October 28, 2015

Micro apartments finalist for ULI award

Photo courtesy of Base Capitol Hill [enlarge]

A Seattle micro-apartment complex developed by a limited liability company of Scott Shapiro is one of five finalists for the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award from Urban Land Institute.

(Editor's note: This story has been changed to clarify that the project is a finalist, not the winner. Information on unit sizes and rents has also been corrected.)

Base Capitol Hill opened in 2014 at 1728 12th Ave., three blocks from Capitol Hill's future light rail station.

Cascade Built was the contractor. The team also included S+H Works Architecture & Design; Lund Opsahl, structural engineer; Blueline Group, civil engineer; Allied Land Surveying, surveyor; and The Riley Group, geotechnical engineer.

Base Capitol Hill has 32 furnished studios ranging from 120 to 235 square feet. Rents range from $800 to $1,000 a month.

About 1,500 square feet of ground-level space houses a Mexican restaurant called Chavez.

The building is fully leased.

Units have large windows, kitchenettes, zero-VOC paints and finishes, and energy-saving appliances and fixtures. Residents share a rooftop deck, and there is bike storage.

Scott Shapiro is a local developer and investor. Among his projects are several micro-apartment buildings and a revamp of the old Harvard Exit Theater. He also worked with Liz Dunn of Dunn & Hobbes to develop Melrose Market.

Shapiro converted the Cotton Caboodle Outlet on Lower Queen Anne into Queen Anne Beerhall.