Condo design criticized

Developers of a new eight story condo planned for a corner many consider the "gateway to Ballard" will have to do more to acknowledge the important intersection if they want the approval of the Northwest Design Review Board.

The volunteer citizen board reviewed plans last week for Market Street Landing, a 226-unit condo above 31,000 square feet of retail proposed to replace the empty Denny's restaurant at 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street.

Rhapsody Partners purchased the lot, which includes a strip of retail west of Denny's along Market, from the failed Seattle Monorail Project.

About 35 members of the public came to the review and several complained that the design presented by architects Freiheit and Ho was a "carbon copy" of other condos and didn't emphasize the location as one significant to the community.

Elizabeta Stacishin-Moura, chair of the review board, said the design wasn't "distinct" and made no attempt to nail it as a "gateway corner."

"It has a totally different identity than other buildings," said Stacishin-Moura.

Board member Bill Singer said he didn't see how it related to other architecture in Ballard.

"I don't see Ballard there at all," Singer said.

He'd like to observe a rendering of the condo in the urban design context of other nearby developments like Hjarta, being built on the same block to the west.

Joe Giampietro, also on the board, said the design lacks character for a location that has been used as a navigational tool, the oddly shaped diner guiding the way into Ballard.

"It's a challenge for anyone that approaches this site," he said. "I think we can acknowledge this is not an easy site."

Denny's closed in September to make way for the condo.

Beth Miller, executive director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, was disappointed with the residential look of the design for a corner that has been historically commercial.

"I don't think it's as strong as it should be," Miller said. "It really needs to read more commercial."

The Denny's building will be considered for landmark status with Seattle's Landmark Preservation Board at a hearing on Jan. 2. Rhapsody nominated the building after information surfaced that a famous Bay Area architect, Clarence Mayhew, built it in1964 as a Manning's Cafeteria.

Often referred to as a long-time hangout for "old Ballard," the style of the building, with its curled A-frame roof, is a post World War II architecture style called "Googie."

The future of the condo project may hinge on the landmark status of the diner because, according to Katie Vance, a partner with Rhapsody, it would be difficult to incorporate the building into any design.

Alan Michelson, head of the Architecture-Urban Planning Library at the University of Washington, thinks Vance is wrong and believes it's worth saving.

"The Denny's could be incorporated into a new and individualized design, one that preserves the restaurant as a gateway structure to downtown Ballard," said Michelson, who became familiar with Mayhew's work while doing his residency in the Bay Area.

"I think the Denny's is an historic structure on multiple counts," he said at the design review meeting. "I think this whole project could benefit from its continued existence."

Michelson echoed the sentiments of several people that the design looked like many of the mixed-use developments going up around the city.

"I think that it is a rushed design with no distinctive architectural character," he said. "It is monolithic and undistinguished."

The condo would encompass one-half block, bordering 15th, Market and Northwest 56th Street. Split zoning on the site allows a four to eight-story structure along 56th and Market and four stories along 15th.

Designed in an E-shape, it's supposed to look like three distinct buildings to lessen the impact of its height and mass, said Arthur Chang, a principal with Freiheit and Ho. But board members said it sill felt "heavy."

Stacishin-Moura said it reminded her of a "sprawling octopus," and was bothered that no public gathering places had been included.

"There's nothing that says, 'public, this might be a special place for you,'" she said.

Rhapsody is still in negotiations with its anchor tenant, Rite Aide. The drugstore would operate a drive thru pharmacy accessed from Market Street. Chang said the company requires a certain building shape and has been driving not only the design of the building but the project itself.

An earlier rendering caused some concern about the number of vehicle entrances on 56th. Chang presented a design that reduced the number of driveway entrances from four to three; two on 56th and one on Market.

The primary resident entry would be on 56th.

Some residents of Ballard Place, the condominium north of the site on 56th, are worried that traffic there could become unmanageable with the added cars from Hjarta and the proposed condo. No on-site loading docks are included, so delivery and moving trucks would have to use street parking on 56th.

Michelson said that would likely "exacerbate congestion" on the street.

Traffic impacts will be studied under a mandatory environmental review before building permits are issued.

Retail frontage and landscaping is now part of the design on 56th to address neighbors' concerns of a "blank wall" that could attract unwanted behavior.

An older style brick base is planned for the first two stories. The rest of the building materials are wood paneling and stucco. Framing around pedestrian entrances is meant to give it a "village" look, said Chang.

The project would include planters with evergreen ground cover and new street trees along all bordering streets.

The board asked Rhapsody to come back for another review. It recommended the brick base be brought up to three stories and asked that the sidewalk along 15th be widened to allow more landscaping and create a better buffer between cars and pedestrians.

Vance said for a project of this size, it's not unusual to go before the design review board a few times before the development is approved.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com