August 1, 2018

Capitol Hill site sells for Solis: 45 ‘passive-house' condos

RenderingS by Weber Thompson [enlarge]

SolTerra paid $4.6 million for the property, and plans to start construction on Solis in a few months.

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Only minimal heating and cooling will be required thanks to a tight building envelope with high-performance windows, insulation and ventilation systems.

The former Fran's Chocolate property on Capitol Hill, at 1300 E. Pike St., has sold for almost $4.6 million, according to King County records.

The seller was 13Pike LLC, which is associated with Fran Bigelow, who acquired the property in 1993 for $360,000. Fran's Chocolate moved to Georgetown in 2014.

Last year, Bigelow sold a $300,000 share in the old property to a local investment group.

Developer Maria Barrientos and Cascade Built took plans for a 45-unit building through design review, beginning in 2016, and permitting, on behalf of the sellers. Weber Thompson is the architect and landscape architect.

Final permits were issued last fall.

The buyers were two LLCs associated with SolTerra, which is now led by Brian Heather and Marc Coluccio. Dean Jones and Dave Janssens of Sotheby's represented SolTerra. The transaction was worth about $511 per square foot for the land.

The 8,960-square-foot property is on the northeast corner of Pike and 13th Avenue. An old one-story building will be razed.

The new six-story building will have 13 parking spaces below grade, accessed from 13th, and a bike room with 45 stalls. The new owner now calls the project Solis.

Realogics Sotheby's International Realty will be the broker for the units. Prices will range from the mid-$400,000s to almost $1 million.

(Editor's note: The story has been updated to say the units will be condos. )

Construction is expected to start in a few months, and be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

Solis will meet passive-house standards for energy use, so that only minimal heating and cooling will be required. Green features will include a very tight building envelope, high-performance windows, doors, insulation, ventilation systems and air seals. Automated exterior window shades on the south and west faces are planned, and there will be a central air-circulation shaft for cooling. Exterior stairs will not require heating or cooling.

Units will range from studios to two bedrooms, with sizes from 446 to 844 square feet. Some will have small balconies.

Two retail bays will have about 1,970 square feet each. Outdoor seating is indicated for the south bay, near the corner, with awnings and oversize windows.

A landscaped roof deck with 947 square feet is planned. There will also be a solar array. Total project size, including the parking, is 44,102 square feet.

The Solis team also includes Cascade Built, general contractor; Quantum Consulting Engineers, structural; CT Engineering, shoring; PanGeo, geotechnical engineer; Emerald Land Surveying; Decker Consulting engineers, civil; ArcheCology, energy consultant; and Bee Consulting, envelope consultant.

SolTerra was previously led by Brian Heather and James Wong (who now leads Vibrant Cities). Heather's new partner is Marc Coluccio, who comes from the tech sector, where he founded Straitshot, Respect Network (formerly Connect Me) and Exposed Skin Care.

SolTerra also planning 33 units at 2227 Yale Ave. E., a site it acquired for $1.2 million in 2015, in a project called Evo Eastlake.

SolTerra has offices in Seattle and Portland, where it also has other projects in development. The company also makes and installs solar panels, and green roofs and walls.

Coluccio said in an email, “We are actively looking at potential new projects.”