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Linden Place Development News
From the Daily Journal of Commerce
Aurora is Getting Its First 'Woonerf'
By JOURNAL STAFF

Johnson Braund Design Group of Seattle has designed a mixed-use community called Linden Place, just off Aurora Avenue North, that will be oriented around a narrow street shared by people and cars.

The owner and developer, Bitter Lake Village Associates, is building the retail and residential complex at 13000 Linden Ave. N., on the 3.2-acre site of the former Aurora Cinemas.

Pacific Northern Construction is a partner in the owner/development team. The contractor is Inter-City Contractors. Construction is set to start this year. Costs were not disclosed.

The Bitter Lake/Haller Lake area is zoned for high-density development and designated to be one of the city's urban villages.

Linden Place will have 13,000 square feet of retail, mostly neighborhood services such as a deli, dry cleaner, book store and coffee shop.

The 391 units will be senior and family housing in studios, one- and two-bedroom arrangements. All units will be affordable to take advantage of a tax credit. There will be two structures: one six stories tall and the other seven. Johnson Braund also did the landscape design, which was inspired by the Dutch concept "woonerf" - a "street for living" - where cars share space with people and bicycles.

In a woonerf, priority is given to pedestrians, though vehicle access is allowed. The streets are curbless and narrow, with trees, planters, parking and other obstacles to slow traffic.

At Linden Place, the narrow street will provide access to housing on either side. It will have a piazza with a fountain, where there could one day be a farmers' market, street bazaars or performances.

Along the perimeter of the private street there will be retail shops and porches attached to the housing units. There will be a park at the end of the street. Other contractors on the project include civil engineer/surveyor Barghausen Consulting Engineers, geotechnical engineer Associated Earth Sciences, and transportation engineer Parametrix.

The senior housing is set to be complete by the end of 2006, and the family housing by mid-2007.

The designers said Linden Place was inspired by Pike Place Market, First Avenue, Broadway and Fremont, which provide vehicle access as well as "real places of encounter" for pedestrians.

Joe Giampietro of Johnson Braund said the goal is to create a different type of neighborhood than the auto-dependent uses that have existed along Aurora for decades. He said the Linden Place developers also want to help create a pedestrian walkway to Aurora, if nearby property owners participate.

"This is the first opportunity to see what an urban village in the area would look like," he said, and more may follow. There are a lot of other large pieces of property in the area where lively pedestrian areas could also be built.

Ralston House - A Letter of Appreciation
Thursday, September 22, 2005

Dear Sirs,

Thank you. Thank you for investing your time and money to develop Ralston House, this lovely home for seniors. I moved in over the weekend and could not be happier with the facilities, the staff and the surroundings.

Bill, JoAnn and Becky do everything to make the residents feel at home, comfortable and secure. Introductions and camaraderie and encouraged and the "gathering room" is becoming a place to stop and chat, both coming and going.

Having the computers available to residents with the Internet just a click away is special. Thank you for that too. I hope to help more of my new friends learn to navigate the Internet and send e-mail to their families. Learning something new is important at any age, even for us oldsters.

Again, thank you. Know that you are making a difference in the lives of many Seniors and we appreciate it.