A key feature of the Living Building philosophy is the Ecology of Place. This idea forms the foundation for many of the suggestions, which arise from living in this neighborhood for many years. This address is an excellent site for senior living, with walkable access to many amenities and services. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the site is the proximity of this large commercial building to a residential neighborhood, a tension that has affected this neighborhood in the past in the context of the construction of the Blake Apartments. While it is often difficult to keep all parties to this issue happy, the hope is that the neighborhood and Aegis can find some common ground.
These suggestions cover a wide array of interests, and they are difficult to organize because at some level, they are interconnected. Because it has been the attention of many public comments, we start with Community Ecology.
1) Community Ecology
While transition zones can be challenging to design and manage, they are ecologically interesting and can be an asset. We urge detailed exploration of alternative massing models that can ease the transition between the commercial and residential zone, while providing visual and functional benefits to both zones (see other topics below).
For example, modulate the 200-ft property edge to reduce its visual and physical impact. Option 2 in the January EDG document shows a rotated "U" 180 degrees. The Blake Apartments, just north of the Aegis site, modified its original design to incorporate an alley facing "courtyard" to provide some transitional massing between the residential neighborhood and the 5-6 floor commercial building. This modification resulted from some noisy involvement of the community in the planning process. Option 3, with its street-facing entry courtyard, was preferred to Option 2 by the designers because the eastward oriented courtyard was considered a "CONSTRAINT" - "No outdoor public courtyard for pedestrians to interact with the building residents." However, Option 3 creates a change of grade with ramps and stairs in order to reach the "public" entry, which is not quite large enough to be considered a courtyard. This doesn't really invite the public to enter and connect with the senior residents.
A community invitation - The stated project design intention includes encouraging public interaction. To foster neighborhood interaction with the Aegis facility, we suggest adjusting floor one to sidewalk level to make a more welcoming connection to the street. At the February 2nd EDG meeting with the SW Design Review Board: "The Board noted that the distance from the street edge vehicle drop off to the front door was not ideal, given that some residents may experience challenges with mobility." In addition, "Grade transition strategies, such as stairs and ramps, should also be carefully considered in the entry sequence to ensure clear wayfinding as well as safe and convenient access." Pedestrian traffic is relatively high on both sides of California Ave SW, so engaging the walking population with interesting street level retail can bring them into the building, encouraging an active interaction with Aegis residents. Ramps and stairs are not senior friendly.
Increase the retail floor space and explore design flexibility to attract changing retail interest over the years. Talking to potential small retail establishment prior to design and construction can provide the greatest flexibility in attracting small businesses. Consistent with Aegis planning in other projects, having a nail salon typical to West Seattle (200 sq. ft.), would provide a service to both residents and neighbors. Similarly, a small noodle shop (400 sq. ft. including seating) could also provide residents with a change of taste at different times of the day. This would also modify the diversity of personal interaction that both residents and neighbors would experience as most of these small businesses are run by bipoc people. Fully understanding their design and utility needs (e.g. ventilation) would be critical to these businesses, as expensive renovations are unlikely to be practical for these small businesses.
Continuing to include a small coffee shop could also provide an “anchor” to the public interaction design intent. For example, further north on California Ave SW, Olympia Coffee has been successful using a small footprint (300 sq. ft including seating) to build a loyal customer base. At the time, despite some folks’ idea that West Seattle had saturated on coffee shops, this entrepreneur has succeeded. Clever ventilation of both the coffee shop and /or a noodle shop could bring many customers out of their rooms and off of the street, which encourages public to resident interaction.
The West Seattle Nursery could be another great retail partner. Biophilic design puts a premium on living plant material in human spaces. Its ever-changing seasonal offerings of potted plants could be displayed in the building lobby. A small display and retail area, with plants either paid for at the concierge desk or via an honor system, could lead to both a living wall in the retail space and hopefully, many plants in residents’ rooms.
