February 27, 2002

Simpson plants urban prototype in Lake City

Photos by Sam Bennett The 238-apartment Solara is billed as an "urban oasis" on Lake City Way, featuring an expansive, multi-terraced courtyard. The courtyard has a sunburst paving patten and leads to 10,000 square feet of amenities such as a mini-theater, resistant swing/spa, fitness facility and lounge area.

To many people Lake City Way conjures thoughts of car dealerships, the occasional strip mall and big box retail like Fred Meyer.

Add to the mix a new kid on the block, Solara -- Simpson Property Group's $28 million 238-apartment complex on 2 acres at 12736 Lake City Way.

Recognizing a need to shift the urban lifestyle outside the tight and often expensive confines of downtown Seattle, Simpson and Weber + Thompson Architects have conceived an "urban oasis" without the gritty reminders of city life.

Track lighting and breakfast bars are part of the Solara package. Donna Schuman, senior interior design associate with Weber + Thompson, led the interior design team.

"We're able to capture a good percentage of people who want more affordable living but don't want to sacrifice the image of living in a high quality, hip urban environment," said Scott Surdyke of Simpson. "It's an attractive alternative, part of the high-density infill, or urban village concept. Not everyone wants to be in Belltown."

Hip, fresh, fun and even "groovy" are words Blaine Weber assigns to the 340,000-square-foot Solara, which greets busy Lake City Way with a decidedly downtown flare, but reveals a spacious courtyard that helps residents leave the city behind and gather around a common element.

Club Solara features billiards, air hockey and video games, just off the expansive courtyard.

Solara targets twenty-somethings looking for an alternative to the sometimes sky-high downtown rental market, but still craving amenities such as a fitness center, large-screen mini-theater, billiards room and pool. Hip, brash and a "little edgy" are just a few terms Simpson uses in its brochure to describe life at Solara, which has three six-story buildings. Apartment rents range from $749 to $1,730 a month.

"The idea was to create an urban oasis -- something that is often lacking in the typical suburban approach to apartment design, where the internal space is often a sea of asphalt and cars," said Weber. "Lake City is somewhere between a city and a suburb, not quite suburban and not quite inner city."

Like Ballard in the mid-90s, Lake City could be poised to see a surge in apartment and condo development -- partly due to overcrowding downtown and more attractive real estate values for developers like Simpson. A recent zoning change to NC65 paved the way for larger developments that will more easily pencil out. The area has more than 900 new apartment/condo units planned in its central core.

Yolanda Martinez, coordinator of the Lake City neighborhood Service Center, said the neighborhood has always been known as a "friendly, caring, cooperative community."

The city annexed the neighborhood in the mid-1950s. Recently, she said she's noticed a demographic shift. "I've seen a lot of the young folks coming back. There's an influx of young families." That influx may be a boost for struggling mom-and-pop stores, she added.

Deborah Harris, executive director of the Greater Lake City Chamber of Commerce, said feeback from chamber members about Solara and other developments, such as the 39-unit Rekhi Building at 125th, has been positive. "They've enjoyed some of the new development coming into town," said Harris.

Some long-time residents have reservations about seeing the area change, but Harris said they have been complimentary about designs of the Solar and Rekhi buildings. "We've gotten a lot of positive feedback," she said.

Martinez said parking has always been an issue for visitors and locals. For Solara, a key element to its success could be its underground parking -- which allowed Weber Thompson ample room for the landscaped courtyard, with gardens, plazas, barbecue area and a fountain anchoring the space.

"The space is utilized as a mini park: an internal, semi-private environ comprised of usable gathering space," said Weber. "The court creates a view for the units that face internally and, best of all, this works to establish a sense of place and community."

Vertical metal corrugated siding, hard board flush panel, lap siding, exposed metal and a concrete base create an exterior that exemplifies an urban, industrial concept, according to Weber. In addition, a variety of rich colors break down the mass of the buildings and create a more pleasant scale.

The Solara's courtyard includes an outdoor patio and gas grill, party of an amenity package meant to appeal to its twenty-something target audience.

An essential element of the design concept was the use of vibrant colors, which Weber said have "energy and life" and convey youthfulness -- all of which speaks to the target renter. On the busy Lake City side, Weber chose to pull the building to the urban edge, rather than creating visual blight with a field of parking.

"Oversized windows of the retail storefront, steel canopies, urban streetscape treatment all help activate the pedestrian walk, creating a much more pleasant environment," he said. Primary entries include a path from the street straight through a gate to the courtyard, and another through a lobby and into a foyer. The development has 6,000 square feet of retail.

The units range from 500 square feet to 1,500, and feature track lighting, black appliances, raised breakfast bars and oversized windows -- emphasizing Weber's bright and light concept. Weber + Thompson's Donna Shuman, a senior design associate, was integral to the design concept.

Surdyke said he hopes Solara will appeal to those looking for an alternative to higher rents and higher crime rates downtown, and a lack of greenspace.

"We're taking the urban prototype and placing it in a more emerging market," he said. "Living in the city doesn't mean just living in Belltown in 20-story concrete high rises." He concedes that, while Lake City is growing, it doesn't have the same hip factor as Belltown, with its chic restaurants and boutiques.

Paying attention to the spaces that are created between buildings and giving consideration to how a building meets the street are high points of the design, Weber said. "This project is a good demonstration of the balance of some very basic urban design principles."

Leasing began in November, with about 60 percent of the units are now leased. For more information, go to www.solaraseattle.com.