July 12, 2000

Old face, new place

For over a year, the Austin Bell Building has led a stylish new life, rebuilt to support the historic facade and buttressed by a new companion building next door. It’s a life architect Chris Snell wanted for himself, too. Snell, who designed the renovation and the new building adjoining it, now owns a condominium and an office there.

The renovated Austin Bell Building has few historic peers in booming Belltown. Photos by Mike Seidl.

“This is every architect’s dream—to do an infill project next to a historic building,” he said.

Built in 1889, the Austin Bell Building was designed by noted architect Elmer Fisher. The brick was barged up from San Francisco, and laid without reinforcement. The 65-room apartment hotel survived several earthquakes, but not without loosing a part of the original bell tower and other details.

Wayne Knowles, whose company Cassimar owns the renovation in partnership with Murray Franklin Co., first noticed the Austin Bell Building in late 1995.

The Austin Bell Building as it was.

The old hotel had a grand face. But behind the historic facade, the building was crumbling.

Eccentric Seattle real estate investor Sam Israel had bought it in 1937 for $3,700, and it had stood completely empty since 1938. As a result, there was severe rot in the first floor and the rear of the building. A fire in the early 1970s had pretty much finished off any prospect that the original structure was salvageable.

What was he thinking?

“It’s empty , it’s cool, and there’s nothing else like it in Belltown.”

That was enough for Knowles, who wanted to move into the neighborhood. But he and his partners had to decide how to best meet their goals and respect the historic status of the facade. Renovating the historic structure just wasn’t an option, owner and architect agreed.

“You can renovate anything if you spend enough. But a true renovation would have been a signature building. The cost to renovate would exceed the market value by over 100 percent,” said Snell. “We wanted units that were affordable to all incomes.”

In fact, units range from 430 square feet to 1,800 square feet, and the selling prices started at $135,000.

They were able to get started in 1996, well before the Belltown boom. Way back then, said Knowles, “You wouldn’t want to go for a walk after dark.” Now, on the other hand, “You can’t find a parking space.”

The renovated Austin Bell Building and its neighboring addition have retail spaces on the street. There is a new Starbucks behind the original facade, and the addition contains the Cascadia Restaurant. Offices are tucked into a new mezzanine level behind the retail areas. New living units occupy the remaining four floors behind both old and new facades.

“Preserving the ruin,” an archaeological term, was the guiding principal of the renovation, said Snell. In general, it means that if the artifact is not to be completely and meticulously restored to its original state, it is to stabilized in place so as not to preclude future restoration. And so it is with the historic facade of the Austin Bell Building. Stabilization meant replacing two thin layers of sheet metal added years ago to help hold the bricks in place, even though they distract from the original design.

Rebuilding behind a historic facade was no easy feat. The architect had to find a way to reinforce the old structure before tearing it down. In the meantime, he had to design highly livable, contemporary units behind the facade and in the new building next door. Finally, he had to create a sympathetic neighboring facade for the Austin Bell that would complement but not compete with the historic one.

“It’s the most complicated project I’ve ever done,” said Snell.

The key to the construction of the project was pouring concrete shear walls into forms built beside the existing walls. To support these heavy new walls, it was necessary to first drill into the future 51-stall parking space below the building to create columns.

Top floor condominiums have sweeping views of Elliott Bay.

Full-height brick piers in the new facade contain a ductile frame which provides lateral support to the unreinforced masonry in the historic facade. The new floors are tied into the old brick facade at the same levels the old floors were, bringing the Austin Bell Building full circle to its original residential status.

But there are new standards for today’s condo market, and the Austin Bell makes urban living comfortable and stylish. The high ceilings of the first residential floor are used to advantage by building in mezzanine lofts. A landscaped courtyard opens from the side of the new building into the center of the old Austin Bell Building, providing an outdoor amenity for all residents and a green view for units at the rear of the building.

Extra high ceilings in second story units have tall windows and mezzanines.

On one side, shared balconies provide access to the outdoor space, and on the other, units gain light and access through large windows and glass doors. Galvanized steel screens are integrated into the guardrails at the balconies, providing a critical balance between openness and privacy. The top units open out onto roof decks, with views of Elliott Bay.

In the interiors, the brick of the old facade is exposed, allowing residents to see the joining of new and old. In booming Belltown, where history is history the future is now, the past gets respect in the Austin Bell Building.