Seattle Growth

Have you been to downtown Seattle lately? I hardly recognize the north-end neighborhoods with all the construction going on. There is no doubt that Seattle is prosperous when one notices all the new building and construction fences.

But where exactly is this new development happening? It seems as if it is all over Seattle, but is it?

The Sunday Seattle Times reported on a cool new website designed by Ethan Phelps-Goodman, formerly of Facebook, which displays every big new development project as a pin on a map of the city of Seattle. Seattleinprogress.com charts all the developments from day one of the development application through permitting and construction, based on daily updates from City records.

Currently there are 476 large-scale development projects in the works in Seattle - and exactly ONE of which is located in Rainier Beach: MINE. My Van Gogh Studio Lofts mixed-use commercial development is currently stalled because of the dramatic increase in construction costs over the past year - due, of course, to the boom in local construction.

To say that there is a significant difference between development in downtown Seattle north, versus south Seattle, would be an understatement. Just look at the map:

But I digress....

Check out this really cool website, seattleinprogress.com, to see what's happening in your Seattle neighborhood. Click on any pin on the map to instantly see the architect's vision for the property, review documents, and connect to the City Department of Planning and Development to comment.

Happy Investing!

Van Gogh Studio Lofts

Much has changed since we presented our proposal for artist live/work spaces at the Rainier Beach light rail station. One significant change is that construction costs are coming in anywhere from 15-30% higher than estimates at the beginning of the summer. That big an increase has a huge impact on a small project's bottom line.

Since we are looking at market rate apartment rentals, it was important to show investors a more profitable bottom line. So we have taken a step back, and re-visited our original designs for Van Gogh Studio Lofts, despite approval from the City of Seattle to move the project forward to Design Review and Master Use Permit.

I am still quite passionate about spaces for artists and other creative entrepreneurs, so we are keeping that vision intact as we move forward. But I have been talking with micro-housing developers about the options for this project, and they do look quite promising.

Rather than building over-sized live/work rental units that averaged almost 800sf/unit, we could consider creating smaller residential units of 429sf or less. This allows us to pack more units into a smaller space. We would then develop only the southern half of the 10,600sf parcel as Phase One, reducing our costs of construction and mitigating risk. We should be able to build approximately 25 units of this size on-site.

The northern half of the lot could be sold to generate liquidity for the project, or developed later as Phase Two.

The ground floor of the Van Gogh Studio Lofts project would include almost 2000sf for commercial activity, with 13' ceilings and great street front visibility. The commercial activity on the ground floor may include galleries, artist studios, community meeting room, an/or maker spaces that would be additional amenities to residents in the building.

I am meeting with different investors, developers, builders and architects now to gauge interest in this new direction. The proforma numbers certainly look more promising and attractive to investors.

Stay tuned for more updates as we move forward on this project. For more information, please message me privately at wendy@vangoghdev.com.

Happy Investing!

Transit Oriented Development

Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD, is HOT right now. As gasoline prices in Seattle hover near $4 per gallon, many residents are looking for alternate methods of transportation. Living in an urban environment, where it is possible to get to employment using public transportation, walking or biking, is a lifestyle that resonates with many commuters (myself included!).

To have affordable housing in an easy transit location is a bonus, and is what many urban planners are attempting to develop. That is one reason why yesterday's grand opening of the Mt Baker Artists Lofts was such a big celebration.

It is a major reason why my company Van Gogh Studio Lofts LLC decided to purchase land in the transit district around the Rainier Beach Light Rail Station. We will be developing 36-46 units of artists live/work apartments (depending on whether we decide to build up to five floors), in a mixed use commercial development half a block from the station at Martin Luther King Way S and S Henderson St in Seattle. It is scheduled to open in 2016.

Like Mt Baker Artists Lofts, we hired the same architects to design our project. It too will have no parking garage, but will have very similar amenities.

Unlike Mt Baker, Van Gogh Studio Lofts will be market rate rentals, as opposed to subsidized below-market rents. Nevertheless, "market rate" in Rainier Beach is "affordable," as defined by the City of Seattle.

And unlike Mt Baker, Van Gogh Studio Lofts will not screen for artistic quality, only for creative entrepreneurs who are interested in living in a like-minded community of home-based entrepreneurs.

And unlike Mt Baker, Van Gogh Studio Lofts will not reject artist applicants because they - or someone in their household - makes too much income.

Nevertheless, TOD is the way to go, and our proposed Van Gogh Studio Lofts project has caught the attention of neighboring cities. I was invited by the Tacoma Office of Community and Economic Development on Tuesday of this week to tour their TOD opportunities. I brought along architect Scott Starr to join me, and we were both impressed by the variety of commercial development opportunities that the City of Tacoma is considering. Best of all, they understand the important role that artists play in revitalizing and developing neighborhoods. Their permit and development process promises to be faster and less costly than in Seattle, so we are excited about the possibilities there.

Happy Investing!