August 20, 2021

55 Ballard apartments move closer to MUP

Rendering by N5 Architecture [enlarge]

In this perspective, looking northeast, the Subway and its parking lot (at left) wrap around the project site.

A seven-story apartment building planned at 1446 N.W. 53rd St. has passed through design review and is now on track for a master use permit. A demolition permit has already been issued for the small midblock commercial building most recently used as a gym. The new building proposal is dubbed Chinook.

The property sold three years ago for $1.3 million to an LLC associated with multifamily investor and developer Preston Walls. It's directly east of the Subway parking lot on the corner of 15th Avenue Northwest, and north of the O'Reilly Auto Parts store.

The design by N5 Architecture, formerly MAS Architecture, calls for 55 units ranging from SEDUs (small efficiency dwelling units) to slightly larger apartments. A few units would have mezzanines with sleeping lofts. No parking is planned, but a bike room would have 56 stalls.

The location is well served by the RapidRide D Line, and close to the Safeway and other shopping. Light rail is expected to reach Northwest Market Street, though probably well after the old goal of 2035, given Sound Transit's budget uncertainties.

Chinook's total project size is about 26,512 square feet, including a 1,800-square-foot roof deck; and the Mandatory Housing Affordability payment is calculated to be $376,525.

The Chinook team also includes Earth Solutions NW, geotechnical engineer; Chadwick & Winters, surveyor; and Root of Design, landscape architect. No general contractor is indicated yet.