Robert Burkeimer - the longtime owner of land where the former QFC was located on Republican Street in Lower Queen Anne - wants to build a new mixed-use project there after securing an upzone that will raise the allowable height of the project from 40 to 65 feet.
Speaking at a June 14 meeting of the Uptown Alliance, project architect Brian Runberg noted that the Seattle Center is zoned for 85-foot heights while the Queen Anne Post Office is 65 feet high.
The plan for building complexes on either side of the alley had already gone through the early design-guideline phase, he said at the meeting as he used the same Power Point presentation made before the design-review committee.
The plan calls for building 228 residential units above 16,000 square feet of retail space, Runberg said. Part of the project includes 17 "live-work lofts" along Warren Avenue North.
City code allows the unusual arrangement as long as it doesn't take place in a "vibrant commercial" area, Runberg said. It's something that has happened elsewhere in the city, and typical tenants have included jewelers, graphic designers and computer consultants, he added.
Giving a new meaning to mixed use, the city approved in 2003 live-work spaces where a business and a residence can be co-located in the same structure, said Alan Justad, a spokesman from the Department of Planning and Development.
The only requirement is that the business be visible from the ground level; the residence can be located at the back of the space or upstairs, as is proposed with the QFC site, he said. "There haven't been a lot [of them] as far as I can tell."
The mixed-use project includes underground parking for residents and shoppers with an entrance and exit off Warren, but the developer is seeking permission to build a tunnel under the alley to connect the parking lots under both complexes, Runberg said.
The project is in its very early stages, and Burkeimer is far from submitting a Master Use Permit application, he said. The ultimate design is far from completion as well, according Runberg. "We're actively involving the public as we seek more input from folks," Runberg said.[[In-content Ad]]
