Seattle Press on Line - The Changing Face of Ballard

The Changing Face of Ballard

Jul 27, 2000 -- More people, more housing, more business, more buildings, more traffic and more movies are in Ballard's future.

Ballard, for years the butt of bumper sticker and late night TV humor, is turning from a quaint neighborhood to region of verve and--dare we say it?--panache.

Nearly 1,000 units of housing will be built within the next year or so, and that's just in three buildings: two projects are just getting started on the Wilson Ford property while a 6-story tower and townhouse development is rising at Northwest 57th Street and 17th Avenue Northwest just down the street from the Ballard Post Office.

The facade of this 1926 building will be saved in new development.

Wilson Ford Property

Though the Ford dealership hasn't moved yet, developers have applied for permits for 380 rental units on the parcel on the north side of Leary Way Northwest now occupied by Wilson's used car lot. On the parcel between Leary Way Northwest and Ballard Avenue Northwest, the Simpson Group plans a 135-unit condo development which will have retail and loft type live/work units on the ground floor. The live/work spaces will have 18-foot ceilings and will face a fountained courtyard, which will be part of a gated walkway connecting the two streets. Studios and one and two bedroom condos will be available. Two hundred underground parking spaces will be built, about one for each bedroom, plus additional for retail traffic.

Scott Surdyke, project manager for Simpson, said, "We feel very strongly the building will fit in with the community. We'll be using high quality materials; there will be an allowance for public art. It's a positive model of an urban village. The Pearl district of Portland is a model for what we want to do."

Setting concrete forms on Northwest 57th Street.

Prices "will be less than Belltown or Fremont."

"We'll have people living and working in the same building and the same neighborhood. The retail [space] is not designed for chain stores. It's not going to be Starbucks and Kinkos. We want locally owned small businesses.

Across Leary, the 380-unit JPI project is 6 months to a year behind the Simpson project. And both of them have to wait for Wilson to move out.

Construction is eight weeks behind at the new Ballard Safeway.

NW 57th

Over on Northwest 57th Street, between 17th and 18th Avenues Northwest, concrete is being poured for a six story condominium development that will have 162 units, including 10 two-story townhouses. The buildings "will look like a brownstone," according to Scott Brewer from Continental Bental, the developer. All the facades will be built with used brick and lots of modulation. "People in the community really seemed to like the appearance." Brewer said. "We flew through design review."

The development will open in 2001.

Safeway

The huge new Safeway store at 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street, originally scheduled to open September 1, is eight weeks behind schedule according to a construction company official. Paving the surface lot on 15th Avenue Northwest will start next week. There will also be covered parking under the store. The design includes a bus kiosk on 15th Avenue Northwest.

Movies

The Bay Majestic triplex theater, built on the sight of the old Bay and Majestic theaters, is nearing completion. The marquee is up and the neon is in, though not lit yet. It really looks like a theater. It replaces an original century-old wooden structure. The new theater is expected to bring hundreds of new consumers into Ballard's central business area every week.

New Library

Seattle Public Library officials are eyeing the U.S. Bank property at 22nd Avenue Northwest and Northwest 56th Street. They propose that a new library and a bank branch could co-exist on the same property and share parking facilities. A new little city hall would be included in the group. As we go to press, the library hasn't made a final decision. But U.S. Bank is pretty positive about the idea. The bank really doesn't want to move. They've been there for 50 years and it is one of the busiest U.S. Bank branches in the state.

New Park

A new 20,000-square-foot park is planned for the soon to be former Safeway property at 22nd Avenue Northwest between 57th and 58th Streets Northwest.

Street Design Standards

All new developments will have to adhere to revised design standards for the area including new street trees, and new, more attractive light poles.

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