HomeMy WebLinkAboutRenton Commons Design District Report
204 First Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98104 | 206·624·7880 | www.tonkinarchitecture.com
Urban Design Overlay District Report June 7, 2016
Project Name: Renton Commons
Project Address: 215 Whitworth Avenue South
Parcel Number: 784180-0090
Project Contact: Pam Derry, Architect, Tonkin Architecture
Phone: 206-624-7880 x116
pam@tonkinarchitecture.com
The proposed project location is within the CD (Center Downtown) zone and
is subject to Design District “A” design regulations. The proposed project is
designed for excellent compliance with the design district regulations.
Property Set Backs and Building Height
Although no rear or side property setbacks are required in Zone CD, the
proposed project will be setback more than 10 feet from neighboring
properties to allow for natural sunlight and ventilation in the residential units.
At the southeast corner of the property, the building is setback over 40 feet
to provide for an outdoor play area with good sun. This corner of the site also
provides a pedestrian connection with the adjacent open space church
property to the south.
The maximum building height allowed in this zone is 95 feet. The proposed
building height is approximately 75 feet, which is well within the allowable
height.
Building Orientation to Street
Overlay District A encourages non-residential uses and transparency along
the street frontage at ground level, a strong pedestrian connection with the
street and minimum impact of vehicle parking and utility spaces on the street
frontage. Renton Commons is designed to meet or exceed all of these
requirements.
All residential units will be located on the upper floor levels, 2 through 6. The
ground level will contain all of the non-residential common spaces in the
building with a high 16’ floor-to-floor dimension and large storefront glazing
typical of nonresidential uses. The storefront glazing will run along the east,
street façade and wrap around the corners onto the north and south facades.
The primary pedestrian entrance will be located centrally on the street façade
and will be clearly marked with, signage and an expressive canopy structure
providing overhead weather protection.
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The covered parking garage and all utility spaces, including electrical,
mechanical, fire sprinkler room, and recycling/refuse collection will be located
on the west rear side of the property far away from the Whitworth Ave S
street frontage to the east.
Building Articulation and Modulation
The proposed exterior design of Renton Commons is designed to provide the
articulation, modulation, and varied exterior cladding that is desired in
Design District A.
Vertical bay windows and other modulations on the building facades will help
reduce the perceived size of the building mass. Large horizontal material
changes along the bottom floor and the upper two floors will help reduce the
perceived height of the building mass. Smaller-scaled design elements such
as the windows, cornices, canopies, plus the textures and colors of the
façade materials will also help provide a well-balanced and well-proportioned
building exterior that will enhance the surrounding areas when viewed from
all four sides.
With careful attention to the overall composition, a few bay windows on each
façade will extend up past the top of the roof parapet. These tall bay
windows will be capped by pitched roofs to provide additional articulation and
interest, especially when viewed from afar. A continuous roof cornice will
wrap the top of the facades, providing a strong horizontal line that is
interrupted only by the taller bays with pitched roofs.
The building mass will be further modulated by a large vertical notch at the
inside corner of the south façade. The notch will break the large south façade
into two distinct parts and provide space for green roofs, which will be visible
from the adjacent residential units and the building corridors on the upper 2
levels. To help balance the strong vertical elements of the bay windows and
the recessed notch, the exterior cladding materials will create strong
horizontal lines along the ground floor and the top 2 floors.
At the ground floor the common spaces will be clad in stained horizontal
cedar slats and the parking/utility spaces will be clad in concrete with strong
horizontal reveals carefully aligned with the wall openings. For increased
durability and reduced maintenance, the cedar siding will be coated with an
anti-graffiti coating.
At floors 2 through 4 the residential facades will be clad in cementitious panel
siding with a careful composition of reveals providing subtle horizontal lines
at the tops and bottoms of the window openings. The cladding on the upper
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two floors, 5 and 6 will be a combination of horizontal cementitious panel and
lapsiding.
Varying paint colors will further emphasize the various parts of the exterior
composition; the distinct bay windows, building masses, base/middle/top of
the façades and also smaller scale accent panels that provide additional
interest and help tie the various exterior elements together into a single
expression that will be attractive from both near and far.
Landscaping
The Landscape design around the exterior of the building includes a plant
palette carefully selected for its appeal to the senses of sight, smell, and
touch.
Along the Whitworth Ave S. street frontage, 2 new specimen street trees will
help screen the pedestrian sidewalk from the street while simple tree grates
will provide as much walking surface as possible to the improved sidewalk.
Along the north façade, triangular planting areas will effectively soften the
facades of the utility spaces and also help define the new sidewalk along the
SPU right-of-way, located on the project property. At the northwest corner of
the property a gazebo will mark the terminus of the pedestrian experience
until the property to the west is developed and possibly extends the new
walkway through the block to Shattuck Ave S.
