The Olympic Athletic Club has filed a Land Use Application requesting a change of use for the 6,300 square foot garage beside the gym facility from residential to lodging.

OAC wants to change the one-story garage into a four-story, 29 unit lodging space with 12,800 square feet of fitness space, and 2,650 square feet of retail space. Parking for 63 vehicles will be located at and below grade.

The plan is to expand OAC on the second and third floors of the proposed building, retail on the bottom and a hotel on the top floor.

OAC intends to build a second pool, new locker rooms, a sauna and hot tubs.

This is not the first time the OAC has expressed interest in building a hotel. A $14 million redevelopment plan filed in 2006 by owner Jim Riggle, was put on hold while owners looked for funding.

In 2007, the City of Seattle and the Ballard Avenue Landmark District Board approved the demolition of the buildings south of the health club to make room for the construction of a 65,000 square foot, four-story, 29-unit hotel. Construction was supposed to begin at that site by October of 2007 but the economic crisis left banks unable to approve large loans. The original application expired in March 2010.

In addition to the Land Use Application, the OAC will need to obtain a building permit, demolition permit, and grading permit

According to the Land Use Application, the project is subject to the optional DNS process and early DNS process. The comment period may be the only opportunity to comment on the environmental impacts of this proposal.