A new developer and prospective buyer has filed an apartment plan at 1419 24th Ave. in the Central Area. With B9 Architects, Cascade Built will present its eight-story, 107-unit plan for a first design review at 8 p.m. Thursday at Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave.
Two old houses, with two owners, would be removed from the combined midblock property if the plan proceeds. They’re not publicly listed for sale, though a separate, earlier redevelopment plan appeared in June.
The combined site would total 7,480 square feet. No parking is planned for the 48,000-square-foot new development, which would be directly north of the new Liberty Bank Building by Capitol Hill Housing. The bike parking would total around 115 stalls.
In B9’s preferred plan, the unit mix would run from SEDUs (small efficiency dwelling units) to larger one-bedrooms. Significantly, it would divide the project into two separate “passive house” structures, connected by open-air bridges.
Passive house construction essentially means a super-tight building envelope and numerous energy-saving features. Those typically include solar panels, beefy insulation, natural cooling and high-efficiency windows.
B9 writes, “Passive house is a rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, which reduces the building’s ecological footprint. It results in ultralow energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling.”
Such construction can yield buildings that consume up to 80% less energy can comparable projects.
Earlier this year at 1419 24th, Blueprint Capital and Cone Architecture filed an 88-unit redevelopment plan. That has evidently been preempted by Cascade Built.
Although generally known as a contractor, Cascade Built is evidently venturing into development. The potential new ownership LLC is governed by firm founder and president Sloan Ritchie.
As a contactor, Cascade Built is now building the passive house apartments at 320 Queen Anne Ave. N., with 66-units for owner Sound West Group; and the 45-unit Solis condominiums at 1300 E. Pike St. on Capitol Hill for project owner SolTerra.
