In the first move towards a renovated Fauntleroy Triangle, Link Apartments is nearing completion with a targeted opening date of the end of March, according to developer Harbor Properties marketing director Emi McKittrick.

The six story building with a multi-colored façade is going up on s.w. Alaska St between 38th and 37th Ave s.w. and sits on pieces of land once owned by the Huling Brothers auto dealership and Alki Lumber.

To read more on plans to revitalize the Triangle, check out the Herald story, West Seattle learns more about The Triangle’s future.

According to McKittrick, six-story Link will have 194 units (of which 28 are pre-leased), two levels of underground parking, a “p-patch” community garden and social area on the roof and 18,000 square feet of retail space at the ground level already spoken for by a vegetarian restaurant (Chaco Canyon Café), a yoga studio and Bright Horizons Daycare. McKittrick expects the retail offerings to open around the same time as the housing, but said the daycare could have a delay due to licensing requirements.

She said around 60 jobs will be created by the retail operations.

“One of the things we wanted to do was make sure we had services that didn’t compete with the Junction but complemented,” McKittrick said.

As for how Harbor Properties chose the location to start building in 2009, McKittrick said, “We had already been in West Seattle because of our Mural project (located on 42nd Ave s.w. near the Alaska Junction) and that was when Steve Huling went out of business. We were in West Seattle and experiencing success with Mural and the lot became available …”

“We have noticed our demographic (at other Harbor properties including Mural) is primarily residents who are looking for a community building … a community within itself. There is a lot of socialization that goes on in the building.”

“I guess we are targeting people that are attracted to West Seattle,” she said of future tenants. “We asked a lot of realtors and our current residents at Mural why they want to live in West Seattle and they all kept saying, “It’s the best of both worlds, you know. It’s got that small town feel but yet you are close to downtown actually. It just feels like you are on an island almost.’”

A unique addition to the walls inside Link is being worked on now. West Seattle’s Twilight Artists Collective has been commissioned by Harbor to create 40 pieces of original art done by 18 different artists. Artists are currently working on a stairwell mural, intended to encourage taking the stairs rather than the elevator, (check out the Herald’s story and photo slideshow here) and McKittrick said eventually each level of the six-story building will have a unique feel, featuring a different artist.

The rooftop “p-patch” community garden will have over twenty planters, some of which will be a blank canvas for residents’ horticultural desires and others will be planted and maintained by urban gardening specialist and West Seattle resident Jana Belisle.

“She’s helping people grow plants and she’s going to start off a garden ahead of time,” McKittrick explained. Basically, Belisle will maintain the garden and teach residents how to grow along the way.

For more information on Link Apartments, visit www.harborproperties.com.