Urban Village blues

I've been walking by taking pictures of this construction site for over a year.  It's on California Avenue, just a short distance from us. A block of low profile, older buildings were torn down to build a five story apartment complex.

This is just one example of the major housing projects forcing growth in West Seattle. Many of us believe this geographic area can't support that kind of population density.  The developers, of course, disagree. But the narrow streets are clogged with parked cars and traffic, and the bus transit system is overloaded.  The drive out to the freeway over the one bridge is a bottleneck.

And at what cost to the old quiet neighborhoods?  Notice that row of houses above the construction site.  Those folks once enjoyed unobstructed west views of the Olympics, afternoon sunlight and sunsets.

This is the excavation hole, and a giant wall they built to hold up the the hill.

And the floors started to stack up...

and up...

and up.

I drove along the street behind the complex not long ago and it was a sad sight.  Instead of a view, these people now have a dark wall of glass and steel right in their backyards. 

You can see the top of one poor little house still peeking through, where they left a gap between the buildings.

We can see the top of this building from the kitchen window, and the morning sun comes up a few minutes later at our house.

There are 134 units, and a 2-bedroom, 800 sq. foot  apartment rents for a staggering $3,000 a month, plus utilities, parking, pet fees, etc.

Here's the promotional video for the apartments you will enjoy, showcasing our vibrant and laid-back Admiral neighborhood.  Who wouldn't want to live here?  There are no old people. Everyone is young, attractive and hip.