Community ecology of the retail space could be enhanced by the creation of a retail court with seating, rather than separate retail entries from the street. For example, if the entry to the court was flanked by windowed, insulated, “garage” doors, in the warmer weather, the retail court would open to the street and invite pedestrians in. The spaces could be organized as stalls, with open, lockable fronts, which would increase the apparent size of the retail court.
2) Street Ecology
Safe and enjoyable streets - Seattle's Vision Zero program seeks to make streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and other non-automotive modes of travel. In addition, the Age-Friendly Seattle program specifically targets senior residents, like the ones who will occupy the Aegis project. There are several improvements that will enhance the experience of occupants of the Aegis Living building and the residents in the neighbor. The crosswalk at SW Dawson Street needs an upgrade to the style of the crosswalk upgrade that was done this year at SW Findlay Street. Residents in this area have documented drivers ignoring the flashing crosswalk signals and speeding right through them. Crossing California Ave SW to reach the pharmacy or the several excellent restaurants on the west side of California Avenue could be made safer for Aegis residents. Curb cut upgrades to ADA specifications have been recently completed along California, SW Brandon, and SW Findlay, so it will probably take additional community support to prioritize SDOT's limited budget to further upgrade curb cuts. Collaboration between Aegis management and the neighborhood could help improve the streetscape experience of everyone.
The neighborhood can request upgraded crosswalks via SDOT's Pedestrian Program Team:
The neighborhood can also request upgraded curb cuts, which is especially important for seniors with disabilities, at:
https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/permits-and-services/make-an-ada-request
Sidewalk safety – both the Alley and SW Brandon St. have a fair amount of pedestrian use. Having the internal parking access via the alley has the potential of increasing pedestrian-car interaction in the Alley, and the problem of cars emerging from the Alley onto SW Brandon at unsafe speeds. Currently a large hedge extending right up to the Brandon sidewalk creates a blind corner for cars and pedestrians. In addition, the current Aegis plan has a zero setback for both the north and south sides of the building. This could create a blind spot for emerging Alley traffic on the west side as well as the existing blind spot on the east side of the Brandon sidewalk.
Parking the cars in the basement (same as option 3) with entry off of Brandon or the corner of California could be safer for pedestrians, especially if modern automatic warning lights were included. Thus, the entry would be at 305 feet instead of 315 feet, saving internal ramp space. Access to parking for the Mural Apartments (4727 42nd Ave SW) is off of busy 42nd Ave SW near SW Alaska St. These apartments have a rear alley, but an entry off of the busy street was permitted, indicating that exceptions to SDCI and SDOT standard policy is possible, especially if there is community support for it. Vision Zero data indicate a relatively safe pedestrian environment in this part of West Seattle, and continued pedestrian safety planning could maintain this status.
Street Soundscape – California Ave. SW, SW Brandon, and the alley, have very different use patterns and very different soundscapes, which could be incorporated into design decisions.
For example, the courtyard facing toward California Ave exposes almost 50 units to the noise of the busy street (courtyard and west-facing units, option 2). The traffic is heaviest around commuter hours but persists for most of the day. Late evening hours and even in the middle of the night, muffler-less cars racing up California are not uncommon. The arterial is also the primary route for emergency vehicles and patrol cars going to incidents at all hours of the day.
Turning the building 180 degrees to create a neighborhood facing courtyard decreases the number of west, street-facing units by almost 40%. The trees and houses along 42nd Ave SW mute noise from traffic on 42nd Ave, making the eastern exposure a much calmer and quieter soundscape. The Aegis building, in turn, quiets traffic sounds for the neighbors to the east. Balconies, green roofs, and living walls, and other greenscaping can further reduce noise levels.
