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January 9, 2017

Chinese firm wants to put 91 units on SLU site of the Row House Cafe

By BRIAN MILLER
Journal staff reporter

Image by Row House Cafe [enlarge]
The Row House Cafe has occupied three century-old houses on Republican and Minor since 2010.

Image by MZA Architects [enlarge]
The apartment complex was designed by MZA Architects.

The Chinese developer Plus Investments will present plans for an eight-story apartment project at 1170 Republican St. at an early design guidance meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

The site is on the corner of Minor Avenue North, half a block east of Fairview Avenue North in South Lake Union. Plus Investments, which has an office in Bellevue, wants to build 91 apartments with underground parking for 50 vehicles.

If the plan goes forward, Row House Cafe and an adjacent glass studio will be demolished.

Since 2010, Row House Cafe has occupied three century-old houses on a 7,200-square-foot property. Its landlord is an LLC associated with Plus. The LLC acquired the site in 2008 for $1 million, just in time for the recession.

Erin Maher of The Maher Co. then stepped in to create the 1,200-square-foot cafe, which is furnished with quirky salvage material and bric-a-brac, and has since become a neighborhood favorite.

Plans for the proposed apartment building show no commercial space, and none is required.

Whether Row House Cafe will close or relocate is unknown.

Just north of the cafe is an equal-size parcel now occupied by Peter David Studio, which fabricates art and architectural glass. David bought the property in 2002 for $790,000, then transferred ownership to an LLC in 2015.

Calls about a future location for the studio were not returned.

The Plus website says it owns both of the parcels, creating a 14,400-square-foot building site. The total building size would be around 100,000 square feet.

MZA Architects is the architect, and Geyer Coburn Hutchins is the landscape architect.

Plus also is proposing a mega-project in Bellevue that is now called ELEV 8 (previously known as Bellevue International Plaza). The site is two blocks east of Bellevue Square, at 10833 N.E. Eighth St., and was previously occupied by First Congregational Church.

Plus has spent $76 million assembling land for the project, which could have two 40-story towers in the first phase. Two more towers are also planned.

MZA is designing both ELEV 8 and the 1170 Republican apartments.

Plus is also planning a mixed-use apartment building with 65 units at 400 Roy St., which just received a master use permit.

Calls to Plus were not returned.

The early design guidance meeting for 1170 Republican is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18 at Queen Anne Community Center, 1901 First Ave. W.


 


Brian Miller can be reached by email at brian.miller@djc.com or by phone at (206) 219-6517.




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