December 31, 2008

Met Market moves forward on Queen Anne

Rendering by Tiscareno Associates Architecture + Urban Design [enlarge]

A proposed block-long mixed-use project on Queen Anne is currently in design review. The $35 million project, designed by Tiscareno Associates Architecture + Urban Design for developer Emerald Bay Equity, is at 1900 Queen Anne Ave. N.

Construction is scheduled to begin in February or March of 2010, and be completed about 18 months later.

Some existing buildings on the sloped site will be demolished. Exterior materials from the facade of the Elfreda Building, built in 1912, will become part of the new development.

There will be three stories of apartments above retail in the new project, which will have four distinct facades of different heights. Fifty thousand square feet of retail space includes up to 30,000 square feet for Metropolitan Market, currently located on the site in one of the buildings that will be demolished.

The 110 apartments will include one- and two-bedroom units, studios and “smart units,” which are 375-square-foot apartments designed to be more affordable. There will also be two-bedroom-plus-den units of about 1,200 square feet, and some two-story loft units.

“The idea is to be able to attract a wide variety of tenants and make the project affordable,” said Bob Tiscareno, principal designer.

Tiscareno said the retail is designed to attract a variety of shops, and a 5,000-square-foot basement space could be a good fit for a small cinema. The project backs onto an alley with single-family housing on the other side. Tiscareno said architects tried to use materials and design, including a 3,500-square-foot public plaza, to make the transition from single-family to mixed-use space.

The project will have 185 parking stalls below grade, accessed from Crockett Street. A private rooftop deck for residents is also included.

The team will use recycled materials and energy-efficient lighting and appliances. The project is being built to LEED standards but will probably not seek certification, said project manager Jim Cade. Gabriel Wahila is project architect.

DCI Engineers is structural and civil engineer, and Pacland is landscape architect. A general contractor has not been selected.

Tiscareno is also designing another project for Emerald Bay Equity across the street: the Sweetbriar Apartments at 2103 Queen Anne Ave. N. It will have ground floor retail with three floors of apartments above, and is now under construction.