One of Ballard’s largest developments under construction is coming together on both sides of 56th St. at 17th Ave., behind Ballard Realty.
Valdok is a 7-story apartment and retail complex with two buildings across the street from each other. The Valdok I (closest to Market St.) is the furthest along — the building topped out in September — and it plans to open next summer. Here’s what it will look like:
The Valdok II is just to the north, and it’s slated to open in 2019. Here’s the rendering:
The architects, Clark Barnes, say both buildings “are inspired by Scandinavian culture and design and will use warm colors and wood throughout.” The name Valdok has both Scandinavian and local roots: one of the homes on the Valdok site was owned by the family of Bjorn Leo Valdok, who immigrated from Norway in 1959.
The Valdok family and their neighbors did well with the sale: the properties sold in 2016 for a combined $3.5 million.
Here’s the view looking down 17th Ave. toward Market St.:
Valdok will feature 178 apartments with lots of retail space on the ground floor and on-site parking. It’s owned by LMC, which also owns Axle, the large apartment building under construction in Interbay at 3230 16th Avenue W.
(Renderings by Clark Barnes)
The sun will never actually shine on these buildings because they will be shaded by other tall buildings across the street from them. It will be a cold, dark tunnel for pedestrians. I don’t like it.