeting on the plan for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16 at the Queen Anne Community Center (1901 1st Ave W, Room 3). From DPD:

The applicants have applied for Design Review related to development of this site.  At the early design guidance meeting, the applicants will present information about the site and vicinity.  The public may offer comments regarding the design and siting of a development on the subject site; and the Design Review Board members will also offer comments and identify those Citywide Design Guidelines of highest priority in developing the site.

For more information regarding this project application and the design review process, contact land use planner Lisa Rutzick at (206) 386-9049.

After Abraxus Books announced it would be closing just 20 months after moving to Lower Queen Anne from Ballard, its home for seven years, neighboring store Mother Nature’s has said that it too is closing its doors this month.

Mother Nature’s, a natural health store that has been a staple of Lower Queen Anne retailers for 35 years, is closing up shop at the end of the month, according to owner Stephanie Gilbert.

This drawing was created by Mother Nature’s employee Sara Spidell, depicting Sara, Stephanie and Elaine (Stephanie’s mom and prior owner). The date is inaccurate, according to Gilbert, who says the store has been open since 1974.

The store, which has been in Gilbert’s family since the ’70s, has seen declining business for some time now, she says.

“I grew up in the store—since I was 12 I’ve worked here. In the ’80s and ’90s it was a rocking store. We’d get 160 people in the store a day. Now we get 60 people a day,” she said. “Business has been pretty crappy, to be frank, for the past couple years… it’s just hard to be an independent retailer in the city. If we were in Cle Elum, we would probably be fine.”

Though the mixed-use development planned for 100 Republican Street spurred the decision to close, Gilbert says the saturation of the market (with customers coming into the store, finding what they want, and then buying it from larger suppliers who can offer cheaper prices like Costco, Super Supplements, or online) has ultimately led to the store’s choice to close down, rather than relocate.

“It really bums me out that people don’t make a conscious effort to shop local,” Gilbert said. “It’s destroying our communities.”

The property owners of the building that houses Abraxus and Mother Nature’s, the Burkheimer Family LLC, plan to turn the Seattle Center and KeyArena-adjacent site into a residential/retail mixed-use development that will span from the current storefronts to the edge of the empty lot at 100 Republican.

The six-story building will house 275 units–studios, 1-2 bedrooms and 10 town homes–parking, 17,725 square feet of street level retail space, two rooftop courtyards, and a 2,000 square-foot outdoor plaza on Republican that will serve as an entrance to the building. After a series of public hearings on the project, developers have been given the go-ahead to move forward with the project. Developers expect to complete the project in 2012.

While the new development will house ground-level retail, Gilbert says the rent would have been too high for Mother Nature’s to re-open in the new building. But despite the fact that Abraxus and Mother Nature’s will be closing to make way for the development, many in the community support the project. In a negotiation with the city to allow the development to use part of the alleyway bounded by Mercer Street, Republican Street, 1st Avenue N and Warren Avenue N, developers added plans for a public plaza (equipped with a rain garden) to the plan.

On top of that, Uptown Alliance co-chair John Coney shared his support of this proposal with City Council’s Transportation Committee this past fall, noting that he believed the project would revitalize a “dead block” in the neighborhood.

“It’s an important redevelopment on what is now a substantially dead block of Republican,”  he said.  “It is going to bring housing onto Warren Avenue North.  We believe that is important because that is another dead block in an urban center.”

For the time being, Mother Nature’s and Abraxus are making preparations for closing.

Gilbert says her lease is up on the 28th. She plans to keep the store open until just a few days before then (though no final date has been set yet), to clear out its current stock and say goodbye to longtime customers. Everything in the store is currently 30 percent off. Gilbert says discounts could go as high as 75 percent as the end of the month nears.

Abraxus will be closing in just a few days, on Saturday, February 12. “Our building is being torn down and we’re calling it a day on this chapter,” the owners Carol and  Tony wrote on the store’s Facebook page. The last month since announcing plans to close has been a “pretty emotional time” for them, Carol wrote to us.

Everything in the store is being sold at 50 percent off, and bookshelves and other fixtures are also up for sale. The store will be open from 12 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on its last day Saturday.

Red Mill Burgers in Interbay could soon have a lot of new neighbors. A mixed-use development is planned at 3040 17th Ave West. The proposed building would have five floors of residential units over street level retail and parking.

