April 5, 2023

Warwick Hotel protests AMLI's Belltown high-rise plan

Rendering by Ankrom Moisan Architects [enlarge]

In this rendering, the Warwick can be seen at right.

When AMLI Residential paid Vulcan Real Estate $33 million last year for a Belltown building site, the long-brewing and well-advanced apartment plan for 2025 Fifth Ave. didn't yet have a master use permit. The 44-story, 461-unit proposal has gained steam in recent months, as the city recently issued a SEPA determination of non-significance, its second, for the unnamed project. And the old Nara Grill building was razed last fall, near the corner of Lenora Street. Construction seemed nigh.

However, the owner of the neighboring Warwick Hotel just appealed the project to the city Hearing Examiner, even before a MUP has been issued. That's not the normal procedure, and the examiner hasn't yet scheduled a formal hearing. Peterson Russell Kelly Livengood is Warwick's legal counsel, while AMLI has retained McCullough Hill Leary. There was a prehearing conference last week.

The 18-story hotel is west across the alley, at 401 Lenora St., also facing Fourth Avenue. The building and its structured garage date to 1980. Richard Hadley was the original developer, and he sold to Warwick Hotels & Resorts soon after completion. That international chain now lists 55 properties worldwide; its history began in 1980 with the purchase of the Warwick New York. The company is based in Paris, and was founded by Richard Chiu.

Writing to the examiner, a Warwick executive argues that the city's tower separation rules — requiring 80 feet of distance between high rises — would prevent the company from reasonably redeveloping its own property in the future.

The executive writes, “When Warwick Corp. wishes to redevelop or reconstruct its two buildings, it would have to respect the 80 feet rule. Only a fraction of its land could be built upon, and the buildable area will be a small percentage of the area that could be developed without the building next door.”

Thus, the letter concludes, “Warwick Corp. will therefore have part of its floor areas or air rights ‘confiscated' by the project,” meaning the planned AMLI tower.

The letter goes on to cite the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, 14th Amendment and a few court precedents that may or may not be pertinent.

A possible addition to the Warwick's four-story garage is mentioned, as are issues of traffic congesting, alley use and respect for the nearby Cinerama.

The 231-room Warwick itself has a somewhat unusual design, in that its windows and balconies face north and south; and it presents blank facades both to Fourth and AMLI's corner site. The hotel was designed in the late 1970s by Terry & Egan. That firm was co-run by the famed Northwest modernist architect Roland Terry, who often worked on projects for Hadley.

Ankrom Moisan Architects designed the AMLI tower, with PCL Construction Services still attached as the builder.