This Thursday, April 23, Conner Homes mixed-use project planned for the Alaska Junction will receive further review from the Southwest Design Review board and the community at large.

This project, to be located on California Avenue Southwest, Southwest Alaska Street and 42nd Avenue Southwest, would measure seven stories tall with 12,745 square feet of retail at the ground level. It would include 72 residential units and parking for 307 vehicles.

Typically, mixed-use projects require only three design review meetings, however at the last two recommendation sessions for the Conner project the design review board was unable to address all of their concerns, despite listening to significant public testimony and debating key issues for nearly three and a half hours at the last meeting.

But the board has made progress and plans to focus this meeting on concerns with the massing of one building that will rest on California Avenue Southwest and Southwest Alaska Street.

A portion of this building was set back away from the street at the request of the board from a previous meeting. In doing so, the architect explained that he had to add another story to the building so that it measured seven stories tall.

At the most recent meeting, Westcott showed balconies with multi-colored materials which he felt would break up the vertical elements of the building and blend well with the existing colors of the Junction. However, the design review board was not impressed.

“It looks like a very flat, inexpensively clad building with the idea of super-gluing to the outside,” said board member Joe Hurley. “It’s just not really working.”

Some members of the public were equally appalled.

“I think they took the balcony in the wrong direction,” said Erica Karlovits of the Junction Neighborhood Organization. “I think the coloring is awful.”

One local homeowner commented that balconies often become storage spaces for residents as well, and that the building could end up looking very tacky.

The public, and board members alike, were generally displeased with the building’s modern design. Some said it did not fit in West Seattle, and should look more like the existing historic buildings on California Avenue.

The design review meeting will be held at West Seattle Christian Church, 4400 42nd Ave. S.W., this Thursday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m.