Level 2 Development has revised its design for the new residential building at 1905-1917 14th Street where the U.S. Post Office is located based on community meetings and the HPRB review of their initial design. They have reduced overall massing, increased more setbacks to reduce impacts on Wallach Place, and have incorporated characteristics of the neighborhood. They met with Wallach Place residents last week to review the design.The new design is still 7 stories tall, however the massing has been shifted to the southern end, where the entrance was repositioned, and the overall density has been decreased, allowing for a more significant stepback at the back of the building (to an adjacent commercial rowhouse and Wallach Place residents across an alley).
Level 2's plan for 154 units has been shaved down to 144, with a loss of approximately 4,000 s.f. overall - a net loss of ten, cozy 400-s.f. studio units - the same floor plan that makes up the majority (approximately 85%) of the building. Most of the units will be efficiencies, although there will be some one bedroom units.
A decorative cornice has been added around the 4-story (northern) section of the building and the two 4-story projecting bays on 14th Street. The new design has an exterior that is less glassy (i.e. windows have been broken down into smaller sizes), in an attempt to make the building look "less commercial."
The building's footprint remains unchanged, at nearly 16,000 s.f., and includes ground floor retail. The developers have stated that 50% of commercial tenants will have to meet criteria of the Arts District Overlay.
They will appear before ANC 1B and HPRB in September to obtain approval of this revised design.