Current site at 3040 17th Ave West

Currently, the lot is made up of a small warehouse and old machinery for sale. The proposed complex would be called Interbay Apartments with 220 to 240 residential units, 160 to 200 parking stalls, and 4000 square feet of commercial space.

Image of the preferred design from City of Seattle/Fish Mackay Architects

We have calls in to the developer to find out more about the project and we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, the community is invited to attend a design meeting to learn more about the development (pdf file). It will take place Wednesday, November 3 at 6:30pm at the Queen Anne Community Center.

Last week real-estate investment company Avalon Bay Communities broke ground on the old Mountaineers Club site, located at 3rd Ave W and W Thomas St. in Lower Queen Anne, where there will soon be a new apartment complex, according to our news partner, The Seattle Times.

Called the Avalon Queen Anne, developers expect to be ready to lease the 204-unit complex by fall 2011, when they hope demand will have picked up.

Avalon Bay is based in Alexandria, Va. The company has an interest in 14 apartment complexes in Washington state, and 172 nationwide.

The lot at 100 Republican in Lower Queen Anne used to be a QFC. Now it houses a temporary auto dealership and the occasional mobile food truck. In the next two year, however, the owners of the property, Burkheimer Family LLC, plan to turn the Seattle Center-adjacent site into another residential/retail mixed-use development.

This rendering of the project design, provided by Burkheimer Family LCC in a Department of Planning and Development proposal (.pdf) back in July 2009, shows what the building would look like from the intersection of Republican St. and Warren Ave N.

The six-story building will house 275 units–studios, 1-2 bedrooms and 10 town homes–parking, and 17,725 square feet of street level retail space. The average residential unit size will be 696 square feet. The building will also have two rooftop courtyards–one 9,028 sf, the other 5,985 sf–and an over 2,000 sf outdoor plaza on Republican St. that serves as an entrance to the rest of the building.

The building, located just across the street from the KeyArena and Seattle Center campus, is expected to be completed in 2012, according to a Daily Journal of Commerce story published today. For more information on the building specs and zoning issues, see the DPD project proposal (.pdf).

(Thanks to reader Jon for the tip!)

Emerald Bay Equity has put 2.1 acres of Queen Anne Ave N property at the top of the hill on the market, looking for either a partner or buyer to step in and take over the company’s current redevelopment plans, according to a report by our news partner, the Seattle Times.

The property package includes the half-block where Metropolitan Market is located, which EBE would like to redevelop into a four-story 120-unit apartment complex with 40,000 square feet of ground-floor space for the longtime neighborhood grocery and other retailers (with underground parking), two retail/residential projects that were recently completed across the street–Sweetbrier and Eden Hills–and a fourth smaller redevelopment site. From the Times:

Emerald Bay principal Joe Geivett said he would prefer a joint venture over a sale.

“Getting financing is challenging,” he said. “That’s been the single biggest barrier.”

EBE purchased the Met Market property for $14 million back in 2008, when the then owners were planning to turn it into a larger mixed-use complex housing QFC. At the time many residents, alongside the Queen Anne Community Council and Queen Anne-Magnolia Design Review Board supported the EBE takeover, and according to QACC land-use review committee chair Craig Hamway, the best option for the community would be to continue the relationship with EBE. From the Times:

“It would be a shame if he had to sell,” Hamway said of Geivett [EBE principal Joe Geivett]. “He’s been good to work with from a community standpoint… He’s viewed as a pretty responsible developer.”

Of EBE’s two finished projects at the top of the hill–Sweetbrier and Eden Hills–the Sweetbrier still has a number of retail vacancies.

Read the full Seattle Times story here.

(Graphic used with permission from the Seattle Times).

Last month community members gathered to tell FOLKpark what they wanted out of the Lower Kinnear Park enhancement. The developers took notes on your suggestions, but before presenting a draft plan at the next public meeting at the end of the month, there will be another opportunity to discuss the future of the park and share your opinions.

FOLKpark, along with urban advocacy group GreatCity.org, will be hosting a free brown bag discussion this Thursday, February 11 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at architecture and urban design firm GGLO, located at 1301 1st Ave.

