September 14, 2015

19th and Mercer corner on Capitol Hill getting busier with 32 units planned

Image by Public47 Architects [enlarge]

The architect is Public47 Architects of Seattle.

The 50 units in the 19th & Mercer apartment complex livened up a sleepy commercial strip when they opened on Capitol Hill a couple of years ago.

The retail spaces house Linda Derschang's restaurant Tallulah's as well as a bakery, small specialty market and a Molly Moon's ice cream shop.

Now it looks like the area will be getting a little more company.

A private investment group called Epic Property Management LLC wants to build a four-story, 32-unit mixed-use project kitty corner to 19th & Mercer, at 1830 E. Mercer St.

The architect is Public47 Architects of Seattle.

Preliminary designs also show about 2,400 square feet of commercial space and underground parking for 12 vehicles. The apartments would be a mix of open one-bedroom, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.

The new building would be right next to the existing 14,500-square-foot Mercer Professional Building. In a document filed with the city, the architects describe that building as an “amalgamated” structure that consists of a pair of turn-of-the-century houses that were expanded and connected in the 1980s. The building includes Monsoon, a popular Vietnamese restaurant.

The new structure would be directly south of Mercer Professional Building. The preferred design is an L-shape that creates a pair of courtyards in spaces between the buildings.

The full length of the street-level frontage would be for commercial use. An exceptional cedar tree would likely need to be removed to maximize frontage along 19th Avenue.

A city design review board will get its first look at the project at a meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at Seattle University's Chardin Hall, Room 145, at 1020 E. Jefferson St.