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Submitted by Thad Curtz on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 3:53pm.
May 24 2008 - 1:41pm One of the interesting things about working with Friends of the Waterfront against the request to rezone the space between the lake and the sound has been looking at what the planning commission and the City Council actually *see* when they're deciding what Olympia will look like in the future. I'm just starting to do some pages for the FOTW website with comparisons, like this...: Views from the 4th Avenue bridge The City's visualization from the public workshop March 22nd — which includes the rezone on the other side of the street, not just TriWay's imagined buildings.
TriWay's visualization — notice that the street lights on the left look about five stories high, making the buildings feel appealingly small... 
http://www.nuprometheus.com/friends/comparebridge.html Best, |
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They are building giant
Submitted by Just another voice on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 4:48pm.I'm not really sure if it's fair to show big yellow boxes as the buildings, when TriWays have already sent out the concept images. Even if they get the re-zone they still have to put up the designs for public review.
I actually think that the second concept image looks quite nice.
And why isn't anyone showing 'big yellow boxes' of what it could look like if TriWays doesn't get the rezone and builds at the current height restriction.
But I am Just Another Voice
Beauty is in the eye, eh...
Submitted by Guglielmo on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 5:55pm.Giant yellow blocks
Submitted by Thad Curtz on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 9:44pm.Somebody reworked my post to include the photos rather than a link to the actual website, but my captions got lost in the editing, so I'm not sure if you saw that the first image is from the City's public workshop and the second's from Triway's application. I didn't do the pictures — I'm just interested by how different they feel and why...
The city does boxes because if you get a rezone, you really don't have to build the "design concept" you used for the rezone application.
It does have to fit under your new zoning rules, and you're definitely right that your changed plans still do have to pass a design review, but it's a lot harder for the design review board to reject whatever you finally decide to build.
Design is a matter of taste - zoning's about objective criteria like how many feet high it can be, what percentage of the total area can be office space, etc. It's hard to argue about whether or not what you want to build fits rules like that. So you have to try to get the city to change those...
If you do, dealing with the design review board about changes from your old design concept drawings is much, much easier...
There are lots of other visualizations in the full presentations which are on the Friends of the Waterfront website, including most of the views showing the 35 foot buildings the current zoning allows. But apparently nobody wants to build 35 foot buildings there, so I personally hope that land will all become city/state park in the long run, if it doesn't get filled with high rises too soon.
Honestly
Submitted by security_six on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 4:54pm.I could live with that. But only if there is at least 25% housing designated "low income" and the remaining condos are a price mix middle class and wealthier could afford.
Confucius Say-"He who need inquire if safe with one in pipe, ask loaded question!"It's interesting how a lot
Submitted by rainy gray on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 7:00pm.it looks like
Submitted by enpen on Sat, 05/24/2008 - 10:27pm.Olympia goes from having a unique urban corridor to being Somewheresville, USA. I question the aesthetic integrity of a plan which seeks to take rather than work with such a unique environment.
It's pretty obvious that Olympia has hefty negotiating power in this instance. The capabilities or our current representatives with such an advantage remain questionable.
"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe
We Wish You a Merry Isthmus
Submitted by stevenl on Sun, 05/25/2008 - 11:13am.Am I missing something? There is already a 9 story building in the isthmus that has stood vacant for quite a spell. Plans to give it a makeover have fallen through. So what is the argument again for building more high-rises?
The Capitol Center Building is such a treasure it should have no competitors in the area. However
I would rather see Olympia's premier example of Cesso sullo Paesaggio school of architecture torn down than have ugly 21st century cookie-cutter blah buildings crowd it out thus diminishing and trivializing the grandeur of the structure.
Actually, Olympia has not had an unobstructed view of the Olympics since the end of World War II. As I remember, before the Cap Cent was constructed we saw a huge wall of military metal out on the inlet courtesy of the Mothball Fleet clear up to 1972. It pretty much dominated the view. It became such a fixture that even now I still half expect to see it out there.
So my proposal is this, although it brings me great pain: Tear down the Capitol Center Building and then have a high rise moratorium on the isthmus for awhile. Let Olympia experience a clear Budd Inlet view of the Olympics for the first time in over 60 years. Once Oly has a dose of that, the people might decide that maybe high rises are not such a hot idea.
By the way, nice to see you in OlyBlog, Thad. Welcome.
The old DOC building that is
Submitted by wilson on Sun, 05/25/2008 - 11:14am.just wanted to mention that
Submitted by ashley on Mon, 05/26/2008 - 12:52pm.Restoration
Submitted by stevenl on Sun, 05/25/2008 - 3:22pm.Renovation. If you look at
Submitted by wilson on Sun, 05/25/2008 - 3:59pm."Renovation" sounds more
Submitted by stevenl on Sun, 05/25/2008 - 5:55pm.It's a
Submitted by Guglielmo on Sun, 05/25/2008 - 8:44pm.Perfect!!
Submitted by wilson on Mon, 05/26/2008 - 9:38am.Restoration implies some
Submitted by wilson on Sun, 05/25/2008 - 7:23pm.