March 28, 2024

When will the Go Center go away? Demo still awaits

Rendering by Weinstein AU [enlarge]

Champion hasn’t announced a start date for the student housing project.

The University District's Seattle Go Center closed last summer, and its very prominent old home still awaits demolition. It's also been cited by the city for a vacant building violation, following recent complaints of squatters and trash.

The corner site at 700 N.E. 45th St. is well familiar to motorists exiting Interstate 5 to the U District. Champion Real Estate acquired the property almost two years ago, then surprisingly trimmed its student housing plan — after securing a master use permit for a prior high-rise proposal.

Weinstein AU is designing the current eight-story plan, which is to have 29 large suites with four to eight bedrooms each. The number of beds — the standard metric in student housing — isn't yet enumerated. The DJC counts about 204.

The proposal will have its next and possibly final design review later this spring. It includes no parking or commercial space. Tenants will have a bike room with 29 stalls.

The building footprint has an irregular H-shape. What Weinstein calls slot and clerestory windows help preserve residents' privacy to the south on 45th and east alley. (Across the alley, it must be noted, is Blue Moon Tavern; that's not landmarked, and could be redeveloped.)

A south-facing roof deck is to have 2,455 square feet. A ground-floor gym will face the corner entry plaza, which will feature an exceptional cork oak to be preserved.

Total project size is around 75,000 square feet, with an estimated Mandatory Housing Affordability fee of a little over $1.9 million.

There's no indication yet as to a general contractor. Champion's team also includes Karen Kiest Landscape Architects; Coughlin Porter Lundeen, structural engineer; Sider + Byers, mechanical engineer; and Station10 Engineering, civil.