Seattle, we need to talk. It’s undeniable that we are creating the model for an urban high-tech corridor that eschews the inefficient sprawl that has been so entrenched in the American tech sector for the past few decades. Out with the sprawling corporate campus, in with the vertical one. Instead of creating your own suburban style streets, utilize the existing street grid and harness the power of an urban center city. It’s pretty clear how beneficial this new path will be for the planet, and for the economic health of cities themselves.
South Lake Union (SLU) and Denny Triangle are this model. And if Seattle as a whole is going to rebel against increased density in order to relieve the intense pressure that economic growth is putting on housing prices, we can all agree that making the SLU urban center more dense with both housing and office space is one of the most practical solutions we have.
Unfortunately, we forgot to do one thing on the way to making this a reality: leave out the cars.
Take a scroll through the dozens of building projects currently going through the design review and permitting process in South Lake Union and Denny Triangle. The number of parking spaces planned for an area with a street grid that’s already packed with cars during peak periods is astounding. Several planned developments include over 1,000 parking spaces each, including 1120 Denny Way project and the 300 Boren Ave N project. Amazon’s three-tower complex down Westlake at Virginia Street, in addition to being home to the photogenic biospheres that open next year, will also be home to more than 3,000 parking spaces in total.
