Mayor McGinn has sent a letter to Diane Sugimura, Director of Department of Planning and Development, to take the 125 foot height limit “off the table” for future plans of the Roosevelt Neighborhood zoning around the upcoming Roosevelt Light Rail Station commercial area. The Mayor is responding to strong neighborhood criticism that pushed the higher limits all the way to NE 65th Street and 15th Ave NE, creating a corridor of high rise buildings deep into the area now predominantly zoned for 2 story homes.
The initial plan would have allowed up to 16 story buildings with below grade parking down 5 levels, requiring a massive dig involving an estimated 16,000 dump truck loads of soil to be moved. Add this to the already colossal dig for the light rail tunnel construction that will require years of traffic re-routing to accommodate the staging and soil removal for both the Roosevelt Station and North Link Tunnel Portal. The neighborhood residents strongly opposed such a massive disruption to the area.
Proposed Roosevelt Light Rail Station and Construction Staging Area
It's going to take a long time for the area to build up this much unless real estate and transportation costs go up dramatically and quickly. My guess is a medium height limit restriction is going to be a good common sense compromise.Let's see what proposals the Department of Planning and Development come up with.