Lake City Family Housing—Project Update August 3, 2016
Here is an update on affordable housing to be built at 12705 30th Avenue NE, the site of the former Fire Station 39. The sponsor, the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), provided this brief recap and summary of progress and schedule.
Proposed to Build
70 units of workforce rental housing for families/individuals earning up to 60% of Area Median Income
- 25 studios
- 15-1 BRs
- 25 -2 BRs
- 5-3 BRs
and Roof Top Resident Deck & Garden
6,800 SF Preschool for 3 to 5 year olds supported by the Seattle Preschool Program, including four classrooms and an outdoor play space, with hours of operation sufficient to support working families, 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, that includes before and after school care.
4 on-site parking spaces and reserved off-site parking within 800’ of the site, possibly at Lake City branch library if surplus spaces are available.
Eligible Incomes
To be eligible to live at Lake City Family Housing, a household could make no higher than the income limits
Architectural Progress
The NE Neighborhood Design Review Board (DRB) met on June 13, 2016 to provide Early Design Guidance to the architects, Runberg Architecture Group. Please see the design studies below. Very constructive suggestions included orienting the building toward 127th and not 30th Avenue NE; maintaining good security along 30th Ave NE with ample building and street lighting; incorporating Lake City Neighborhood Design Standards; referencing aspects of the auto-centric history of the community and creating a beautiful building. LIHI also heard concerns about zoning in the Urban Village not requiring on-site parking for residents, lack of safety along 30th Ave NE, and concentration of children.
Schedule – City Departments Collaborating to Help Get the Project Underway
- Master Use Permit Application (Land Use #3024131) submit to City Aug 16, 2016
- Application to City of Seattle Office of Housing for Funding-September 13, 2016
- Design Review Board Recommendation Meeting – Anticipated Oct/Nov 2016
- Building Permit Issuance April 2017
- Construction start May 2017
- Completion July 2018
- Preschool Opening Sep 2018
Preliminary Concepts
Color Option 1-yellow “ribbon,” with multi-color accents in grey facades
Color Option 2- multi-colored “ribbon,” with no color accents in grey facades
Suggestions/Questions? Contact Robin Amadon, ramadon@lihi.org 206-957-8050
Thank you for the update, Nancy!
This looks to be a great asset for the community. I feel ya with the lack of parking but it does hold down the cost and its sadly no longer a requirement. Great info Nancy, thanks.
Really looks good, but the lack of parking has such an impact on surrounding neighborhood.
Huh. My first thought on seeing these drawings was “is that the Target store at Northgate?” Why can’t low-income housing look like a home and not a department store? Or worse, a warehouse for poor people?Multi-colored squares on a concrete box does not make it any less a concrete box.
Big boxes tend to be blighty. Would something with a pitched roof and some eves be better? Will there be some trees around it at street level?
[…] of the first new projects which will be built is an affordable-housing apartment building at 12704 30th Ave NE, in place of the old Fire Station 39. The new building will have seventy […]