SEATTLE — A developer wants to build an eight-story building on Lower Queen Anne neighbors are concerned would set a neighborhood-changing precedent.
The structure is being proposed to replace several store fronts along the north side of W. Roy Street between 1st Avenue West and the W. Queen Anne Driveway. There would be retail on the bottom and more than 100 apartments on top.
For the project to move forward, the city would have to agree to rezone the land from allowing a 40-foot building to allowing an 85-foot building. Neighbors said approving the rezone could change all construction on lower Queen Anne moving forward.
“If they get the permit to build at 85 feet others will follow,” said concerned neighbor Alex Braun.
“What precedence does that set for others in the neighborhood?” asked Mary Cordts, who runs the Bayview Senior Community Center, which would have a giant shadow cast on it by the new building.
Wednesday night Braun and Cordts were among about 100 neighbors who packed a Seattle Design Review Board meeting to share their concerns about the project.
A KIRO 7 staff member suggested going to the meeting because their building manager expected a high level of frustration in the room. However, the DRB members told people it will ultimately be up to the City Council to decide the rezoning issue.
The board is just looking at things like how far the building would be set back from the street and if the architecture matched the neighborhood. Even after the review, there is no guarantee anything will be approved by the city in the end.
A staff member at the meeting told the crowd that the developer is “proceeding at their own risk.”
It is early in the planning process and too soon to tell what the City Council might do about the rezoning request.
Cox Media Group
