Mt. Baker Station Area Transit Oriented Development
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ULI TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL REPORT MT. BAKER STATION AREA TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT Northwest Published September 2019 ABOUT ULI NORTHWEST ULI Northwest is a District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a non- profit education and research organization supported by its members. Founded in 1936, the Institute today has more than 44,000 members worldwide. ULI members represent the full spectrum of land use planning and real estate development disciplines working in the private, public, and non- profit sectors. ULI’s mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. ULI Northwest carries out the ULI mission locally by serving as the preeminent real estate forum in the Pacific Northwest, facilitating the open exchange of ideas, information, and experiences among local, national, and international industry leaders and policy makers. Our mission is to: • Build a regional vision of the Northwest that embraces and acts upon quality growth principles. • Encourage collaboration among all domains—public and private—of the real estate industry. • Build consensus among industry and public leaders who influence land use, transportation, environmental, and economic development policies. Contact Us Northwest ULI Northwest 107 Spring Street Seattle, WA 98104 206.224.4500 [email protected] northwest.uli.org ©2019 ABOUT THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL (TAP) PROGRAM The ULI Northwest Technical Assistance Panel program brings together a select, independent panel of experts to provide a fresh perspective on complex, local public and private development problems. Panelists represent a variety of professional and academic fields relevant to the issues at hand, including real estate development, planning and design. Panel members donate their time over two days to study the local context, focus on the issues presented to them by the hosting organization, perform limited research, deliberate, and agree upon a specific but limited set of recommendations addressing the problems and opportunities found by the panel. The subsequent report is a presentation of those recommendations and the priorities for action the panel finds appropriate. ABOUT THE TAP REPORT The TAP report is a summary of findings of one ULI Northwest Technical Assistance Panel, covering a particular study area. As such, it is not a plan or a feasibility analysis. Responsibility for further analysis and implementation of any panel recommendation lies with the hosting organization and/or its partners. Table of Contents PANELISTS 1 TAP PARTNERS & REPRESENTATIVES 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 BACKGROUND 6 RECOMMENDATIONS 9 FOR FUTURE STUDY 16 NEXT STEPS 18 CONCLUSION 24 ADDENDUM 25 Panelists Al Levine Panel Chair Faculty, University of Rico Quirindongo Washington Runstad Center Principal, DLR Group Rachel Berney Assistant Professor, University Mandi Roberts of Washington Department of Vice President and Urban Design & Planning Principal, Otak Edward Rose Strategic Initiative Program Radim Blazej Manager, King County CEO, Caron Architecture Facilities (Retired) Jean-Paul Grenier Brett Schock Vice President US Operations, Transportation Engineer, Woodbridge Northwest Transpo Group Tony To Tory Laughlin-Taylor Director Emeritus and Real Estate Advisor, Housing Othello Square Project and Community Investment Director, HomeSight PROJECT STAFF ULI Northwest Jake McKinstry Kelly Mann, ULI Northwest Principal, Spectrum Victoria Oestreich, ULI Northwest Development Solutions REPORT AUTHOR Clair Enlow MT. BAKER STATION AREA TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT 1 TAP Partners & Representatives STAKEHOLDERS King County Metro: Pierce Canser King County Wastewater Treatment Division: Hien Dung Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT): Therese Casper, Sara Colling Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD): David Driskell, Quanlin Hu Seattle Parks and Recreation: Chip Nevins Sound Transit: Alex Krieg, Edward Butterfield The ULI TAP work is also supported by other key departments at the City of Seattle: Seattle City Budget Office: Steven Shain Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections: Mike Podowski Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: Samantha Stork Seattle Office of Economic Development: Theresa Barreras Seattle Office of Housing: Bin Jung Seattle Public Utilities: Mark Jaeger 2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL REPORT Acknowledgments ULI Northwest is grateful to the City of Seattle and its partners for their commitment to make this TAP a productive experience. We owe special thanks to Steven Shain and Quanlin Hu for managing program logistics and coordinating with local stakeholders and staff. The engagement and desire for development that benefits the Mt. Baker community is reflected in this report. Finally, ULI thanks the stakeholders and staff who provided valuable input for this TAP process. Mt. Baker Station with adjacent Artspace Mt. Baker Lofts development. MT. BAKER