News Roundup: 1/26
It's been a while! Let's get back into it.
What I’m Reading
On Saturday, ICE and CBP agents murdered Alex Pretti, a Minneapolis ICU nurse, cyclist, hiker, and dog owner. The gaslighting that followed was amoral, fascistic, and devoid of humanity. I’m at a loss for words for where we are as a country and where we go from here, but a candlelight vigil is being organized tonight from 4-7pm at the Rotary Fountain in Riverfront Park.
There are a lot of active transportation investments planned for this year across the city and region. Most notably, we’re anticipating a high-quality connection between the Children of the Sun Trail and the Centennial Trail, the Pacific Avenue Greenway, and an exciting extension of protected bike lanes on Riverside.
The short legislative session is well underway, and I’m watching a number of bills impacting housing, transportation, and land use, including:
SB 5156, which legalizes smaller, internationally best-in-class elevators in more buildings.
HB 2228, which legalizes “scissor-stairs”––interlocking sets of stairs that result in less expensive and more livable buildings.
SB 6015, which requires cities to allow permit-ready factory-built housing, and creates permit-ready plans allowed statewide.
HB 2304, which makes it easier to build condos up to four stories and 12 units. I’d like to see this expanded further, but, progress!
SB 6026, which makes it easier to build housing in commercial zones and bans cities from requiring first-floor retail in residential buildings.
Local transportation planners estimate that we face a shortfall of $2.5 to $7.8 billion in funding for operations, maintenance, and preservation projects through 2050. And that’s before you factor in any additional projects, like North Division BRT or necessary active transportation expansions.
Seattle’s light rail system is expanding again, this time with service over Lake Washington connecting downtown Seattle with Bellevue and Redmond. It’s likely to significantly change the way people experience the region.
Development Proposals
Building Permits (These projects have filed to start construction.)
1225 E Newark Ave. A couple of single-family homes will be torn down and a new four-story, 40-unit apartment building will be constructed in South Perry. This will provide some great additional density in this growing neighborhood.
2114 W Falls Ave. In Kendall Yards (sort of), a new sixplex will be constructed by owner-architect Evan Verduin of Trek. This may be the first of several structures, as it’s described as “Building A.” A prior pre-development conference suggested the second building would have four units.
4747 N Haven St. In Hillyard, a 29-unit apartment building is planned at Haven and Wellesley. This is an excellent infill site, but it’s worth noting that it’s located at a newly-widened intersection that will soon be home to a North Spokane Corridor on-/off-ramp.
115 S Jefferson St. At long last, it seems the conversion of the Norman-Jefferson Building is finally moving forward, spearheaded by Chris Batten of Rencorp Realty with Olson Projects as architect. This is a bit of a throwback, as the two worked closely on other projects in west downtown throughout the 2010s. The project will feature more than 13,000sf of retail space on the first floor and 40 apartment units above.
Pre-Development Conferences (These projects are still exploring possible development scenarios and have not yet filed for a building permit.)
559 E Cleveland Ave. What looks like a family trust is exploring subdividing seven lots to construct 19 townhomes near Art Salvage and Gonzaga Prep. This is the type of project that is made substantially easier by Spokane’s permissive rules for unit lot subdivisions.
Hadn’t heard about the Jefferson one! That sounds super cool