SEATTLE—Mack Urban has unveiled its design proposal for a 43-story, 430-unit residential apartment tower located at 1001 John Street in South Lake Union. The tower will include 2800 square feet of retail along Terry Avenue North and 300 underground parking stalls.

With a 53' foot drop between John Street and Terry Avenue North, the site has been identified in city planning documents as one of several locations that would benefit from a public hill climb assist. “What many would see as a challenge we saw as an opportunity,” said Paul Keller, founding principal and CEO of Mack Urban. “The topography enables us to design a tower with a strong public connection and view point amenity.”

Currently there is no pedestrian connection between upper John Street and lower Terry Avenue N. Vacated in 1955, the land remains private property and is occupied by a five-story concrete warehouse. Mack Urban is proposing to site the new tower on the Southeast corner of the 18,570 square foot lot in order to voluntarily provide a public hill climb and view point plaza with territorial views of the Space Needle and Lake Union. The public plaza will be designed to connect with John Street and the Seattle Times park. The hill climb will also include a public elevator located to the north of the new residential tower.

“Many of the best developments in Seattle have resulted from public-private partnerships, where the builders engaged with the city to create a public benefit through the design and development of a site,” said Richard Mack, CEO of Mack Real Estate Group. “Our predecessor company, Harbor Properties, was the builder of Harbor Steps, a project that was successful in connecting two distinct neighborhoods using a public pedestrian way. We would like to achieve something similar with 1001 John Street, improving the walkable connections between different areas of South Lake Union. This development provides an opportunity to create an active and attractive public space with amazing view corridors that we hope will strengthen the fabric of these neighborhoods.”

“This site is very similar to the Harbor Steps site with topographical challenges,” said Martha Barkman, vice president of development for Mack Urban. “It was the first project in Seattle to connect First Avenue to the waterfront with a public view point, plaza and tiered staircase. Similar to 1001 John Street, Harbor Steps provided solutions to the 55' foot drop with a hill climb and public view points.”

Both Harbor Steps and 1001 John Street are private property that have or are proposed to be dedicated to a public benefit. “Reconnecting John Street will create a new mid-block pedestrian connection which is currently lacking,” added Barkman. “By siting our tower on the Southeast corner, we are able to preserve views for public enjoyment and provide the hill climb linkage and viewpoint discussed in the 2010 South Lake Union Urban Design Framework document. As the project manager for Harbor Steps, I know firsthand how powerful pedestrian connections can be in making Seattle a walkable city. I'm really pleased that we could make this part of our project. It's responsible, urban design.”

The front door of the 43-story, 400 foot tower will be on John Street in order to add to the developing pedestrian character along that street and connect to the view point plaza.

Along Terry Avenue N. the streetscape will be developed in coordination with the Terry Avenue North Street Design Guidelines with a 31' ft. sidewalk at the base of the hill climb. The 2800 sq. ft. of retail will also be located on the street level of Terry Avenue N.

“1001 John Street is more than an address,” concluded Keller. “As a long-term hold real estate investment firm, we see the site location and topographical condition as both an opportunity and a responsibility to create a prominent public connection and preserve a view corridor. It will be a timeless building that doesn't turn its back on any street.”

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Plans Revealed for 43-story Residential Tower

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