Slog Comments
Richard Conlin Loves Skyscrapers in SLU
1
Okay, here's what's on my wish list:
1) Linear park
2) Wind turbines and solar panels as part of sustainability plan
3) At least one quiet street with benches, ample lighting and clean lines of sight for safety and attractiveness
4) The northernmost tall must -- MUSSSST -- have a rooftop lounge/observation deck type amenity
5) Vulcan's final agreed number of affordable units? Build 300 units more than that.
6) Trash cans/recycling should be more available, even if it's on the side of buildings
Go for it, Conlin. Get those for us, k?
1) Linear park
2) Wind turbines and solar panels as part of sustainability plan
3) At least one quiet street with benches, ample lighting and clean lines of sight for safety and attractiveness
4) The northernmost tall must -- MUSSSST -- have a rooftop lounge/observation deck type amenity
5) Vulcan's final agreed number of affordable units? Build 300 units more than that.
6) Trash cans/recycling should be more available, even if it's on the side of buildings
Go for it, Conlin. Get those for us, k?
2
At what point does Seattle make itself so unpleasant and pricey that people will just go for the real thing:
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.7233397…
Sunny 2 bedroom
Completley renovated with new wood floors, bathroom, kitchen.
Exposed brick, voice intercom.
Front facing apartment with excellent view.
Located in the heart of the E Village in close proximity to restaurants, bars, shopping and transportation.
$2,650 !!
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.7233397…
3
Amazing location on beautiful tree lined Clinton St right next to Houston! This block is filled with amazing bistros and cafes and prime location in LES. Close to everything! You walk into a spacious open layout with the kitchen to your right and room for a small table to your left. the living room is large and there is plenty of light pouring in all day. There are 2 closets and as well in the bedrooms. The bedrooms are large enough for a queen beds with room to move around and have a dresser or work space if needed. There are large windows, which like in the living room bring amazing light in!
40 Clinton Street #1A
New York, NY 10002
$2,500 !!
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.726865&…
4
If Hallivulcan had revealed their plan for giant waterfront towers when they were bidding on these properties, the City would never have sold them to them in the first place.
5
@2 As soon as "nobody lives there anymore, it's too crowded".
We get it. You find Seattle unpleasant and pricey, so you live in Kent. But most of us enjoy Seattle. That's actually why it is pricey (well, that and our failure to build enough housing to meet demand).
We get it. You find Seattle unpleasant and pricey, so you live in Kent. But most of us enjoy Seattle. That's actually why it is pricey (well, that and our failure to build enough housing to meet demand).
7
Let 'em build. The answer to high rents is to build, build, build supply. Just like you pointed out last week when you agreed with the Seattle Times that what's happening in Ballard is going to be great for renters.
I loved the commons idea, voted for it, but now am glad it never happened. The SLU development is EXACTLY what should be happening in a vibrant city: attracting employers and relatively high wage jobs along with increasing the tax base. A big park in the center of the city would have provided none of this.
I loved the commons idea, voted for it, but now am glad it never happened. The SLU development is EXACTLY what should be happening in a vibrant city: attracting employers and relatively high wage jobs along with increasing the tax base. A big park in the center of the city would have provided none of this.
8
It's a city. be a city. save the short stories for the Aurora-stripmalls and Portlands. skybridges! soaring towers of adamantine. deep canyons. under-dwellers. we'll be safe if we reach the fog...etc.
9
The more gentrification the better i say. I hate the poor so driving them out only helps my northend property values. Sure, toss a few low rent apartments out for some cute Somali or Ethiopian family, but the scum bag poor will be driven out of this great city.
Thanks urbanists!
Thanks urbanists!
10
yes, but. yes, towers. but:
"mandating that larger projects include affordable housing" -- in practice this doesn't really work, we create a couple hundred units that charge $1500 a month rent serving middle class.
"or requiring designs that keep interesting activity on the sidewalk" -- yes we should be aiming for that, but in seattle we don't know how to do it. although it's so easy, just copy typical forms from europe...a plaza...with cafe tables, duh. a sqaure with arches on the edges with cafe tables duh. or look at farragut square. dupont circle. washington squre, no instead of that we try to recreate fake nature or put in greenswards which are too boring to draw in anyone. or monstrosities like freeway park or bergen place!
"mandating that larger projects include affordable housing" -- in practice this doesn't really work, we create a couple hundred units that charge $1500 a month rent serving middle class.
