Ballard Commons, a new 250-unit, six story condominium is about to change the face of the neighborhood's busiest intersection.

The project will replace Denny's Restaurant at 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street.

Rhapsody Partners purchased the lot on the northwest corner of 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street from The Seattle Monorail Project.

A monorail station was to be built on the property until voters decided to end the mass transit project.

The city's Design Review Board for the Northwest sector held a public meeting recently with Weber and Thompson architects, the firm hired by Rhapsody to design the condominium. The board is made up of volunteers and represents Queen Anne, Ballard, Magnolia, Green Lake and Crown Hill. The members are architects and civic activists and their role is to review mixed-use buildings in neighborhood commercial zones.

"It's a neat project, an excellent site," said Steve Price, principle of Weber and Thomas Architects.

With the Ballard Library nearby and stores like Safeway across the street, Price said the project is an exciting development.

Ballard Commons will be 60,000 square feet in size. The east portion of the building will be 60 feet high and the west section 70 feet. It will be six stories high.

Plans call for retail space along 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street.

Rhapsody is currently in negotiations with the Rite Aid Drug Store chain to possibly occupy a Market Street storefront. A drive through pharmacy with access from Northwest 56th Street is in planned.

Banks, restaurants and other businesses are possibilities for the other retail spaces.

The lobby for residents of Ballard Commons will be on Market Street.

An underground parking garage for residents will have entries on both Market Street and Northwest 56th with 95 outdoor parking stalls for retail customers

Specific architectural design features have yet to be determined. At the meeting, Price showed pictures of other buildings his firm has designed, as well as other condominium nearby as examples.

Jeff Reibman, a senior associate with Weber and Thompson said it's important for the building to have a strong identity.

The developers are now applying for the construction permits. Excavation could start this fall and construction could begin next spring. Ballard Commons would take a year and a quarter to build.

Beth Miller, executive director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, said the corner was the biggest landmark site people see as they enter the area and the building should have a civic presence to it.

Mary Hurley, president of the Ballard Merchants Association said the building's name was in conflict with the Ballard Common's park that opened last year across from the new Ballard Library.

Another developer, Curt Pryde, principle of Pryde-Johnson, the developers of Hjarta, a 79-unit condominium directly west of the Ballard Commons expressed his concern about the "massing, scale and bulk," of the project.

City zoning sets limits of 65 feet on the east end of the property and 85 feet on the west. Reibman said his firm is designing a 65 feet building to the east and 70 feet to the west.

Pryde was also concerned about the lack of a pedestrian connection to Hjarta on Northwest 56th Street. He envisions a walkable community on the street, not creating a two-story wall.

Along Northwest 56th, there will be the drive through entrance, garage entrance and display windows. A northeast corner retail space will have a window that wraps around. The drug store, if it signs on, as a tenant would have display windows according to Reibman. Landscaping will be added.

Two buildings, Ballard Place and Ballard Condominiums are across the street. Several residents of those buildings commented at the meeting.

Residents asked for retail spaces on Northwest 56th Street to bring in pedestrians and deter transients. One resident did not want to see a big blob from his window. Graffiti and traffic from trucks delivering goods were also concerns.

Dean Wong may be reached at 783.1244 or dino@robinsonnews.com