STATION AREA TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT 3 Executive Summary Mt. Baker Station is located near the intersection of South McClellan Street and Rainier Avenue South (Rainier), three miles south of downtown Seattle. It is situated at the north end of Rainier Valley, between the Beacon Hill and Mt. Baker neighborhoods. Almost as soon as Sound Transit settled on the Mt. Baker station site, it was clear there was support for dense, transit-oriented development in the station area, the neighborhood, the larger community and with the City of Seattle (City) and community. Height limits in the station area had been substantially raised in anticipation of redevelopment and a desire for eventual transformation into a vibrant, walkable town center with street frontage and multistory, mixed-use buildings. Since the station opened in 2009, downtown Seattle and other Seattle neighborhoods have experienced rapid growth, and affordable housing is needed more than ever. Yet private investment and redevelopment around Mt. Baker Station has been notably absent. I don’t think it’s too The University of Washington Consolidated Laundry site (UW Laundry), which “ late to get equitable, is in a key location near the station, will now be available for redevelopment fair development. through legislative action by the State of Washington legislature (Compromise ” Capital Budget Sec 7038). This property is situated in a prime location for a dense, master planned development that helps fulfill agendas of the City and the University of Washington. There are some measures the City can take to leverage public assets along with previous investments in mass transit. This would make private investment in the station area more likely. Safer and more intuitive connections across Rainier to Mt. Baker Station will enhance the pedestrian experience. Realizing potential for a town center near transit at Mt. Baker Station may hinge on the following recommendations: • Move the King County Metro bus transit center to the west of the light rail station. Moving the Metro transit center from its current location on the east side of Rainier to 27th Avenue South on the west side of the light rail station will make multimodal connections between rail and bus transit much safer and more convenient. A linear transit center and bus layover along an extension of 27th Avenue South, connecting to South Winthrop Street, will minimize the footprint of the transit center and make 4 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PANEL REPORT it more compatible with new development west of the station. The transition should take place MT BAKER BACKGROUND in two phases, with electrified buses staying in The Mt Baker ULI TAP work will focus on areas imediately around the Mt Baker Light Rail Station area. These the existing location while the lanes currentlyMT BAKER areasThe Mt were Baker identified BACKGROUND ULI TAP as keywork catalysts will focus and topon areaspriorities immediately to stimulate aroundredevelopment the Mt and economic development. Each site in this focus area has individual objective that supports the overall vision/goal for the Mt Baker TOD. used for the diesel bus layover and stops are Baker Light Rail Station area. These areas were identified as key catalysts The Mt Baker ULIand TAP top work priorities will focusMount to onstimulate areasMount Baker imediately redevelopment Baker Station around Station Area theand Mt Areaeconomic OpportunityBaker Opportunity Light development. Rail Station Sites Sites area. These transformed into a pedestrian plaza andareas open were identified as key catalysts and top priorities to stimulate redevelopment and economic development.Mt Baker TOD Each site in this focus area has individualS WALKER objective ST that supports the overall Each site in this focus area has individual objective that supports the overall vision/goal for the Mt Baker TOD.Area space. vision/goal for the Mt Baker TOD. Potential Core Focus Area MountMount Baker Baker Station Station Area Area Opportunity Opportunity SitesS COLLEGE Sites ST Potential Influ- ence Area S Mt Baker TOD S WALKER ST E Area • Design and redevelop the existing Metro V A Public partners Potential Core H T Focus Area 8 UW bus transit center as a combination of open 2 1 S COLLEGE ST Potential Influ- ence Area Sound Transit S . The redesign 3 29TH AVE S 2 space and pedestrian plaza E V A Public partners 3 King County H M should feature a meandering pathway spine T 8 S BAYVIEW L ST UW P-Patch 2 1 4 K I N S that leads to a prominent crossing of Rainier G SoundS Transit Franklin High 29TH AVE S 2 3 E 5 J E School R V V A W King A County D A 3 T Y S at South Forest Street. The pedestrian plaza M N Private partners 1 2 S S 3 S BAY 3 L VIEW ST P-Patch E 4 K I V N A S LANDER ST Lowe’s S will become a key element in a new system G S Franklin High 1 H E 5 J 4 E T School R V 0 V 3 A A QFC & Rite Aid W 2 D A T of high-comfort pedestrian corridors linking Y S N Private partners 1 2 S S 6 3 7 1 3 Prologis E 3 2 V the Mt. Baker neighborhood to the north and A S LANDER ST 1 Lowe’s Buck & Buck 4 H 4 S MCCLELLAN STT 0 S 3 2 QFC & Rite Aid Jorve Roofing south ends of the Mt.