Ballard's first "cottage housing," a cluster of individual homes that share some open space, will be developed on two lots at 2203 and 2213 Northwest 60th Street.

A vacant one-story commercial building and a single family house west of it will be demolished to build nine homes, each no larger than 1,300 square feet, said Brittani Ard, a consultant for the developers of the project, Soleil Development LLC, a Queen Anne-based company. The 10-year-old company specializes in single-family homes and smaller townhouse, condominium and apartment projects.

Cottage housing is uncommon in Ballard and the rest of the city because of certain zoning and lot size requirements, said Ard. The site must be at least 6,400 square feet and zoned low rise duplex/triplex.

"It's a harder lot to find," said Ard, adding that developers almost always have to purchase two lots side by side to meet the size standard.

The zoning allows one unit per 1,600 square feet of lot for cottage housing. This type of development allows more units by clustering the buildings and sharing common open space, said Alan Justad, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.

Density standards for non-cottage housing are 2,000-square-feet per unit. The proposal is for nine units on a lot of 14,991 square feet, which could actually allow around seven units on non-cottage housing, said Justad.

The cluster will look like a "shrunk, single-family neighborhood," said Ard. Each home will be about 17-feet wide, similar to an average town home, and be no taller than 18 feet, or roughly two stories. Living quarters are downstairs with bedrooms upstairs.

The homes will not connect or share walls.

Surface parking for nine vehicles will be built. Generally, garages aren't built with cottage housing because it takes away a whole floor of the home.

The development is geared to first time homebuyers who are looking for something a little more private than a town home or condominium, said Ard. The homes are built farther apart than most town homes and also have private open space as well as a shared courtyard.

Ard could not give price estimates for the new homes, but said they would be similar in price to a town home. Those are selling in Ballard on average for about $459,000, according to local realtors.

The project is going through an environmental review and the developers hope to get construction permits in the next six to nine months.

The Michael Maier Lodge, a local chapter of the Rosicrucian Order, had previously occupied the commercial building. The Rosicrucian Order is a secular, metaphysical group. The lodge has relocated to Woodinville and could not be reached for comment.

To comment on this development reference project number 3007199. Email prc@seattle.gov, fax 233-7901, or mail Department of Planning and Development_ ATTN: Public Resource Center or Assigned Planner_ 700 Fifth Ave, Ste 2000_ P.O. Box 34019_ Seattle, WA 98124-4019.