Capitol Hill: Getting Denser, Getting Grayer (Nope, Not A Typo)
A few weeks ago, Capitol Hill Housing had its Annual Meeting, which may surprise you if, like Seattlest, you were unaware that CCHIP existed at all. The community-based non-profit housing development and management corporation is dedicated to the twin goals of affordable housing and the preservation of neighborhood character.
We attended because of a panel discussion they were hosting, featuring four other developers with current Capitol Hill projects. It wasn't a developer love-fest -- the Seattle Channel's ubiquitous, Capitol-Hill-dwelling CR Douglas moderated, and asked some pointed questions about density, parking, and green building from developers hawking 1-bdrm condos starting at $200,000.
To Capitol Hill Housing's Weinstock, all this development was an illustration of the necessity for the organization's work. A recent highlight, the 49-unit Pantages Apartments, rents for $350 to $685 per month. Their tenants, often people working in the service industry that makes Capitol Hill buzz along, aren't in the market for $200,000 1-bdrm condos. (CHHIP won a "Green Hammer" award for environmentally friendly building practices -- none of the other developers had committed to any recognized green construction certification.)
Other CCHIP projects include the 32-unit Silvian Apartments (being upgraded) on Harrison just off Broadway and the site at Broadway and Pine across from SCCC. A mixed-use 44-unit building, the first floor will host a Walgreen's. CHHIP manages 987 units in 38 buildings, and it's not nearly enough. The number of qualified people on their waiting list exceeds the 1,600 or so current tenants they have.
The panel participants included Dana Behar (15th Ave condos The Braeburn and Cameo), Richard Muhlebach (the apartments on Broadway & John), Ted Schroth (lofts and apartments at 12th & Madison), and Suzi Morris (condos at the old Safeway site on Broadway), as well as Chuck Weinstock, CHHIP's executive director.
To the question, "Who's buying?" Behar revealed that despite the Braeburn's hip, urban, sustainable-living concept, the condos were startlingly attractive to an over-50 contingent who were willing to bid higher than asking price ($200K - $300K for the 1- and 2-bdrm condos). What they weren't willing to do was give up the parking space that came with each condo; even buyers without a car turned down a substantial price reduction (in the tens of thousands of dollars) to hold onto their spot. The 153 units went quickly. (Here's the happy tenant viewpoint.)
No one knew of what might replace the old QFC building at Broadway and Republican, but Morris was busy getting ready to transform the old Safeway down the street into condos, with the requisite first-floor retail space. All the developers were united that they preferred useful retail with personality, not check-cashing services. Behar was adamant that they were willing to hold until they got a tenant like the Online Coffee Company. For Muhlebach, that wasn't an issue because U.S. Bank will take up residency again in their building.
Most of the development (besides CHHIP) featured condos, unsurprisingly, except for the apartments going up in the former U.S. Bank site on Broadway. That building will be only four storeys, due to the timing of the recent height-increase on Broadway. This particular case of apartments instead of condos may not make a difference, really, given Capitol Hill's existing rental stock -- what Capitol Hill is short on is the kind of rental stock CHHIP provides, affordable to those making 30 - 50% of the median income.
Of the commercial developments, the 66 lofts and 100 apartments at 12th & Madison and 12th & Pike were notable not just for offering a mix of ownership and rental, but also because they are renovations of existing structures, not tear-downs. With Osteria la Spiga and Cafe Stellina relocating, it's beginning to sound like a little fancypants urban village all its own is sprouting up over there. Moderator CR Douglas had difficulty believing "high-end" and "the corner of 12th and Madison" went together, but change is clearly on the way, everywhere you look.