Here’s what FOLKpark had to say:

More than a century ago, the Olmstead brothers developed the “Emerald Necklace” plan – a set of paths and vantage points creating a sense of continuity throughout downtown Seattle.  Imagine a looping urban trail that includes a breath of fresh air in Myrtle Edwards Park, art in the Sculpture Park, breakfast spots in Belltown, the Seattle Center, coffee spots in lower Queen Anne, and tennis or picnic in lower Kinnear Park. An entire day of activities, highlighting Seattle’s finest, all in one easy stroll. The hidden and overgrown lower Kinnear Park link is a missing gem in this plan.

Community members and urban designers are invited to talk about how “completing this missing link in an urban loop that dissolves the boundaries between the Waterfront, Belltown, South Lake Union, and Queen Anne.” There’s no need to RSVP – just show up and share your thoughts.

Dean Koontz from HBB Landscape Architects (the firm handling the development of Lower Kinnear Park), Alan Hart of VIA Architecture and Debi Frausto from FOLKpark will be leading the discussion, looking for ways to create an Uptown Loop that “can strengthen pedestrian accessibility and secure the relationship between urban forests, walkable city streets, community amenities, residential living, and waterfront vistas.”

For more information, visit FOLKpark’s website. Read up on past meeting progress here and here. HBB Landscape Architects will be presenting the draft plan for the park at the next public meeting on Thursday, February 25 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Bayview Retirement Community, located at 11 W. Aloha St,

For over a year the Lake Union Opportunity Alliance has been fighting proposals from the city to raise allowable building heights to 300 feet between Denny Way and the South Lake Union waterfront. Currently the height limits are 125 feet along Denny and 40 feet at the waterfront. If these heights were to be raised, many say it would significantly alter the live-ability of the still young South Lake Union neighborhood and block lake views for those living on the facing hillsides in Queen Anne and Capitol Hill.

Anyone invested in the future of South Lake Union, or the views of the lake from Queen Anne, is encouraged to attend a public meeting on Tuesday, January 26 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Seattle Unity Church Fellowship Hall, located at 200 8^th Ave N, to review and comment on the revised Environmental Impact Study alternatives and voice their opinions on the development of South Lake Union.

At the meeting the city will present the draft design framework for the development of South Lake Union for the public to comment on (download PDF copy here). The Department of Planning and Development will also discuss the revised height and density Environmental Impact Study reports (download PDF copy here), and will answer any questions the public may have about the study and rezoning process.

LUOA, which represents 500 South Lake Union residents, believes that all three EIS alternatives provide excessively high building heights that would hinder the neighborhood’s growth, arguing that the first alternative, which allows for 300 foot towers along the waterfront of South Lake Union, would ruin the pedestrian experience in the area in addition to blocking views in nearby neighborhoods. LUOA says that views of the Space Needle would be blocked for many living in South Lake Union, while views of the lake would be blocked for many living on the east and south slopes of Queen Anne. The Capitol Hill Times reported last week that higher towers on South Lake Union would significantly block views from the west side of Capitol Hill.

According to LUOA board member Diane Masson, many living in Queen Anne who would be affected by the zoning changes have not even heard about the issue yet. Which is why, she says, it is so important for Queen Anne and South Lake Union residents to attend Tuesday’s meeting, voice their opinions, and send an email or letter to Mayor Mike McGinn.

LUOA is working to ensure that the final rezoning recommendation include the following:

Responsible, measured density growth that preserves the character of the neighborhood, provides for housing, income diversity and local businesses.

Step down in height across the South Lake Union basin from 240 ft at Denny Way to 40 ft at the Lake to preserve views of the Space Needle and Lake for all.

No increase in current height allowed for commercial buildings.

Tower spacing above 85 ft no less than 150 ft.

Limit podium heights to 20-40 ft.

Complete the Concurrency Plan for public amenities before rezone is approved, including community center, branch library, public school location, transportation and parking.

Provided for parks and open space to meet the Seattle Comprehensive plan of 1 acre of parks or open space per 1000 residents.

Maintain current zoning in all of the Cascade Neighborhood, including to Fairview Avenue.

Protect View Corridors toward Lake Union on Westlake, Terry and Fairview Avenues.

Although the meeting tomorrow will cover the EIS alternatives, the issue of development in South Lake Union is two-fold: Two weeks ago, the city approved a Land Use Amendment that allows building heights of up to 120 feet, plus an additional 15 feet of rooftop mechanical equipment, in the area zoned for Phase III of the UW Medical Campus. (Read what Councilmember Tim Burgess, who voted for the Amendment, has to say here. Read LUOA’s opinion here.)

