Denny Way's Newest Condo Inspired by Vomit
The corner of Denny and Dexter represents the latest outbreak in an epidemic of uninspired developments destined to pollute our landscape for generations.
Huge slabs of cheap textures, tastelessly reminiscent of the Eastlake Azteca’s color scheme and suspiciously similar to the puke yellow façade of the nearby Pan Pacific Hotel blot the landscapes of Belltown, Ballard, and now this regretful Regrade plot. Normally, building over a former strip club counts as an improvement--here we can’t be so sure. All the strippers can’t be ugly all the time, but the same can’t be said for what’s replaced them.
Overpaying for an ugly box isn’t reprehensible, it's "downtown living." Hopefully these adobe-colored prisons new condos come furnished with state-of-the-art hooker-proof windows installed to reduce the noise of the depressing social traffic that never ceases here. Never mind Aurora’s omnipresent roar and the homeless camp median constantly aglow thanks to the massive, rotating, neon Elephant across the street.
Good cities manage development with foresight and standards, incorporating an aesthetic appropriate to the neighborhood's character. Denny Way isn’t a dreamland but that’s no excuse for half the shit they’re still putting there. Here, the prevailing notion has been anybody with capital can build whatever tenement shithole they want, regardless of tastelessness and nobody of stature is going to tell them otherwise. Just drive down Western or First or Second or anywhere construction has been booming the past few years. Most of that shit is about as inspired as Dan Quayle in the throes of a Xanax overdose.
Some recent stonework on the corner of Second and Broad (Denny and Westlake, too) shows promise, indicating that some developers do actually take pride in their work. The new condo tower there incorporates a nice balance of brickwork and glass, promising to maintain some appeal for longer than five years down the road. There is hope and the occasional indication of vision, but it’s still surrounded by a forest of vomit-colored living spaces.
