History

In November 1997, Seattle Cohousing members were approached by residents of the Jackson Place Community about the possibility of developing cohousing on a site owned by the city. Over many months, we had numerous conversations with members of the Jackson Place Community and became acquainted with their vision for Hiawatha Place.

The 3.25 acre site was divided into areas of different zoning, some suitable for cohousing, and some not. By teaming up with Icon Architecture Ltd. and their proposal for artist live/work space and market-rate housing in the parcels we could not utilize, we created a coordinated vision for the entire available land.

On July 6, 1998 Seattle Cohousing in cooperation with Icon Architecture Ltd. submitted a proposal to the City of Seattle to purchase this land. August 4, 1998 Seattle Cohousing was informed that it had won the competition for this site! Although Icon was not able to fulfill on the artist housing, we broke ground in July, 2000 and moved in between October and December, 2001 as homes became finished.

Our property is a triangular half block of approximately 1.25 acres, on a sloped hillside, with some views of downtown, Mt. Ranier, and the majestic PacMed/Amazon.com building on Beacon Hill. The site is bordered by S. Dearborn Street on the north, S. Charles Street on the south, and Hiawatha Place on the west. The Cedar River right-of-way for an underground water main runs diagonally from NE to SW, providing guaranteed community open space that is expanded further by an ajacent community garden managed by the City of Seattle.

Across Hiawatha Place from our site is an artist live/work building, just as envisioned by the unsuccessful Icon Architecture, but developed eventually by Artspace, a non-profit organization that creates affordable rental housing for artists. Finished in 2007, it offers street level shops including an art gallery, a small cafe, and a bike repair store run by a JPC entrepreneur! You can't beat the commute. Hiawatha Lofts boast a number of sculptures, artsy rocks, and bike racks that look like bikes! What is that huge green lamp shade thing supposed to be, anyway? At least it looks pretty cool.

Two other condo developments by Home Site completely fill the originally vacant lots around our site: the uphill triangle that completes our block was finished in 2004, and the site to the north of Hiawatha Lofts is nearing completion as of summer 2009.

Jackson Place Cohousing is in the heart of the Jackson Place Community, centrally located at the edges of the International District, the Central Area, Judkins Park, and Rainier Valley, with Leschi and Mt. Baker walking distance to the east. The Mountains-to-Sound bicycle route passes down the full but short stretch of our very own Hiawatha Place and then winds up the hill on its own path to Judkins Park, crosses 23rd Ave. and then MLK Blvd. before going through a tunnel under Mt. Baker and emerging at an outlook over I-90 and Lake Washington. Tsutakawa sculptures, soccer games, and an off-leash dog park are some of the sights along the way.

The Jackson Place Community Council is a vibrant organization run by resident volunteers that care deeply about their community, and a number of JPC neighbors have served on the board or taken on projects. The vision is to create an attractive pedestrian-oriented, kid-friendly neighborhood--a safe place that people are proud to call home. Some of the many improvement projects include a traffic calming study, a street light project, and a community garden.

Architect: Pyatok Associates
Mike Pyatok, an award-winning architect and professor at UW specializing in affordable housing, designed our project. Pyatok Architects has designed two cohousing projects in California and understands the value of incorporating resident input into the design process. Mike is known for commissioning local artists to enrich his projects and is the co-author of the book "Affordable housing that looks nice".

Development Consultant: Our project manager, Deborah Gooden of Pacific Development Concepts, also worked with cohousing groups Duwamish and Songaia. After finishing our development, Deborah became the lead project manager for the King County Housing Authority HOPE VI development now called Greenbridge.

Parks: Judkins Playfield and Park 3 blocks away; I-90 Lid Park one block South along Hiawatha.

Bike Trail: The Mountain-to-Sound bike trail comes through the Lid Park, along Hiawatha, and turns west on Dearborn.

Transit: Metro bus and easy access to I-90 and I-5.

International District: 4 blocks west, many restaurants

Pioneer Square: 15 blocks west, shopping, many restaurants and art galleries

Safeco Field and football stadium

Shopping: Just over half a mile to 23rd/Jackson, with grocery and drug stores, Starbucks, and Hollywood Video.