Around 60 people attended the first of two pre-design community meetings last night to hear developer Bill Parks' presentation of the redevelopment of the corner building on 32nd Avenue and N.W. 64th Street in Sunset Hill.

The building, home to Sunset Hill Green Market, an artist studio and holistic practitioner, was bought by Parks in 2007 but Parks waited to develop until the market stabilized.

Now he's revisiting this project and invited the community to two meetings to hear people's concerns and allow the neighbors to give input.

"I know that not everyone is thrilled with the development," Parks acknowledged in his opening statement. "My hope is to receive specific ideas and concerns people may have. It's good for us to understand before we go in and prepare for the Early Design Guidance meeting."

People were relieved to hear that their beloved Sunset Hill Green Market will continue to exist in the new development, albeit with a new owner.

Chuck Genuardi, owner of the natural foods market that has been the neighborhood's grocer since 1997, announced that he sold the store to Parks and his group and introduced John Kennedy as the owner-to-be.

"This is a pretty emotional night for me but I'm also excited," said Genuardi. "The community is going to get a Green Market that's better but still has the same charm."

Johnston Architects presented four possible preliminary design schemes, two of which would keep the existing two-story building in place.

"I personally have no affection for the building but I will try to save it if the community wants it," Parks said.

In addition to the current structure, Parks also bought the vacant lot on the north end of the lot, known as "the grassy knoll", which will be part of the new development.

The four preliminary design options are as followed:

1. An all new, three-story building with ground floor retail, and up to 16 residential units and 16 sub-grade parking spaces.

"This is the most flexible option from a design stand point because we wouldn't have to work around the existing structure," said Megan McKay from Johnston Architects. "It would also have the most space for onsite parking."

The challenge of this design is that it would require demolition of the current structure.

2. An expansion of the current building with 5000 square feet of retail space, 14 residential units, and up to 12 parking spaces.

McKay said this option would allow retail to remain open during construction and keep the existing building alive.

"But this would be financially and structurally more challenging," McKay said. There wouldn't be any sub-grade parking below the existing structure, and the company would face developmental challenges such as uneven grades, curb cuts, steep slopes, and a need for setback relief.

3. a.) A four-story Living Building using the current structure with up to 8 to 12 residential units, office space, ground floor retail space, and up to 12 parking spaces.

The City of Seattle's Living Building Challenge requires buildings to meet the highest level of sustainability through a series of prerequisites relating to site, energy, materials, water, indoor quality, and beauty and inspiration. 

"It's the next generation of LEED," McKay said.

The green strategies would include solar installations, storm water retention, and an urban agriculture garden on the roof for residents to use.

While a Living Building will be allowed additional flexibility in the application of development standards in the Land Use Code, the green strategies significantly increase upfront building costs.

b.) An all-new Living Building with the same features as mentioned above except that it would allow for sub-grade parking.

Parks said he has no preferred option although he likes the idea of the challenge that option 3a and 3b bring. "It would learn a lot of new things and it would be a challenge. But it also means close to a million more in investment," he said.

People quickly objected to idea of a 40-foot-building, but Parks explained that to defray the significantly higher cost of a living building, four stories is the absolute minimum height.

Next to the bulk of the building, the public's biggest concern was parking, complaining that parking is difficult as it is with the popular Piccolino's Restaurant drawing dozens of extra vehicles to the residential streets.

City zoning requires developers to supply one parking space per residential unit but there is no requirement for supplying parking for retail.

Additionally, the people asked that aestethically, the building would be less contemporary and landscaped to encourage foot traffic.

Parks listened to the concerns and said he will respond to the issues at the meeting next week.

"For now I'm just trying to understand the whole picture," he said.

By a show of hands, the community in attendance seemed to favor the idea of an all new building. The crowd was split between design 1 - an all-new 3 story building - and 3b - an all new living building.

The next meeting will take place January 18 at 7 p.m. at the Sunset Hill Community Club, 3002 NW 66th.

After that meeting, the developers will work toward an Early Design Guidance package. There will be three more public meetings in the design review process.