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Comment on the September 29 Recommendation Proposal for Presentation to the DRB

The Senior Living project at 5252 California Avenue SW by the developer Aegis Living has progressed to the Master Use Permit (MUP) Design Review Recommendation phase. Changes to the project after the EDG (Early Design Guidance) Report in February were made around April, and now a new Recommendation Proposal has been submitted on  September 29, 2023 for review by the SouthWest Design Review Board.

Building massing still remains an issue. The current project design changes from the Early Design Guidance phase have included higher building elevations and roof top structures extending to 5.5 feet above the 52.5 feet allowed as part of the Living Building Pilot program (Zoning NC2-40) 40 feet plus 12.5 feet. The site plan in the September 29, 2023 submission (page 12) shows an alley elevation of 315.5 feet on the SE property corner. 52.5 feet plus the 315.5 foot elevation gives a building height of 368 feet, while the April 17, 2023 MUP draft shows a building elevation of 373.5 feet (sheet 3.11). The January 19, 2023 submission (for the Feb 2 EDG meeting) does show a building height of 368 feet, so the new submission is 5.5 feet higher than the January proposed design that was reviewed by the SW Design Review Board. 

This increase in building mass is misrepresented in the September 29, 2023 submission where the design team compares the EDG package propsosal with the MUP Recommendation Proposal (page 26 "Building Section 1 - Proposed Rec"). This diagram (see below) shows identical building heights, misrepresenting the added mass to the building elevation in the amended massing diagram.

Public comments bringing attention to the increased massing in the MUP Recommendation package is critical at this stage of project development. This has been an important public issue from the outset of this project and the SW Design Review Board and SDCI need to be reminded that it still is an issue, not to be misrepresented by diagrams and ongoing statements by the applicant (in the September 29, 2023 submission) that indicate just the opposite.

"the building is tucked into the slope with stepped back terraces along the east facade to blend the transition into the hillside." (page 24)

"Careful moves have been made to set the facade farther back from the alley property line than what zoning allows." (page 26)

"The composition of the tiers bring landscape shelves into the facade, reducing bulk and incorporating nature." (page 26) The previous EDG proposal includes three levels of 6-7 feet wide green roof terraces on the east side (pages 62-63), while the MUP proposal shows one partial 6'2"-wide green roof terrace off of level 3 and two smaller 7'-wide green roofs at level 1 (page 37). The top tier setback is allocated for private unit terraces and not green roof. Thus this new design reduces natural green features on the east exposure, in sharp contrast to their statement.

Both Section 1 and Section 2 in the diagram (page 26) show a net increase in bulk on the East side of the building compared to the EDG proposal (Jan. 19, 2023 submission).

Note both the inaccurate placement of the horizontal roof line (orange dashes) and the loss of green roof terraces when comparing the EDG and MUP proposals..

Please send written comments to the SDCI planner:
Theresa Neylon, 20th Floor, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, 700 5th Ave Ste 2000, PO Box 34019, Seattle, Washington 98124-4019
Reference project: 3040026-LU

Email comments can be sent to: Theresa.Neylon@seattle.gov


See the link above "CURRENT DESIGN." These changes seem to fly in the face of many public comments addressing the inappropriate size and scale of the building adjacent to a residential zoned area.

The applicant will present their proposal at an online meeting on October 19, 2023 at 5 PM. See "Events" at the following link:

Events

Public comments at the meeting can be made at the time of the meeting:
https://bit.ly/Comment3040026

The project is now moving forward rapidly and timely community input is needed if it will have any impact on the project and its aspirations to be partially certified as meeting the standards of the Living Building Challenge 4.0 (note: Seattle's Living Building Pilot Program does not require full certification).

Other project information including issues with the project and previous comments is available from links on the Home Page.

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