November 20, 2018

162 South Lake Union apartments ready for final review 4 years later

Renderings by Weinstein AU [enlarge]

Weinstein’s design for the 15-story building shows 162 units, with 64 parking stalls on three underground levels.

[enlarge]

Units will range from about 486 to 750 square feet, with studios as well as large one-bedrooms.

In January of 2015, Investco paid $4.25 million for a corner site with an old industrial building at 701 Valley St. in South Lake Union.

Its affiliate Tarragon proposed a new 15-story apartment building, which had its first design review that same month.

Almost four years later, the second and presumably final review will be at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28 at Queen Anne Community Center, 1901 First Ave. W. Weinstein AU is still the architect.

The old building was previously occupied by Fulcrum Technologies, which moved to the International District in the fall of 2016. (Fulcrum's CEO owned and sold the property.) It has been vacant since then, though Tarragon and Colliers offered it for short-term lease.

No reason has been given for the delay.

The 12,163-square-foot property is on the northwest corner of the block, at Aurora Avenue North. It's zoned for construction up to 280 feet; however, it's in the seaplane landing path for Lake Union, and that caps the development potential.

Weinstein's slightly updated plan has 162 units, with 64 parking stalls on three underground levels. The garage will be accessed from Valley. Two bike rooms will have 161 stalls.

The lobby will be on the corner of Aurora. No retail or commercial space is included. There will be a gym and other amenities.

Units will range from about 486 to 750 square feet, from studios to large one-bedrooms. They will be market-rate, meaning an undetermined Mandatory Housing Affordability fee will be paid.

The 15th floor will have 2,865 square feet of terraces, and an enclosed lounge. Some units on the second floor will also have terraces; other units will have balconies.

Total project size, including the parking is listed at 156,801 square feet.

The team also includes Swenson Say Faget, structural engineer; and Thomas Rengstorf & Assoc., landscape engineer. Tarragon will presumably act as its own general contractor.

No start date has been announced.

When completed, the 701 Valley project will share the block with the existing six-story Oakwood apartments, to the east, and Alexandria Real Estate Equities' planned new office tower at 701 Dexter Ave. N., to the south, which will replace a smaller old office building. That new building will also be in the seaplane flight path, and could have 10 or 11 stories.