We first wrote about 975 John St in December, but the design review meeting ended up being postponed until March 18th, which is just a few short weeks away.
The design proposal (PDF) is now up on the DPD website, so we know a little more than we did back in December when we speculated it might be affordable housing based on the parcel's past ownership by the Low Income Housing Institute.
The development is indeed work-force housing (aka somewhat affordable) and has some interesting community-building aspects—including laundry rooms, lounges on each floor, residential courtyard, and a front porch.
The goal of this development is to deliver privately financed ‘work-force housing’ affordable to local working people, students and single households. The proposed solution is a model of efficient, high-density urban living with small units, and diversifies the housing options available in South Lake Union.
A concrete and steel-framed residential structure is not viable in the current economic climate. The proposed wood-frame structure is 65 feet high, lower than the allowable 125 foot maximum envelope. As a result, access to views and sun are enhanced in adjacent structures.
Following the logic of high-density living, the proposed design forgoes private unit decks, for instance, in favor of communal spaces, including:
- Reviving the traditional apartment laundry room. These are located centrally at each floor of the building.
- Residential lounges at each floor, at the corner of Terry and John. These spaces are distinguished by stacked corner glazing.
- A residential courtyard. The level 2 concrete transfer slab is held back, creating a day-lit internal courtyard at grade. The main interior residential amenity space opens to the courtyard. Opportunities also exist to visually or physically connect to the main entry lobby and retail spaces at the periphery as the design develops.
- An entry fore-court at the corner of Terry Ave N and John St. The intent is to develop a “front porch” for the building. This “porch” is defined by a combination of stairs and planter boxes wrapping the corner. These stairs should be understood as a multi-purpose element providing both access to the building and opportunities for sitting, gathering, etc. In this way, the design integrates the semi-public space with the public realm.
John Street Housing's "Front Porch"
From the design proposal, it's evident that the developer had the option to go as high 12 stories – the same height as Rollin Street – but decided against it. Still, the 60'+ feet distance between the buildings will block light into Rollin's already light-deprived east-facing units. The architect, Ankrom Moisan, is the same one behind Rollin Street and Mirabella. Lucky for us they don't have an entire city block to work with in this case. Only basic renderings of the building's massing are available now, so it's hard to judge it on looks as of yet.