To read up on the plans for South Lake Union click here, or contact Jim Holmes at jim.holmes@seattle.gov or (206) 684-8372.

Last week nearly 40 people met at the Bayview Retirement Community to tell community-group FOLKpark and architecture firm HBB Landscape Architecture what they want out of Lower Kinnear Park. And now organizers are asking those who couldn’t make it to the meeting to weigh in on the future of Lower KP, the first park planted in Seattle.

Though they’ve been together for less than a year, FOLKpark has been operating under an aggressive time-line to revamp the five acres of urban forest, winning a $15,000 grant from the city’s Department of Neighborhoods to fund the project.

Last Thursday the group printed off large posters of the park in its current state and asked community members to sit down in small groups, each with a leader from FOLKpark, the city or the architectural firm, and literally cover the maps with markers and post-it notes highlighting suggestions for park developments, redesigns, additions, problem areas – any ideas for the enhancement of the park.

FOLKpark chair Debi Frausto asked participants to consider how they like to use the park/would like to use the park, how the enter and interact with the park, what would give the park a stronger connection to the community, what does the park give back to the neighborhood, and what stories, if any, they have of the park, when brainstorming ideas. At the end each group presented their ideas, while graphic recorder Patti Dobrowolski created a pictorial visualization made of up everyone’s input. (See the final product here).

Some of the major concerns were safety, lighting, adequate trails for biking, strolling, and short routes for those walking through the park on their regular commute, highlighting the park’s historic story, making the best use of communal space (ideas for an environmental/educational play area and community pea patch were discussed), inviting entrances, parking and building a link from Uptown to the waterfront through the park.

“We just started a discussion about the Uptown Loop showing Kinnear Park as the missing link to the waterfront via the Helix Bridge on the Discussion Board.  Would you like to walk down the hill and get to Myrtle Edwards Park?” Frausto wrote.

HBB took notes on the ideas and suggestions from the neighborhood and will create a draft plan for the park, to be presented to the community at the next public meeting on Thursday, February 25 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Bayview Retirement Community, located at 11 W. Aloha St. In the meantime, Frausto encourages those who couldn’t make it to the meeting to engage in further talks/share their ideas on the FOLKpark Facebook page. Also, stay tuned for a video (currently being edited) of highlights from the evening.

FOLKpark, or Friends of Lower Kinnear Park, has launched their new website – folkpark.org. The community-based organization, which recently won $15,750 in the form of two city grants for the further restoration and development of Lower Kinnear Park in Queen Anne, announced that they would launch a new site last week. FOLKpark began in March of 2009 with a mission to “renew Lower Kinnear Park as a sustainable urban forest that links us to its heritage, natural setting and our greater community.” And the members wasted no time getting the website up and running. The new site combines information about the organization and its objectives, a detailed outline of their future plans and ways you can get involved (including hands-on volunteer events), a blog with up to date information on all organization happenings, and a platform for donations and community contributions.

Currently FOLKpark is going through the rigorous process of finding and selecting a landscape architect to develop an enhancement design plan. They plan on making their selection, after a public Request for Qualifications and candidate interviews, by the end of the month. Interested in getting involved, check out their brand new website for more information.

A small crowd gathered for the opening ceremonies outside the new Interbay Whole Foods at 8 a.m. this morning. Then the doors were open and shoppers were invited inside.

Many in the crowd were connected to the store and there was no rush of shoppers waiting to get inside.  A few folks did grab shopping carts and began to load up. The Interbay Whole Foods employs about 140 people who seemed eager to show off their new store to shoppers.

The shopping complex anchored by Whole Foods has slowly filled up with other retail outlets. The Magic Dragon Chinese Restaurant is now open along with Peet’s Coffee and Tea, Subway and a dry cleaner.

Whole Foods decided to build a smaller store in the Interbay Urban Center than originally planned and the space next door is still available for lease.

Across the street from the Metropolitan Market is a large hole with fencing around it.  If you are wondering what is going on, ask the architects on the project Tiscareno Associates, known for designing mixed-use projects around the Puget Sound.  The Queen Anne project, dubbed the Sweet Briar will house 39 living units covering one 13,000 sq. yard block.

According to the architects, the design goal of this urban infill project was to integrate high quality retail that maximizes street level traffic with residential buildings that maximize views.