Revised Plans for Debaliviere Place Construction Moving Forward
Date Posted: February 23, 2018
Posted In: Projects,
From NextSTL: Next week, Asprient Properties and Rainier One LLC will present a revised proposal for new construction at 5539 Pershing in the Central Corridor’s dense and vibrant DeBaliviere Place neighborhood. Plans call for a seven-story building, with a U-shaped five-story block of apartments wrapped around a third-floor courtyard, all resting atop a two-story parking garage. The lobby and building amenities face Pershing through street-level storefront openings. The storefront elements and decorative detailing have been added since a previous proposal. VE Design Group is the architect. The location once had been the site of a community pool and tennis courts but in recent years has been a surface parking lot.
The city’s Cultural Resources Office is recommending the Preservation Board approve the revised proposal on condition that no additional curb cuts be added along Pershing. The developer has proposed a garage entrance directly from Pershing. If the Preservation Board follows the CRO recommendation, the garage opening facing Pershing will disappear, and the developer will have to redesign the garage to allow access only from the existing driveway to the east.
Twice as tall as its neighbors, the proposed structure does not comply with the historic district standards on height. Nevertheless, the city is recommending approval on account of the recessed courtyard design and the presence of other tall residential buildings along Pershing including the 17-story Congress Apartments, the 8-story Branscome Apartments and the 8-story condo building on Belt Avenue around the corner from the proposed project. The same developer is constructing a six-story apartment building with structured parking across the street from the proposed project at 5510 Pershing.