21 Boston – 19 – Up and About

To date, we’ve watched a giant, 5-acre hole being excavated, a huge 2-level concrete parking structure constructed, a structural framework for a new Safeway store mounted on top of the garage, and many layers of pre-fabricated panel housing assembled above that.

Now, thanks to the drone service that Compass Construction employs, it’s possible to look at the ‘big picture’ from above. So here are a half-dozen photos from a recent fly-by, starting on the Queen Anne Avenue (west) side and going counter-clockwise around to Boston.

The nature of the construction allowed Building C, the long one above, along QA Avenue, to get a head start and rapidly climb up.

At the corner of Queen Anne and Crocket Streets, the set-back that provides an open plaza for a variety of activities is now clearly visible.

The view from the south clearly shows that the design has a west half and east half, and also begins to reveal the outlines of the central courtyard-garden.

The long space through the center of the project (now used for storing materials) will stay open, which will allow light and air to flow through the courtyard and give views both in and out of the complex. This alignment essentially corresponds to the location of the alley system on the hill, which helps the organization of the building elements relate to other nearby buildings, like the Towne Apartments across Crockett Street.

The diagonal view from the corner of Crockett and First clearly shows the early vs later phases of the housing assemblies.

Now that building C, on the left, is up 4-5 stories, the shape of the courtyard is quite apparent. The other feature that stands out, along the right hand side, is the row of town houses that will face out on to First Avenue.

This squared-off view from the East shows how the completed project will span along First Avenue all the way from Crockett on the left to Boston on the right.

The currently blank, gray square on the right, will become the base of Building A, which is also where the Leasing and Management Offices will eventually be at street level. Building A will also be separated by an open space from Building B, though skybridges will connect the buildings at upper levels.

Finally, one more diagonal view, finishes the tour.

It also provides an overview of the way in which the 21 Boston project extends Queen Anne Avenue’s urban village character, a key to providing more housing and retail in an effective relationship to transit and other urban businesses.

To see the video version of this circular tour, go to the Compass Construction website, look under ‘Projects’, find 21-Boston and scroll down to the video.

21 Boston – 18 – Up and Out

Supported by good weather and the arrival of a large number of pre-fab wall panels, the 21 Boston project has grown exponentially. As shown here, building C, along Queen Anne Avenue, has filled out five floors of housing above the Safeway store. At the corner, the stronger form also gives added dimension to the future plaza.

Eventually, a deli will open out on to this corner plaza – see later description.

Around the corner, on Crockett Street, the slope dramatizes the way in which the housing is perched above the retail. Note the white flashing material being installed around the openings in advance of window installation. Before those windows get installed, however, the process has to be approved. This is handled by building a mock-up where the elements can be viewed up close. This is over on the 1^st Avenue side at street level.

Eventually, the building siding and trim will be added to the mock-up for a similar review.

The same façade seen from above gives a sense of what it will be like to live up in the trees.

From this vantage point above Crockett Street you can see the beginnings of Building B which runs north-south along First Avenue North to the right.

In the distance, the transfer deck is being poured to support the rest of Building B and, soon, Building A, at the far corner of the site at Boston and 1^st North.

Down at street level again, Building B apartments are fronted by a string of row-house apartments. Right now they don’t look like the housing because their foundation is concrete.

Soon, though, wood framing will join them to the other Building 2 framing to the left.

This transition from concrete to wood, aided in this case by some steel columns, is a major design and construction element in the whole project. Farther north along this same area the project is still in the concrete phase.

This view, looking west at the corner of First and Boston, shows how the residential leasing and management office opens out to the street, at the base of Building A.

Just west along Boston Street, the newly widened and lowered alley access makes it easier to see the other side of the office, as well as appreciate this generous north entrance.

This will be a busy area, combining resident traffic to the parking below, delivery truck traffic to the loading dock and any quick-stop traffic to the office.

Coming almost full circle back to Queen Anne Avenue we find the part that’s farthest along. While concrete trucks continue to pump cement to the other side of the site, the housing reaches almost to its top level.

This will be the end of the major pumping of concrete via pipe across the site.

The tower crane is more and more being hidden by the buildings; but not to worry it’s still in good shape for the rest of the job.

Now we can see some of the detailing for the future Safeway window and door installation. These steel columns and beams will provide support and stiffening for the window frames and doors that will face the public sidewalk and welcome people in.

A look from inside the future Safeway starts to show how Queen Anne Avenue will be seen from the store. Having both sides of the street fronted by retail should enhance its overall character as the key street of the Queen Anne Urban Village.

Inside, fit-up of the space is already proceeding, here with installation of sprinkler piping and hardware at the ceiling and drain and water connections at the floor.

The retail wraps around the corner and up Crockett Street as well.

But more critically on the exterior, at the corner of Crockett and Queen Anne Streets, the façade moves back to frame the outdoor multi-purpose courtyard from which we started today’s walk around the building.

An expanded & updated Safeway Deli will open out to this corner plaza, a gathering space with an order window facing the plaza. The plaza will have overhead weather protection, a children’s play area and will be open to the public. It will itself open on to Queen Anne Avenue, providing an enhancement to the busy intersection of Queen Anne Avenue and Crockett Street.

So hang on – even in the time we just took to walk around the site, the building has grown.

It won’t be long before it tops out.