There aren’t any plans — exactly — to preserve old Capitol Hill buildings as part of two projects slated to share the City of Seattle design review stage this week. We’ll get our most complete look yet at the six-story project that will replace Broadway’s old post office. And, at Harvard and Pike, we’ll get our first look at the plans — and the preservation scheme — behind the seven-story building set to replace 95 Slide.

722 E Pike St

722 E. Pike St – Design Review Early Design Guidance for a 7 story structure containing 90 residential units with 4,000 sq. ft. of retail at street level. No parking is proposed. Existing structure to be demolished. View Design Proposal      

CHS first reported this spring on the plan to develop the old pre-1940 building at the corner of Harvard and Pike currently home to sports bar 95 Slide. Owner Marcus Lalario later told CHS he was bummed by the choice to go the redevelopment route and not allow him to buy the club. “Capitol Hill is what it is, now,” Lalario said.

On this particular block, at least, Capitol Hill is set to stand about seven stories tall and be packed with apartment units. The property, by the way, was purchased in June from its longtime owners for $2.9 million. The new owner knows a little bit about Capitol Hill these days — Kevin Pantzar is chief financial officer at W.G. Clark Construction.

Wednesday night, developers Johnson Carr and the architects at Skidmore Janette will bring a design to the review board that will easily fit into the block now dominated by the seven-story Pike Motorworks project. It is being planned for around 26,000 square feet of residential space. At 90 units or so, the average living space will be a tidy 288 square feet.

But the design of the project is less interesting than the means by which developers Tyler Carr and Kelten Johnson propose to build an extra story in the six-story-approved zone:

The project is utilizing the Transfer of Developmental Potential (TDP) program to gain additional FAR & 10’ of additional structure height, using the Melrose Market at 1501 Melrose Ave as the sending site. The structure that currently sits on the project site is a character structure as defined by land use code, due to its construction prior to 1940. However, the building has no historical or architectural significance, and does not provide opportunities to retain the structure and still achieve other land use provisions such as blank facades and street-level transparency, which are especially important at this dynamic, pedestrian zoned corner. (CS2.B2, CS2.C1, PL2.B3, PL3.AB, DC1.A1, DC2.B2) By participating in the TDP program the resulting design response will be more compatible with the adjacent developments, both of which are preserving portions of character structures and gaining the additional 10 feet in height. (CS2.A2, CS2. D1, CS3.A4) The proposed design and removal of the character structure allow for the commercial area to be easily subdivided into smaller retail spaces that respect and maintain the desired rhythm of the neighborhood streetscape, a priority of the Pike / Pine specific neighborhood design guidelines.

The proposal is the first of its kind we’re aware of under the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay development incentive program. Under the district rules, because the 95 Slide building is older than 1940, normally the developers would need to preserve the structure’s facade to receive the extra floor of height. Under this proposal, Johnson Carr is hoping the board will agree the project should receive an extra floor of height because of the preservation that occurred as part of the development of the Melrose Market.

There aren’t a lot of precedents to be set — mainly because the ingredients of the proposal including a preservation-friendly development of a beloved commercial building with no residential components aren’t on every corner of the Hill — but it will be an interesting strategy to watch play out at Harvard and Pike.

101 Broadway

Land Use Application to allow a 6-story structure containing 44 residential units above of retail. Surface parking for 4 vehicles to be provided. Existing structure to be demolished. View Design Proposal  (26 MB)