December 2, 2016

38-story tower on Terry may be built using innovative construction system

Images by CollinsWoerman [enlarge]

The team said this will be Seattle’s first Priority Green project, with solar power for heat and hot water.

The 38-story mixed-use apartment tower planned for 1800 Terry Ave. might be built using a unique construction system created by Sustainable Living Innovations, a division of Seattle architect CollinsWoerman.

Developers Seawest Investment Associates and Insignia 2006 LLC are scheduled to present their plans next Tuesday at a design-review meeting. Insignia 2006 LLC is associated with developer Dan Madsen, whose company One Eighty is also listed as a co-owner on some of the project documents filed with the city.

The 440-foot tower would have 425 apartments above 6,500 square feet of ground-floor retail. Parking for 259 vehicles would be on five underground levels.

Plans filed with the city indicate that the project could get taller under Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability program. Under new MHA rules, four floors could be added — yielding about 24 more apartments and topping out at 480 feet. The total size under the current plan is 562,580 square feet.

The 1800 Terry tower will also face Howell Street, and occupy the east end of a block shared with the 21-story Midtown21 office tower that Trammell Crow is now constructing — and recently leased to Amazon.

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The proposal is for a 440-foot tower with 425 apartments but it could add four floors and 24 more units.

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The team wants to use the panelized construction method created by a division of CollinsWoerman.

A five-story 1964 office building now on the site is used for self-storage. The two owners bought the 20,886-square-foot site in 2007 for $15.6 million.

Last December, the DJC reported that 1800 Terry might be built using the same panelized construction method that SLI employed on the six-story 47+7 apartments in the U District, at 4558 Seventh Ave. N.E.

The 47+7 project has a steel “exoskeleton” frame with a concrete slab on the ground floor. The floor and wall panels were built off site complete with plumbing, electrical systems and finishes, and delivered to the site for final assembly.

SLI's name appears on plans filed with the city, but the exact construction method couldn't be confirmed. None of the project principals returned calls from the DJC.

According to the plans, “The same technologies found [at] 1800 Terry are the basis of design for the 47th + 7th University District apartment building.”

The team said in the documents that 1800 Terry will be Seattle's first Priority Green project, with some solar power for heat and hot water in the units, a gray water treatment system and LED/low-voltage lighting.

Renderings show decks on the roof and on the podium.

Here is the 1800 Terry team: landscape architect Brumbaugh and Associates, DCI Engineers, general contractor Swinterton Builders, Hermanson (mechanical) and Washington, D.C.-based consultant The Eisen Group.

Seawest's in-house contractor, Atcon, is also listed on some materials.

No start date has been announced for the project, and no permits have been issued.

The design-review presentation will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Seattle City Hall (601 Fifth Ave.).