Comments on: Rainier Vista

By: EeePC

EeePC — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:05:07 +0000

Collingwood Village is exactly the sort of TOD we should be avoiding. Toronto has some of the worst examples of this kind of development.

Toronto Subway’s ‘yellow’ line runs in a u-shape, stopping frequently in the loop downtown and about once per mile as the two branches extend north. As a result you can easily tell where the stations are by looking down upon the city – they’re all marked by clusters of 20-30 story residential towers roughly a mile apart from each other. Go ahead and visit one of these distant stations. North York, York Mills, Yorkdale: all named similarly, which is appropriate considering their total lack of character. Just because they’re dense, transit oriented developments doesn’t make them pedestrian friendly or even remotely charming.

Vancouver appears to have fallen into this lazy development trap and that’s what you want to emulate here in Seattle as well? I’m all for TOD, but not density just for density’s sake.

The problem is, Vancouver’s SkyTrain and Link have long routes with large spaces between stations. This encourages developers to stuff as much housing to service the station as they can. A shorter line with many stations would be a much more intelligent means of creating dense development, see pretty much any European city as an example, but it just costs too much.

By: What Does TOD Look Like? | hugeasscity

What Does TOD Look Like? | hugeasscity — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:27:22 +0000

[...] The aerial image above looks down on the property immediately to the north of the “Columbia City” Light Rail Station at MLK Blvd. and S. Alaska St. The buildings marked 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 on the west side of MLK are part of the Rainier Vista low-income housing redevelopment, and were all built within the last four years. None of these buildings exceeds four stories. On the east side of MLK is a new Boys & Girls club currently under construction, and a 4-story mixed-use low-income housing project currently in the design phase. [...]

By: Yesler Terrace To Be Reborn | hugeasscity

Yesler Terrace To Be Reborn | hugeasscity — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:24:43 +0000

[...] The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) plans to follow the general model of redevelopment that was applied at Rainier Vista, New Holley, and High Point. All the existing low-income housing will be replaced, and for-sale housing will be added to create a higher density, mixed-income neighborhood. [...]

By: TOD on MLK | hugeasscity

TOD on MLK | hugeasscity — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:15:52 +0000

[...] This is why light rail is worth the financial hit — it’s a catalyst for focussed development. It’s unfortunate, however, that none of the proposed buildings exceeds six stories — that’s all the current zoning allows. And the new buildings at Rainier Vista top out at only four stories. Not that we need to go nuts with skyscrapers, but it would make sense for the City to permit something like 10 or 12 stories in certain well chosen locations around the light rail stations. The higher the density, the more dividends on the light rail investment. [...]

By: The hugeasscity blog - asking how can Seattle claim to be a sustainable city with so much ‘empty-calorie’ development. — Smarter Neighbors

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 04:43:32 +0000

[...] Anyway, that’s why I really like the hugeasscity blog. They’ve got this skill and they don’t abuse it. In addition to pointing out the medicore creampuffs, they also talk about what works and what is needed to help us become the sustainable city we keep telling ourselves we are. [...]

By: croydonfacelift

croydonfacelift — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:16:32 +0000

Martin–if Rainier Vista was any closer to the light rail station at Edmunds, it would be sitting on top of it. Not sure where you’re getting your info, but there are only two large condo projects (and still not many small ones) anywhere near the station, and none of them closer to it than Rainier Vista.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:39:24 +0000

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/realestatenews/archives/132299.asp

Check this out

By: Martin

Martin — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:56:14 +0000

Unfortunately, there won’t be 15 story buildings, but the some of the very closest real estate to the light rail station is being reserved for multi-story, market rate condos. Rainier Vista isn’t far from the station, but not as close as it could be.

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:31:30 +0000

I just wanted to say hi and thanks. I just found your blog today and I know that I’m really going to enjoy reading it.

P.S. I agree with your last point. Sometimes I think we are shooting ourselves in the foot by not allowing enough density in the places that it really needs to go. The areas within 1/10 of a mile to LINK stations should have height limits that allow for at least 15 story buildings if not higher, and tapering off after that. I know that neighborhoods would oppose this but these types of density immediately around the stations are needed to make LINK pay off.