The Puget Sound Business Journal is reporting that a Chicago-based real estate investment firm has purchased the empty lot at 15th Ave NW and NW Market for $12.5 million.
The demolition of the old Manning’s/Denny’s building in June of last year was controversial, with the Seattle Landmarks and Preservation Board voting that there was no economically-feasible solution to preserve the old building, which they designated a landmark. On June 24th 2009, just days after the demolition permit was issued, the building was razed.
Rhapsody Partners, the developers hired by the property owner, continued with the design process and won final approval for “Market Street Landing” (above)
even though the rocky economy made it nearly impossible to get financing. “Our intention is to take this project through the MUP (Master Use Permit) and hope that this economy and the new president and all these things that are being put into place are a catalyst to move this forward,” Rhapsody’s Katie Vance told the Ballard District Council in January of 2009.
There’s no word whether the new company is buying the plans for Market Street Landing or is planning a new development for the property.
Wow, that is David Neithercut’s group of Equity Residential, one of Sam Zell’s company. No worries about financing any longer, those pockets are deep.
i hope they manage to cram another shelter into ballard at that location, its helping to keep the chronicly homeless out of my neighborhood..
Designers: please remember to include many nooks and crannies for homeless to piss, shit and live in (piss and shit).
I noticed the fence went down today! Do we know what is going in the spot yet?
I don’t need a nook or cranny all I need is Stan’s address.
Build a new Denny’s.
“Market Street Landing,” huh? Exactly who or what is going to “land” there? And how’d you like to live on one of the busiest traffic corners in America?
One more ugly high-rise to go with all the ugly crap that’s been built in Ballard the last ten years. Their motto should be, “Tomorrow’s ghettos today!”
UncldSnuffy’s right — build a new Denny’s.
Fence has been down for a few hours and the local homeless have already begun the party there. Been drinking steadily and just saw two guys head to the store for what I can only assume is more.
Ballard is just not Ballrd anymore. Take away the main landmarks and hangouts, tear down old, beautiful houses and for what? Oh to build more condos that no one can afford and will never be filled. Gee thanks Ballard! Now I know why I left after growing up there for 30 years. I get we have to go through the progression but come on, every time I come into Ballard now it feels like I’m in a whole new city(like visiting Portland) nothing’s the same! It makes me soo sad! I was a proud Ballard born and raised,, now I’m just from Ballard. Bring back Denny’s and Sunset Bowl and I may be proud again. Until then it’s just depressing
Can we sue the new developers and the city of Seattle for creating more and more density, while transportation options have remained the same for the past 10 years?
One route out of Ballard in each cardinal direction (15th N to Northgate, Market to U-District/Aurora, 15th S to downtown), and the most used route is a rickety old, two lane each direction draw bridge. Buses are crammed, I have to walk north to ensure a seat, let alone a standing spot and avoid the cattle rush at Market St stops.
No more density unless they give us more transportation options!
I’m all for optimism and looking towards a “better tomorrow”. However, I walk around Ballard every day and see the empty retail storefronts, and it’s a fact that condo prices in our area a trending precipitously downward. The idea of building a condo/ retail project of this scale (further saturating the condo market and adding retail space when we can’t fill what we’ve got) seems premature at best.
I also echo Anon’s sentiment about needing more transportation choices if we’re inviting such an influx of new people & businesses. Seattle has a grand history of badly-planned development around transportation, and this sort of proposal is a good example. As soon as Rhapsody receives its MUP, we’ll be able to tell what this project’s timeline is. I sit with bated breath.
I don’t care what it is, just put something there. I’m tired of seeing the ruins of Ballard go unused.
With all the empty condos in Ballard, I don’t see how this could possibly be a wise business decision. The economy is not going to get better anytime soon, regardless of the claims of “jobs saved” by the current administration.Well, at least they are doing something with the property.
Ballard isn’t just a neighborhood where people grow up anymore, its also a destination neighborhood in a big (and getting bigger) city called Seattle. This isn’t Portland. We’re not a town, we’re a city. Things will change, get bigger.
I’ve lived a lot of different places (over 25) in this country and as much as Ballard has changed in the past few years it still manages to retain a great deal of its identity and roots, which is very unusual and not necessarily the norm with gentrification.
Not saying old school Ballardites don’t have a reason to be a bit upset from time to time, but, really, in the larger context Ballard is growing up along w/ Seattle in a good way. Don’t flee neighborhoods like Ballard if you grew up here and want to maintain some influence, stick around and go to meetings and be productive. Also, compromise as that’s the only way to get what you want and stay in the picture. I think a lot of the ‘new’ Ballard residents and businesses are great people that bring a lot to the neighborhood.
Perfect spot for some kind of iconic, landmark-quality green space. Not just a nice spot to play and hang out (Ballard Commons), not a stuffy excessively monitored dead spot (Sculpture Garden downtown), but something that puts Ballard on the map.
It’s fairly well-documented that green space raises surrounding property values. Wouldn’t that increase tax revenue and increase occupancy rates of the surrounding high-rises by making them a more desirable place to live?
It’s not the most intuitive thing to do at this corner, but if done right in the long run most people will be glad there wasn’t yet another monolithic block of half-empty condo-turned apartments there. Location is key, and this is a very important, high-profile location. Because of that the site has a kind of leverage to it, a potential to be a positive force-multiplier for the neighborhood, where a little work could go a long way.
This site could be the gateway to and a symbol for Ballard, dumping another cookie-cutter slab onto it will be a wasted opportunity. Imagine some big old trees there a few decades from now. What about a pond, a pond with a fishing boat floating in it, a waterfall, a stream, a spectacular fountain? What about a ridiculous statue of a viking (or a hipster)? A huge treehouse that doesn’t have a 48″ height maximum?
C’mon, Ballard. Get creative. Do some work. Get permission to do something with the site, even if it’s just in the interim until something gets built. A little tearing-up of some asphalt might just change a lot of things. Who knows, maybe if it’s cool enough something intended to be temporary might stick? They can build more condos anywhere.
wait a minute! You left somewhere and it didn’t stay the same? How can that be?! You abandoned the neighborhood and yet you want to set the blame squarely on others? Who do you think is selling these properties (not the Denny’s property…thanks monorail) to developers? My neighbors held out for the highest bidder with the full intention of selling to a developer to throw up a stack of townhouses on the spot they lived for 50 years. Point your anger in the right direction, man!
And while you’re at it, why don’t YOU bring back Denny’s and Sunset Bowl? It sounds easy when you just write it on the internet.
Yeah good idea… Grand Slam breakfasts will be an affordable $249.95 to pay for the $12.5m+ building.
I dig your sentiment, but that’s expensive land, and the city would probably have to buy it to make the whole parcel a park. However, I think some attractive, accessible public space on that property would be a boon, and if the developer decides to redesign the building (fingers crossed!), hopefully that’ll be something they do to increase the value of the condos.