09/15/2020
Here is the full DJC article!
September 14, 2020
More design review, less asking price for 140-apartment Fremontproject
By
BRIAN MILLER
Real Estate Editor
Though the apartment plan for thecorner at
3839 Stone Way N.
isn't yetentitled, it's moving throughadministrative design review with aprice tag now attached.
Colpitts Development owns theFremont corner — or rather, most of it— and Ross Klinger of Kidder Mathewsis now offering the project for $12.5million. It's been listed for about threemonths, during which time the askingprice dropped from an initial $14million. Colpitts will also consider ajoint venture deal.
At the same time, Veer Architecture'sseven-story, 140-unit plan will have itsthird design review on Sept. 21, with avirtual link available to interestedparties.
Veer's program hasn't changed much.Now called Union View, the buildingwould include 2,200 square feet ofretail/commercial space in itsnortheast corner bay, at North 39thStreet. About 70 structured parkingstalls, possibly stacked, would beaccessed from 39th.
What's most unusual about UnionView is what it
doesn't
contain: theinset 2,784-square-foot propertywrapped inside the planned courtyardof the C-shaped building. That's theformer Episcopal Bookstore property, at 3837 Stone, now owned by an LLC related to related toSea Creatures, which has its headquarters and a commercial kitchen there.
Sea Creatures is run by acclaimed chef and food entrepreneur Renee Erickson, of The Walrus andthe Carpenter, The Whale Wins, General Porpoise and other eateries and ventures. The companyhandsomely renovated the little building, now painted white, after buying it in early 2019 for$950,000. That was a little before Colpitts filed its plan, which will replace a pot shop — south ofSea Creatures — and vacant commercial buildings that were once home to a garden center.
There's no indication that Erickson would sell, though developer Judy Colpitts Nielsen previouslytold the DJC that there had been conversations between them. KM's listing simply says there's“additional unit potential with the outparcel.”
For now, Veer does its best to incorporate the Sea Creatures building into the overall design. Thearchitect writes, “While we can't control the design of the outparcel building, we can still visualizehow it will look once our proposed project is built.”
Thus, the bookstore's existing driveway is preserved on its south side, with a 10-foot easement. Tothe north, with about 20 feet of building separation, a terraced patio/walkway is proposed. Veersays, “The outparcel is treated as an interlocking piece that completes the project.” The architect optimistically compares the effect to the wood joinery of Japanese Tsugite construction.
Total project size is estimated at 125,000 square feet. The Union View team includes Design TwoFour/Two Six, landscape architect. No demolition or construction permit applications have beenmade yet.