May 16, 2018

268-unit Trailside near U Village will replace 120 older apartments

Rendering by Weber Thompson [enlarge]

A 60-year-old, eight-building complex called Trailside Apartments will be replaced with Trailside, 268 units in two buildings above shared parking.

[enlarge]

[enlarge]

Local owner Trinity Partnership and Dallas-based developer Phoenix Property Co. will have their second and likely final design review next week for redeveloping Trailside Apartments at 4801 24th Ave. N.E., near University Village.

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 21 at Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.

The new Trailside, which depends upon an upzone to 85 feet and a street vacation, will replace the 60-year-old, eight-building Trailside complex, which now has 120 units on 2.3 acres just east of the Burke-Gilman Trial.

The new plan will have 268 units in two linked seven- and six-story buildings. They will sit on a shared one-level underground parking garage with about 258 stalls. A large bike room is planned at grade, plus additional bike spaces in the garage.

A public open space called Trailside Commons will be the southwest corner of the site, facing the trail. There will also be a 2,400-square-foot retail bay, probably a cafe.

Landscaped roof decks with amenity areas are planned. Phoenix Property previously said the project would be geared toward students.

Total project size, including parking, is about 482,000 square feet. Seattle City Council is expected to vote this fall on vacating the dead-end of Northeast 48th Street, which presently terminates in an informal foot/bike path to the trail. The new Trailside would include a public path to the trail on the south end of the site, at Northeast 47th Street.

Weber Thompson is the architect, and Site Workshop is the landscape architect. Phoenix will apparently act as its own general contractor.

No plan sets have been filed. Phoenix previously told the DJC that it hoped to begin construction by late 2018 or early 2019. Construction would take about 18 months.

Separately, Phoenix secured a long-term ground lease last month for Trailside Phase II. That 1.36-acre property is immediately north at 4907 25th Ave. N.E. It is owned by the local Silver Cloud hotel chain, and has a Chase Bank and a small medical office building on it.

Weber Thompson filed early plans for a seven-story apartment building with an unspecified number of units and parking spaces.

Nearby, both the Travelodge block and Office Depot/Jiffy Lube site are poised for residential redevelopment, with separate developers planning about 485 units, plus retail.