Courtyard soundscape - The interior courtyard soundscape has the opportunity to provide a significant amenity for residents and the immediate neighbors. With the courtyard accessible from the first floor, the back of the courtyard would be 10-feet below the alley grade if it were level. Reflecting some of the natural grade of the site within the courtyard would provide an opportunity for minor topographic variety within the courtyard with gradual, inclined walkways moving through landscaping. In addition, a small water feature could take advantage of the grade creating a gentle stream sound. The arboretum at South Seattle Community College has a water feature that creates audible sounds for 10 to 20 feet around it, while only requiring a few feet of grade change. Creating a green wall at the back of the courtyard (side facing the neighborhood), could also aid in soundscape design.
3) Urban wildlife ecology
Opportunities and challenges of urban "wildlife" include creating a welcoming habitat for song birds while discouraging pest species. Urban raccoons visit the alley and houses along 42nd Avenue seasonally. Norway rats are probably daily visitors, especially in the evening and morning hours. Most of the businesses in the area use rat poison "traps" but some are not susceptible to this method of control and can be seen from time to time. Some dog walkers and stroller pushers feed birds daily along 42nd Avenue. This attracts mostly crows and jays, which regularly check for food each day. A California Avenue entryway would probably attract only sparrows and an occasional very bold crow. A neighborhood-facing courtyard, with small trees and perhaps a green wall could attract a greater variety of song birds to add to the courtyard soundscape. Again, because the first-floor courtyard would be about 10 feet below the grade of the Alley, building a green wall, perhaps slightly terraced, would be good habitat for song birds. Because both rats and raccoon are excellent climbers, the alley wall feature should have some smooth metal surfaces to prevent their access to the inviting landscaped courtyard from the Alley.
4) Green Energy Future
Solar panels, green roofs, and balcony access - A green building, and especially a Living Building in a tight urban space, is challenged by the tradeoffs among energy production, green roofing (low maintenance, high insulation, low summer heat loads, green visual amenity, etc.), and access to light and fresh air balcony space. The Living Building Challenge looks for a project that generates more energy than it uses. Even with the most efficient air handling, electrical appliances, and high efficiency LED lighting, the horizontal surfaces available to the Aegis project are insufficient to meet the energy demand. Renewal energy credits (RECs) or other kinds of off-site electrical generation are needed to achieve these goals.
Partnering with adjacent landowners could facilitate a local energy transformation. For example, the West Seattle nursery across the street has a large, uncovered parking area and flat or south-facing roofs for many of its buildings. Acting as, or through, a solar developer, Aegis could provide the solar generating capacity needed for its project goals, while encouraging neighboring businesses to "go solar." After a 10 or 15-year period, Aegis could turn over the ownership of the solar project to the business and look for another nearby project to continue to provide the energy credits. While purchase of RECs (which also expire) could achieve the needed energy credits, working with neighboring businesses could be a transformative strategy that is clearly visible and connected to the Aegis Living project. Removing 100% of the energy generation requirement from the design intention of the 5252 California Ave project, frees up horizontal building surfaces for green roofing and balcony access.
5) Ecology of the Skyline
The current option (#3) creates a 65+ foot tall, level, 200-foot long, uninterrupted building horizon for properties to the west. This horizon could be modulated by reducing the center of the building by one floor (similar to option #2) or better, two floors (opening up Level 5 in option #2). This would provide the south and north facing units in the "North Tower" and "South Tower" lateral views of Puget Sound to the west and the trees in the neighborhood to the east (there is a spectacular magnolia to the east that bloom for almost a month). This opening would also provide more western light into the courtyard, and it would ease the impact of the building on the horizon for properties to the east. The green roof-top space opened up on Level 5 could provide a secure open-space for Life Neighbor residents.
Corner units in the “towers” would have spectacular 180-degree views, and perhaps could be marketed as “penthouse” units. They could also potentially have private balconies and/or roof access. Rental premiums for these units could offset the loss in the total number of units available, and also have the benefit of increasing the staff to resident ratio (by having the same net revenue from fewer residents).