"or requiring designs that keep interesting activity on the sidewalk" -- yes we should be aiming for that, but in seattle we don't know how to do it. although it's so easy, just copy typical forms from europe...a plaza...with cafe tables, duh. a sqaure with arches on the edges with cafe tables duh. or look at farragut square. dupont circle. washington squre, no instead of that we try to recreate fake nature or put in greenswards which are too boring to draw in anyone. or monstrosities like freeway park or bergen place!
11
@1: Wind turbines and solar panels on a building in Seattle are just decorations. Build the wind turbines out by Cle Elum and solar panels by the Tri Cities or, better yet, further south like New Mexico. Anyone who builds wind turbines or solar panels for a building in Seattle needs to get an "Idiot" stamp on their forehead.
13
@5 Yup. Basic supply and demand.
I like how Chicago does it. You want to build a big tall building? You gotta give something back to the City for pedestrian use. A nice plaza, some art, some money for a street car, something. Chicago, for all its faults, is a pretty nice city to walk around. There is usable open space, street vendors, transit, etc. Only major issues, aside from some crime, is that they built their rail system at a time when it needed to be elevated to avoid choking everyone on coal fumes. Street level or underground is much better.
Integrating pedestrian space with buildings is infinitely better than our current approach of relegating it to parks. Plus the building owners do all of the maintenance, security, etc saving the City money.
There should be no height limits downtown at all. Just increasing demands for improvements as the height goes up.
I like how Chicago does it. You want to build a big tall building? You gotta give something back to the City for pedestrian use. A nice plaza, some art, some money for a street car, something. Chicago, for all its faults, is a pretty nice city to walk around. There is usable open space, street vendors, transit, etc. Only major issues, aside from some crime, is that they built their rail system at a time when it needed to be elevated to avoid choking everyone on coal fumes. Street level or underground is much better.
Integrating pedestrian space with buildings is infinitely better than our current approach of relegating it to parks. Plus the building owners do all of the maintenance, security, etc saving the City money.
There should be no height limits downtown at all. Just increasing demands for improvements as the height goes up.
14
Meet Kylie, who's lived most everywhere,
From S.L.U. to Union Square.
But Zoey's only seen the sights,
A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --
What a crazy pair!
But one's cheaper!
Yes, New York's cheaper and it's strange...
Brooklyn Heights
2-Bedroom
$2300
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.6913775…
From S.L.U. to Union Square.
But Zoey's only seen the sights,
A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --
What a crazy pair!
But one's cheaper!
Yes, New York's cheaper and it's strange...
Brooklyn Heights
2-Bedroom
$2300
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.6913775…
15
There is nothing inherently "cool" or "vibrant" about a 400-foot building. It's just a building, a building that shuts the rarely-shining sun out.
16
I'm not so sure I agree with the pro-density folks. It's like "if it's dense we like it!" sorta simplistic knee-jerk analysis.
How about this analysis: Vulcan gives $1000s to Conlin (and others on city council) of course they're going to love whatever Vulcan wants to do!
How about this analysis: Vulcan gives $1000s to Conlin (and others on city council) of course they're going to love whatever Vulcan wants to do!
18
People paying market rate for the tall tower apartments will probably be way too busy to shop for groceries, and will surely eat out a lot or use Amazon Fresh for their groceries (note to developers: include walk-in coolers in lobby to store delivered groceries).
HOWEVER Where will the residents of the affordable apartments (who will probably do none of the above) buy their groceries in the SLU retail wasteland? Whole Foods?
Trudge on foot under highway 99 to the QFC and Safeway on Mercer? Mandating affordable housing on-site in an upscale neighborhood has multiple issues that need to be Seattle-processed!
HOWEVER Where will the residents of the affordable apartments (who will probably do none of the above) buy their groceries in the SLU retail wasteland? Whole Foods?
Trudge on foot under highway 99 to the QFC and Safeway on Mercer? Mandating affordable housing on-site in an upscale neighborhood has multiple issues that need to be Seattle-processed!
19
I've generally liked Conlin's approach to transportation as well as zoning. His comments with regards to the zoning mess in Roosevelt was absolutely spot on. The station was originally going to be closer to the freeway. But the folks in Roosevelt wanted to move it closer to their neighborhood. At that point, the city should have said "great, but you do realize that we want tall buildings next to the station". Instead they just said "great". Then, a little while later, the city said "we want tall buildings next to the station". This pissed off the neighbors. It was too late to go back to plan 1. Basically, it was a major "failure to communicate".