The landscaping along the west façade and the southwest corner will be
combination of soft, colorful ground cover and small ornamental trees that
will both help soften the concrete walls and help screen the covered parking
garage.
At the southeast corner, the main outdoor area for residents and visitors,
trellises, seating, covered bike racks, and play equipment will all be carefully
located to comfortably define small, intimate spaces.
The Landscape design will also reduce the project’s water usage drought
tolerant/ native plant species and reduce the project’s required drainage with
large areas of succulents in green roof trays on the second and fifth floor
terraces.
Tenant Common Spaces
Within Design District “A” a minimum of 50 square feet of indoor or outdoor
common open space for tenant use is required per unit. The Renton
Commons project will provide more than the required amount of open space
to be used by individuals, couples, and families and a variety of multi-age
activities.
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Exterior open space will include a small children’s play area at the southeast
corner of the property and a quieter exterior courtyard with a gazebo,
appropriate for older tenants, at the northwest corner
Interior common spaces will include a multipurpose community room with
computer access for tenants and a kitchenette for community functions a
TV/library room and a classroom with direct access to the building exterior
for potential community events such as a homework club for school age
children. On site counseling services will also be provided for the building’s
tenants
Appropriate Location
LIHI prides itself in developing sites within existing urban centers and the
location of this project in the heart of Renton’s fast-growing downtown area
will provide easy walking access to public transit, schools, and services.
The Harambee Church located directly to the south provides a large number
of social services including an overnight shelter for families, meals for
veterans, and an after school program for teanagers. The church is eager to
team with the Low Income Housing Institute to provide services to the future
building tenants. The siting of the building on the project site is intended to
help facilitate that collaboration with adjacent outdoor areas and easy access
between the properties.
Effect on Adjacent Properties/Compatibility
Locating Renton Commons near the Harambee church will be beneficial to
the church’s mission of providing social services. Renton Commons staff
could potentially also colaborate with staff at the Compass Veteran’s Center
located across the street to the northeast of the property. The proposed
building design will definitely improve the look and feel of the SPU right-of-
way to the north, effectively making it feel more like a public street than the
parking lot for the adoption agency.
The proposed building structure will be significantly larger than the single
family house located directly to the west, but it is important to note that
Renton’s CD zone designation is intended to encourage high-density
multifamily development in this area and will no longer allow single-family
development in this area. It is the hope that this project will encourage
similarly-scaled development on the property to the west and a similarly high
level of care in future building designs in the area.
Parking
Within the CD zone for low income housing (defined as less than 80% in the
Renton Municipal Code) the minimum required parking is one space for every
5
4 units. For 48 units the minimum required parking is therefore 12 spaces.
The proposed building includes a covered parking garage on the rear of the
site to provide the required 12 parking spaces, accessed through a driveway
on the south side of the site. Since the proposed housing is for extremely low
income families and individuals (half 30% and half 50% AMI), many of the
tenants will not own cars and LIHI’s experience on other projects in the area
suggests that 12 parking spaces will be more than sufficient for the needs of
these tenants. The project site was selected for its proximity to the Renton
Transit Center for this reason. A wide range of shopping options are also
within easy walking distance of the site which is ideal for tenants without
vehicles.
The project will also rent 3 staff parking spaces on the SPU right-of-way
directly north of the project site which is not required but seems prudent.
Traffic
An average of approximately 201 trips per day will be generated, according to
the April 2016 Traffic Analysis prepared by Gibson Traffic Consultants. It is
expected to generate 14 new AM-peak hour trips and 19 new PM peak-hour
trips. Trip calculations are based on data contained in the Institute of
Transportation Engineers’ Trip Generation Manual, 9th Edition – Volume 2:
Data (2012). It was Gibson’s professional determination that the total number
of added trips is relatively low and will not have a significant impact on traffic
flow on the adjacent street systems.
Noise, Light, and Glare
Exterior lighting fixtures will be selected and located to provide light on the
outdoor areas around the parcel for safety and security, but will not shine
light onto neighboring properties. The exterior common spaces are located
adjacent to the public right-of-ways and the existing parking lot to the south,
not close to adjacent buildings. There are also no occupied exterior terraces
or roof decks above ground level that could project noise over the adjacent
buildings to the larger area. All noise from exterior common spaces at ground
level will be limited and contained by hardscape and landscape features such
as trees, canopies, and trellises.
Conclusion
The combination of housing and support services that this new project will
provide will be a valuable resource for the City of Renton for many years to
come. The exterior design of the Renton Commons project will greatly
exceed the standards of Design District “A” and will likely become a model of
high-quality, high-density development for future projects in the area.