In the heart of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, a new mixed-use development is giving residential and retail space users easy access to the area’s expanding mass transit system. Located just a half a block from the city’s new light rail station and perched directly atop the train tunnel is 230 Broadway, an urban infill project that boasts a blend of residential and commercial space, plus three stories of underground parking. “The location is key for transit in this area,” says Trevor Ashenbrener, a project manager at SRM Development, 230 Broadway’s developer. “It’s close to light rail and close to downtown.”
The project features 234 residential units and roughly 23,000 square feet of retail elements. A parking lot, a handful of residential and retail spaces, and a farmer’s market were removed to make way for the new development, but several businesses that occupied the location prior to demolition, including Noah’s Bagels and Bank of America, have returned now that the project is complete.
This aerial view shows the location of the courtyard and 230 Broadway’s generous roof deck and green roof.
Around the exterior of the new residential development is native and water-efficient landscaping.
The roof deck helps keep the building cool and creates an outdoor space for residents above the Seattle skyline.
Inside the lobby residents are treated to high-end but healthful finishes.
Amenities abound at 230 Broadway. The underground parking area features six electric-vehicle charging stations and it has wiring for an additional four. A theater and multipurpose room is located on-site for residents to use for meetings and other events. SRM also added a green roof, covering a third of the total roof space, so folks have an unexpected urban oasis. The green roof helps keep the building cool, and while the area is famous for rain, Ashenbrener says, “We didn’t use the green roof for storm-water calculations. We included it to give people a place to hang out above the city.”
Through Seattle City Light’s Built Smart program, a Seattle-area green building program that emphasizes residential development projects, the project qualified for $131,000 in rebates, thanks to features such as Energy Star-rated fixtures and motion sensors that help minimize energy use. “The lighting is maintained at 50 percent, but as soon as somebody goes into the space or a car drives in, the sensors pick up that motion and turn the other half of each fixture on,” Ashenbrener says. The sensors are used continuously in the parking garage, and they also control lighting levels in the residential corridors at night.
Local suppliers such as Bellmont Cabinet Company, a manufacturer in nearby Sumner, Washington, were tapped whenever possible. “They have LEED-rated cabinetry products, and we used their soft-close drawers and doors,” Ashenbrener says. Hard-surface flooring, low-VOC paints, low-E windows, and R38 roof insulation round out the project’s sustainable aspects to make it a Built Green 3-Star project.