Likewise, Conlin has been a big supporter of the bridge from the Northgate Transit station to the NSCC campus (on the other side of the freeway). This will be of great benefit to thousands of folks who have to get from one side of the freeway to the other. Conlin also pushed for a station at 130th and 5th (north of Northgate). This will tie in with buses coming from Lake City.
It is too bad that Conlin isn't running for mayor, as from I've seen, he seems to know what he's doing, even if some folks don't always agree with him.
Likewise, Conlin has been a big supporter of the bridge from the Northgate Transit station to the NSCC campus (on the other side of the freeway). This will be of great benefit to thousands of folks who have to get from one side of the freeway to the other. Conlin also pushed for a station at 130th and 5th (north of Northgate). This will tie in with buses coming from Lake City.
It is too bad that Conlin isn't running for mayor, as from I've seen, he seems to know what he's doing, even if some folks don't always agree with him.
20
Jesus, is John Bailo going to type in all the apartments-for-rent ads in NYC here? That's...special.
21
@15 Hmmm... On one hand you have the most environmentally sustainable living humans have yet come up with to deal with the growing numbers of us on this planet, and on the other you have preserving a few minutes a day of sun in an area adjacent to plenty of open space and water.
That's a tough one!
That's a tough one!
22
Tell me this one doesn't make your mouth water, urbists:
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.728944&…
Live in a historic building in the heart of Manhattan?s most desirable neighborhood with what the NY Times calls the happiest residents, Greenwich Village. Exposed brick, hardwood floors, AND private WASHER AND DRYER?S IN EVERY UNIT!!! Apartment?s in this desirable building go fast.
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.728944&…
23
@11 Seattle gets about 80% solar radiation on cloudy days, so actually, compared with areas with heavy snowfall and thick clouds, it's better for solar than many places this far north.
There have been high wind days in Seattle, but you need to build turbines that work with the environment, where you have a constant wind flow, or use it to sell back to the grid.
Your major savings are building heating: thicker towers, triple pane, green roof or solar roof, building design that uses passive solar (highest return) to heat/cool. Standard LEEDS Platinum concepts. Lights should be LED internally, and heating/cooling adapted to actual usage. Curtains work wonders for cooling and retaining heat for summer/winter.
There have been high wind days in Seattle, but you need to build turbines that work with the environment, where you have a constant wind flow, or use it to sell back to the grid.
Your major savings are building heating: thicker towers, triple pane, green roof or solar roof, building design that uses passive solar (highest return) to heat/cool. Standard LEEDS Platinum concepts. Lights should be LED internally, and heating/cooling adapted to actual usage. Curtains work wonders for cooling and retaining heat for summer/winter.
24
I mean seriously, this is getting Sick!
$2300 hundred for a 2 bedroom on the Upper East Side overlooking Central Park! Holy Holden Caulfield!
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.7721306…
And check out the pictures:
http://photonet.hotpads.com/search/listi…
Yeah, we don't get that classy stuff in the Jet City.
$2300 hundred for a 2 bedroom on the Upper East Side overlooking Central Park! Holy Holden Caulfield!
http://hotpads.com/search#lat=40.7721306…
And check out the pictures:
http://photonet.hotpads.com/search/listi…
Yeah, we don't get that classy stuff in the Jet City.
27
Conlin affirmed Scher's assertion that $1400 a month was considered "affordable housing" this morning.
Those popcorn/tshirt vendor jobs at the basketball arena are gonna have to pay, like, $22 an hour!
Those popcorn/tshirt vendor jobs at the basketball arena are gonna have to pay, like, $22 an hour!
28
Hmmm I am probably connecting too many dots here but it is little too coincidental that this rezone comes right after millions and millions are spent fixing the Mercer mess. Typical of City Hall thinking, public investments for private windfall.
29
@28 - right dots, wrong order. it makes sense to invest transportation funds in places planned to accommodate new housing and employment. yes, this is a rezone, but this area has been planned for greater density and should have infrastructure that allows it to grow. greater density in the heart of the city is a public windfall, as well as a private one.
30
@28 Well yes, improving access to an area makes that area more attractive and hence results in more investment. This is not a conspiracy, this is precisely the reason we invest in infrastructure.
