October 7, 2014

Nine-story apartment project proposed for Pioneer Square

Photo by Jon Silver [enlarge]

Owner Ron Amundson wants to add eight stories to this building at 213 S. Main St. Hewitt is the architect.

A derelict building in Pioneer Square could soon undergo a radical transformation.

Over the years the single-story structure at the corner of South Main Street and Second Avenue Extension South has been known as the Cascade Laundry and the Old Cannery Building, but it's probably best known these days for the distinctive murals on its north face by artists Franklin and Thomas.

Owner Ron Amundson wants to add another eight stories to create a mixed-use apartment building. The first level would have a residential lobby and 2,300 square feet of retail. Three underground parking levels would have a total of 22 spaces.

Some of the 50 to 60 apartments would be lofts with 12-foot-high ceilings.

Maria Barrientos is the owner's representative. She said the apartments will be market rate “with some affordable component, probably.”

Hewitt is the architect.

The original structure was built in 1900 and had three stories and a basement, according to city records. The east side was altered in the 1920s to make way for construction of the Second Avenue Extension. The building lost its upper floors after the 1949 earthquake.

Barrientos said the western half of the building has no roof, and structurally it's too unstable to enter.

Architects from Hewitt will meet with the Pioneer Square Preservation Board at 9 a.m. Oct. 15 to discuss emergency stabilization measures as well as preliminary design plans. The meeting is at Seattle City Hall, Room L280.

The design would preserve the facade of the existing building, though the alley wall would be demolished.

The current square footage is 5,800. The nine-story building being proposed would have more than 60,000 square feet, plus parking.

The apartments would be less than two blocks east of 200 Occidental Ave. S., where Weyerhaeuser Co. plans to build a new seven-story headquarters.

Two other apartment towers have been completed nearby recently: the 10-story, 161-unit Nolo and the 26-story, 331-unit Wave. Both towers are part of the Stadium Place development north of CenturyLink Field.

Amundson has owned the long-vacant 213 S. Main St. building since 2000, according to King County records.

Barrientos said Amundson has been focusing his attention on underutilized properties in his portfolio.

The two have been collaborating on a pair of Capitol Hill residential projects: the 38-unit Lexicon, which just opened at 120 Harvard Ave. E. behind Dick's Drive-In, and the 24-unit Hollywood Lofts, which is under construction at 127 Broadway East.