May 8, 2024

AMLI's 17-story waterfront apartment tower prevails in court

Rendering by GGLO [enlarge]

GGLO’s approved design for the apartments ...

The full-block waterfront parking lot at 1101 Western Ave. was recently restriped, and is ready for summer tourists. It's almost possible to forget that — with a proposal begun in 2017, as the DJC then first reported — AMLI Residential and architect GGLO have an approved plan to build a 17-story, 245-unit apartment project.

The master use permit came in early 2022. That was after two neighboring parties first appealed the city's design approval (in mid-2021), but the city's Hearing Examiner dismissed that appeal that same year.

Then, the Seattle Historic Waterfront Association and Madison Tower Condominium Association appealed the latter decision to King County Superior Court, which upheld the Hearing Examiner's determination.

The matter then went to the state Court of Appeals. After two years of motions, filings and arguments, an unpublished but publicly available 27-page opinion was issued last month. The matter was ultimately heard by a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals Division III, which decided in AMLI's favor.

Dated April 25, the opinion concludes, “AMLI and the City are the prevailing parties on appeal. AMLI prevailed on both a jurisdictional issue and on the merits, and the City prevailed on the merits. Consequently, both are awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs.”

Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge]

... and the Woldson lot pictured in humbler days, back in 2017.

The two appellants could, if they wish to pay still more legal fees, pursue the matter in state Supreme Court. If so, a final decision might come in two-plus years. That docket is very full, and moves very slowly.

AMLI hasn't announced a start date for the project. Its master use permit expires this September, but could be renewed. As a practical matter, it also may be easier to wait for the city to finish its ongoing waterfront redo, which should wrap next year.

There's no sign of a construction loan in county records. Like other developers, AMLI may be waiting for interest rates to decline before taking out a large construction loan. (Related, AMLI secured its MUP early last year for a 44-story, 461-unit project in Belltown; that bare site also remains a parking lot for now.)

Four years ago, Mortenson was listed as the builder at 1101 Western. That may have since changed. GGLO calls the 366,859-sqaure-foot project Pierside, and says that LEED Platinum certification will be sought. It includes 159 parking stalls (both structured and underground), plus about 6,417 square feet of retail/commercial or restaurant space.

AMLI is owned by Prime Property Fund, which is managed by Morgan Stanley. AMLI doesn't own the parking lot. It was bequeathed to Gonzaga University — which intends a ground lease — by the late investor Myrtle Woldson, of Spokane, who died in 2014.