HomeMy WebLinkAbout15_1228 Urban Center Design Overlay District Report25 CENTRAL WAY SUITE 210 : KIRKLAND, WA 98033 : 425.454.7130 : WWW.MILBRANDTARCH.COM
MILBRANDT ARCHITECTS
November 11, 2015
City of Renton Planning Division
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Re: Urban Center Design Overlay District Report (District B)
The building entries have been designed to provide adequate cover from the elements as well as provide
an aesthetically pleasing look to the façade. Each entry is approximately 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep with
angle bracing versus vertical columns to provide interest and conform to the contemporary design. All
entries are accessed from a continuous walkway through a courtyard garden space designed to promote
community. All porches are raised from the court/garden to provide a territorial feel to each individual unit
while also allowing a strong community connection between all units. The two street facing entries located
on buildings 1 and 8 are set back from Grant Avenue by approximately 80 feet. Each of the buildings street
facing facades have been upgraded to include additional glazing along with stone veneer and horizontal
cedar to help provide a greater sense of quality. Both entries are raised and located behind a park space
and surrounded with a grand decorative walkway to the central garden promenade.
Our building design and layout fully takes advantage of the site area and would be more in line with the
massing and density of the current developments existing to the south. The buildings in our townhome
development will be grouped and oriented in a fashion as to create a scheme in which the townhomes all
face onto a green pedestrian corridor with vehicular traffic pushed to the perimeter of the site. This creates
a design in which all building garages are serviced by an alley drive and all entrances are provided along a
pedestrian boulevard. By pushing the vehicular drive to the perimeter of the site, we have created a
transitional buffer between our development and that of the current development located to the
immediate south. Along with the drive, we will also be adding in site trees around the extreme edges to
help further create a buffer and to help with transition of scale from the surrounding developments and
our proposed slightly higher density development while at the same time allowing ample daylighting to
both projects. Through a great deal of articulation and roofline modulation we have created a façade and
expresses each individual unit versus one large building while at the same time using high quality materials
and colors to create continuity throughout the design.
All garbage and recycling will be kept within each units private garages and brought out on
garbage/recycling days. We do not have areas where trash or recycling will be stored.
Parking across the site will be handled in such a way as to have no large surface area parking lots. Instead
we are locating three parallel parking stalls near the entry of the development, two more at the midpoints
of the access road drive, and two toward the exit of the development. Each unit will be designed to
accommodate a two car garage for building occupants.
Access to our site will utilize one way ingress and egress road like this, we will create a calmer traffic
environment within the development than would be created by the use of a two way street. This access
road will create a safer environment for residence pulling out of their garages and eliminate the need to
create a large turnaround circle for emergency vehicles. By pulling the vehicle access to the perimeter like
this, we will also be able to create a separate pedestrian circulation corridor. This green public corridor will
be the primary focal point of the development with the proposed townhome buildings all fronting onto and
feeding into this attractive human scaled space rather than a street which has become the norm in many
recent housing developments. This pedestrian corridor will tie back into the existing pedestrian facilities
25 CENTRAL WAY SUITE 210 : KIRKLAND, WA 98033 : 425.454.7130 : WWW.MILBRANDTARCH.COM
MILBRANDT ARCHITECTS
already present along Grant Ave South through the open public park space proposed at the western end of
the site. This open public space will provide yet another public benefit to residences of the proposed
development and to those of the neighborhood who pass by. From here, it is only a short walk along the
existing sidewalk system to the nearby transit stops along S. Puget Dr.
Landscaping will be done to incorporate areas of small private spaces at the building entries to larger
spaces within the more public locations between the building and ending with the play lawn/open space at
the very West of the site which would be the main gathering space on the site. We worked to save at
minimum 10 existing trees on site, these trees are located in two locations first at the East end of the open
plaza/garden near buildings 3 and 6, then at the South East corner of the site below building 5. We are
incorporating trees all along the perimeter of the site to help buffer existing communities and provide
more visual interest and a higher sense of quality. The central portion of the site will have a community
Plaza/Garden the will consist of walkways, micro plazas that incorporate seating and turf patches that
could be used for gathering. Plantings will consist of ground covers to shrubs and then a variety of larger
trees. All plantings will incorporate automatic irrigations systems to ensure plants have the proper amount
of moisture along with the use of native low maintenance plantings.
The architecture of the buildings will be of a modern/contemporary style showcasing shed roofs, angled
entry posts, crisp lines and modern materials. Each unit will be identifiable through the use of modulation
material changes and colors as well as individually colored easily identifiable entry doors. The elevations as
mentioned above will be modulated and incorporate dynamic material changes as well as having several
window orientations and styles. Materials being incorporated throughout the project will consist of stone
veneer, hardy panels and lap siding along with horizontal clear cedar siding. We will have 3 color schemes
that create a variety between buildings while at the same time keeping a consistent complimentary look
and feel. The ends of buildings 1 and 8 that face Grant Ave will incorporate a greater amount of glazing
providing more visual interest from Grant Avenue.
This development is to be completed in a single phase and as such will work as a standalone project with
all the required spaces, utilities, and amenities required to create an extremely desirable and stable
community environment.
Sincerely,
Robert E. Weible
Principal