Sure, some developers make money, but some more people also get jobs, some more business get started, and in the end some more taxes get paid, so the City comes out ahead on all fronts.
Sure, some developers make money, but some more people also get jobs, some more business get started, and in the end some more taxes get paid, so the City comes out ahead on all fronts.
31
@29 - If rezoning was part of the plan all along why wasn't it in the plan all along? Also, many other parts of the city (Ballard, Fremont, U District,etc, etc)have added more housing and jobs without getting the fancy transit upgrades. When incentives are dolled out so selectively they appear as direct subsidies. I don't know if SLU is the "Heart of the City", it sounds more and more like the bollux.
32
@ It's not an explicit plan like that. It's not that Mercer was improved with this specific project in mind. It was improved with the idea of simply making that area of town more accessible and efficient from a transportation standpoint. One of the benefits of that is that more development can be supported in that area.
Streets in Ballard, Fremont, and U District are not as fucked up as Mercer was. But then they have there own 'subsidies'. For example the U-District happens to have a major University in the middle of it and Ballard is in line for its very own light rail line that will likely cost more than fixing the Mercer mess did.
Streets in Ballard, Fremont, and U District are not as fucked up as Mercer was. But then they have there own 'subsidies'. For example the U-District happens to have a major University in the middle of it and Ballard is in line for its very own light rail line that will likely cost more than fixing the Mercer mess did.
33
@21, there is nothing in this world that is environmentally sustainable, certainly including anything in Seattle. If you think a particular building design or materials will help us now, you've not been reading any serious literature or talking to any scientists worth being called such for the last ten years.
34
@24: Jesus Christ. Real estate markets tend to follow the ability of residents to generate enough income to afford to live there. Seattle and New York are more expensive than Kent because they have jobs. Well-paying ones, too.
The fact that there isn't a blog and newspaper about all the fun things going on in Kent this weekend is the same reason you pay so little to live there.
The fact that there isn't a blog and newspaper about all the fun things going on in Kent this weekend is the same reason you pay so little to live there.
35
@31: For what it's worth, rezone has been in the works for a loooooong time, it's just finally in the public phase.
36
@32,
The waterfront properties Hallivulcan is looking for an upzone for were sold to Paul Allen with the explicit policy statement that the Mercer Corridor was going to remain essentially as-is (and that he was going to develop them within the existing zoning and a certain timeframe). The money that was generated by the sale that was supposed to improve the Mercer/Valley/Fairview intersection was instead used to prop up the Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel EIS when it ran out of money (hence all of that expensive bullshit about including SR 99 lids over the north portal to "reconnect" Hallivulcan's properties).
This hasn't been a comprehensive plan implemented by the City - it has been a series of ad-hoc demands from Hallivulcan for additional access to the public teat.
Oh yeah, and Mercer traffic is already worse than it was before they started, and the rest of the shift to two-way traffic is gonna make that even worse.
Such a deal for the public!
The waterfront properties Hallivulcan is looking for an upzone for were sold to Paul Allen with the explicit policy statement that the Mercer Corridor was going to remain essentially as-is (and that he was going to develop them within the existing zoning and a certain timeframe). The money that was generated by the sale that was supposed to improve the Mercer/Valley/Fairview intersection was instead used to prop up the Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel EIS when it ran out of money (hence all of that expensive bullshit about including SR 99 lids over the north portal to "reconnect" Hallivulcan's properties).
This hasn't been a comprehensive plan implemented by the City - it has been a series of ad-hoc demands from Hallivulcan for additional access to the public teat.
Oh yeah, and Mercer traffic is already worse than it was before they started, and the rest of the shift to two-way traffic is gonna make that even worse.
Such a deal for the public!
37
Conlin is a smug, simpering, duplicitous sack of crap, bought and paid for by Vulcan, amazon and the various developers in this berg. You don't seriously think he lives anywhere near the multiple piles of over-built civic dreck he keeps pushing down everyone's throat, right? Nope, he has a nice, single family home in a real neighborhood where NO density of any sort is even on the drawing boards, let alone under construction. Lead by example? Not this twerp. Do as I say, not as I do? Sounds like the Conlin motto alright.
Call me when he proposes "density" and high-rises on the corner of 34th & E. Cherry.
Call me when he proposes "density" and high-rises on the corner of 34th & E. Cherry.
Comments (37) RSS