65th and 35th is a busy place these days with the construction at Bryant Heights and the Theodora, right across the street. RBCA has always known that change was coming to our neighborhood and was involved in the Future of 35th Ave NE Project. On Wednesday June 24th from 6-7:30 at Congregation Beth Shalom, the City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will ask for feedback from the community about the potential up zoning along 35th Ave from NE 65th to NE 95th that was endorsed by the 35th Ave Committee, RBCA, and the Wedgwood Community Council. Goodman Real Estate has provided the following information to RBCA about their project on 35th Ave NE, just south of the NE Library.
“Construction and staging activity at the Theodora is
underway as the project prepares for interior renovations to the existing Theodora units and common spaces, exterior cleaning and painting, refreshed landscaping, and the addition of new units in the existing south parking lot.
In addition, activity through the summer and fall will include:
- Cleaning the building exterior and repainting all wood to match the existing color
- Installation of new entries at the north and the east sides of the building to help open up the building to better pedestrian access
- Excavation at the south parking lot for a new below grade parking garage
- Construction of new apartment units over the new parking garage
As construction begins to ramp up, we will also ensure regular communication with Polygon and their NE 65th St. project.
A month or so ago, the Volunteers of America (previous site owner) and Goodman Real Estate (current owner) finalized the transition of all previous Theodora residents to new permanent housing. Residents worked closely with a relocation specialist to help determine their new housing needs – one of the positive results of this work was that 73 percent of residents were able to stay in Seattle.
All residents who received Section 8 subsidized rent were able to retain their reduced-rent vouchers and use them in their new homes. In addition, 12 residents who were not currently receiving Section 8 subsidized housing vouchers were qualified through the relocation process and now receive federal rent subsidies.
Assuming we have approval from the Landmarks Board, we plan to discuss these updates and provide detailed information about parking, traffic planning, overall design and plans for the south building, as well as our onsite tree and shrub plan when we attend the Ravenna Bryant Community Association July 7th board meeting.
In the meantime, questions about construction or timelines should be directed to Rita Burden at rburden@goodmanre.com.
Just curious as to how 73% of the former residents being able to stay in Seattle can be seen as positive. Over a quarter of the residents had to leave Seattle? Very troubling, very sad.