December 13, 2005

Pryde + Johnson's Ballard condos first of several new urban projects

Rendering courtesy of Pryde + Johnson

Pryde + Johnson breaks ground today on Hjarta, a 79-unit, mixed-use condo that will be Ballard's tallest building, according to the Seattle company.

The 85-foot-tall Hjarta at 1536 N.W. Market St. is the first of several projects for Pryde + Johnson. The husband-wife team of Fawn Johnson and Curt Pryde are going for a LEED Silver certification. They say Hjarta will be the city's first condo project outside of downtown to achieve this level of LEED.

Hjarta, which means heart in Icelandic, will have rooftop gardens with a worm bin, native plants and other water-wise landscaping elements, such as a drip irrigation system.

Other sustainable features include permeable paving and locally manufactured materials. Units will have operable windows, ventilation systems, water-saving plumbing fixtures such as dual-flush toilets, and Energy Star appliances.

Hjarta is set to be finished by the summer of 2007.

The site was once home to a Key Bank branch. The bank has a temporary branch on the site and will take about two-thirds of the 6,000 square feet of retail space in Hjarta.

Pryde + Johnson is the contractor and GGLO is the architect.

Prices for the one-, two- and three-bedroom units have not been set. Urban Marketing Group is marketing the project.

Also in the works for Pryde + Johnson are mixed-use projects in the Greenlake, Capitol Hill and Roosevelt neighborhoods, plus one on Dexter Avenue. All will go for LEED Silver certification. GGLO is designing the projects.

The company also is planning a Greenlake cottage community, which Runberg Architecture Group is designing. And Pryde + Johnson is buying the site of the former Ballard library for another project.

Pryde + Johnson has more than 20 years of experience as a developer and builder in the Seattle area. Curt Pryde's father, Harry Pryde, is the head of Pryde Corp., a longtime homebuilder based in Bellevue.