February 28, 2006

23-story tower is eyed for Second & Pike site

Photo by Benjamin Minnick Building owner Richard Nimmer wants to tear down the 7-story building and replace it with 145 residential units, groundfloor retail and office space.

The owner of the Second & Pike Building wants to tear it down to make way for a 23-story residential/office/retail tower, according to information filed with the city of Seattle.

But it's likely that the owner, Richard Nimmer, will be required to have his building, which King County records say was built in 1904, considered for landmark designation. Such a designation could prevent its demolition.

That would please William Justen, managing director of the Samis Land Co. Samis is developing what it says will be one of Seattle's tallest residential high-rises, the Fifteen Twenty-One, on an adjacent site with Opus Northwest.

Justen said the Second & Pike Building is an "important building in Seattle's history and probably should be designated a landmark." He said he thinks it adds to the "pedestrian experience," and contends the site is too small for the proposed development.

"The issue is really that building should be restored,'' said Justen. "We'd like to help him do that. He's trying a different approach. We don't think that approach would be successful."

Nimmer, who was unavailable for comment yesterday, plans 145 residential units on 18 floors, with approximately 3,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor and about 16,000 square feet of office space. The applicant's contact, Greg Maxwell, did not return a phone call.

The building, which the Wall Street Journal in 2000 referred to as one of downtown's "most intractable eyesores," is currently home to a needle exchange program for drug addicts.

It's likely the city's Historic Preservation Office will require Nimmer to nominate the building to the city's Landmarks Preservation Board for landmark status, according to Beth Chave, landmarks coordinator for the office.

If the board declares that a building is a landmark, the owner can only demolish it if he can prove it is structurally unstable or that there's an economic hardship to keeping it intact, Chave said.

"The burden is on the applicant to prove why they can't retain the building,'' she said.

Chave said the Second & Pike Building has "quite a bit of architectural presence."

Karen Gordon, the city's historic preservation officer, said it has "architectural features that are very definitive."

Any building 50 years old or older and that is subject to the state Environmental Policy Act must be reviewed by the preservation office for consideration as a landmark, said Chave.

Nimmer's proposal would fall under SEPA because of its size, said Alan Justad, director of community relations with the city's Department of Planning and Development. The act requires the city to maintain and preserve significant historic sites and structures.

Last fall, Justen said Samis and Opus were working with Nimmer to redevelop the building. "We've proposed we'll take the risk off his shoulders. We're real close."

Justen said Monday that they would still like to work with Nimmer.

In 2000, the city had told Nimmer it wanted him to improve the seven-story building or sell it. Part of the concern was that it was unkempt and mostly vacant above ground level, making it an attraction for drug addicts and the homeless.