6) Intergenerational Ecology
Research initiated in the 1960’s has demonstrated that Intergenerational segregation “may contribute to social isolation, poorer health and a lower quality of life for some older people” (Nature Aging volume 1, page 323 (2021)). Adding an intergenerational component to the retail programming in the building could provide multiple benefits to the Aegis residents as well as the neighborhood. Providence Mount St. Vincent in West Seattle has a very successful Intergenerational Learning Center that provides both staff and the community with daycare services and intergenerational programming.
Increasing the square footage of retail space could allow for a small daycare, that could use the inner courtyard. With access via a retail court, Aegis residents in the retail space would interact with children and parents dropping off or waiting to pick up children. During “recess” times, the courtyard soundscape would include activity that some would like. Those that wouldn’t like the sound, could opt for units fronting on California Ave.
Having an onsite daycare, could greatly benefit staff and be a perk that could allow for competitive employment (at a time when staffing is difficult). A few spaces could be reserved for Aegis staff. This could also enhance the diversity of the daycare as many of the service staff with direct contact with Aegis residents are bipoc.
6) Diversifying the Housing Ecosystem
Seattle’s Municipal Code includes a Mandatory Affordability Program. From 5 to 11 % of units in new developments need to be deemed “affordable” under this program. Initiated in 2019, by mid-2021, only 104 units were built on-site, with most developers choosing the “the in-lieu fee option” instead (The Urbanist, April 28, 2021). On-site affordable housing creates economic and racial diversity where it is needed most, and West Seattle could clearly benefit from Aegis participating in the on-site programming.
Seattle Housing Authority’s Senior Housing Program lists most wait times at four years or more and considers these units “rarely available.” Affordable senior housing is a challenging nationwide issue in need of the “transformative” philosophical approach embodied in a Living Building. For profit businesses may need to partner with non-profit housing organizations to increase affordable units, even if only providing a marginal increase. For example, non-profits could seek “named donor” units, which they could lease (e.g. 99 years) from Aegis for the pro-rata construction costs, plus a maintenance endowment. If donors chose to subsidize operational costs of resident care, they could include a larger endowment to cover the subsidy. The housing non-profit would find the unit resident and handle all the financial arrangements.
7) Pandemic Ecology
The world's population, especially seniors, suffered terribly during the height of the Covid Pandemic, and morbidity and mortality continues to be a community health issue. The potential for a future "Lock Down" is real, and resilience planning should be a hallmark of ecological design. Prioritizing a large, open-air community space, that can maintain social interaction while providing a safe space, could be a game changer. During a pandemic, a large, inner courtyard transforms from a pleasant amenity to an essential aspect of health and well-being. Even with expedited FDA and CDC approvals, a new mRNA vaccine could take over one year to approve. This is a significant percentage of the remaining lifespan of Aegis residents, so planning for better ways of operating during a pandemic can be a plus for residents. Utilities associated with this plan could include providing exterior outlets and upgrading electrical service amperage to accommodate both infra-red heating and UV sanitizing within the courtyard space.
Closing comments:
We feel that a "Living Building" project should be consistent with the stated philosophy of the Living Future's Institute "to transform how we think about every single act of design and construction as an opportunity to positively impact the greater community of life and the cultural fabric of our human communities." While all housing in Seattle is in short supply, availability of senior housing is very limited. The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies cites that there is an acute lack of safe, affordable, and accessible options to accommodate the swelling demand of aging baby boomers. Through its aspirations to create senior communities in "Living Buildings," Aegis is positioned to become an innovative leader in the area of senior living. With the creation of Aegis Development, leading design and management expertise can develop through continual experimentation in working toward the Living Futures ethic of positive impact on human communities.
Up to this point in the planning and design process, Aegis and its representatives have not actively engaged in conversation with the community. The Early Design Guidance process, while somewhat effective for typical construction projects, falls short in addressing processes advocated in the Living Building 4.0 Challenge. Residents in the neighborhood are very concerned about the impacts this project will have on their lives. We hope that this one-hour introductory meeting can start a conversation between Aegis and the community, and we welcome ongoing opportunities for meaningful exchange about this important project for the West Seattle community.
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