The Junction Neighborhood Organization hase reviewed the information presented at the design review meeting on April 10th and has listed below our comments/suggestions concerning the project.

Our comments on the project proposal:
The Building proposed on the Corner of California/Alaska:

1. California frontage - Should be 2 floors max at corner, with some additional floors stepped back with height bulk on alley frontage. No more than 5-6 floors total.

2. Retail entrances should be on California and Alaska to make a more interactive pedestrian experience.

3. Residential entrance/lobby should be on Alaska or alley.

4. Alley proposal interesting, but more focus should be on pedestrian experience on California and Alaska.

5. What is the community giveback for the development of garage under alley?

6. Parking garages should include increased (above required) parking for residential units, parking to accommodate retail employees, and customers (at least as much as will be taken away, more is better).

7. Design should include art, landscaping and benches.

8. Overhangs/awnings to inprove the pedestrian experience during inclimate weather.

9. Massing should allow for sunlight to reach California; moderate the vertical and horizontal lines to allow pockets of light to reach the street.

10. Corner should be setback to allow more pedestrian friendly approach at traffic light.

11. Building materials - brick.

The building that will sit on the corner of Alaska and 42nd:

1. Same general recommendations as above, however a bit more height than the 2-3 stories recommended on California (still within zoning) is tolerable.

2. Corner should be setback to allow more pedestrian friendly approach at traffic light.

3. Need to see more alternatives for garage entrance (alley and street options - light at 42nd and Alaska is going to be challenging once all projects are complete).

4. Retail entrances on both Alaska and 42nd.

5. Building should look very different from Alaska/California building so it is not one large mass as viewed from street.

6. Retail that incorporates outdoor seating for restaurants/cafe would be a great addition to the neighborhood. Five feet of sidewalk set-backs would accommodate this.

Additional recommendations concerning the impact to our neighborhood during construction include:

1. Offstreet/Offsite parking for all construction workers during all construction. Specifically, no construction worker parking on nearby residential streets.

2. Pedestrian right of way and sidewalks should remain open during construction.

3. No impact to existing on-street parking during construction.

http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=7523

It was wonderful to see so many new faces!