Why isn't Wallingford densifying like the U District and Roosevelt?? (Seattle: how much, townhouses)

[TheTimidBlueBars]

It really struck me today while driving west over the 45th bridge how fast the density cuts off. I don't think Wallingford has a single building over four stories.

Why isn't there more demand to live in the neighborhood, being just blocks from the action centered around (roughly) 45th and the Ave? Is crossing the bridge just too unpleasant for the average person? (reasonable) Is there a powerful NIMBY force in that area? I know that all the development in Roosevelt and Northgate is largely a result of the light rail, but Greenwood and Lake City aren't getting light rail and they still have big projects under construction.

EDIT: Didn't mean to type two question marks in the title lol. But I'm gonna take that unintentional urgency and run with it.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars

It really struck me today while driving west over the 45th bridge how fast the density cuts off. I don't think Wallingford has a single building over four stories.

Why isn't there more demand to live in the neighborhood, being just blocks from the action centered around (roughly) 45th and the Ave? Is crossing the bridge just too unpleasant for the average person? (reasonable) Is there a powerful NIMBY force in that area? I know that all the development in Roosevelt and Northgate is largely a result of the light rail, but Greenwood and Lake City aren't getting light rail and they still have big projects under construction.

EDIT: Didn't mean to type two question marks in the title lol. But I'm gonna take that unintentional urgency and run with it.

Oh, there’s plenty of demand. It’s all about the zoning. Here’s the city wide zoning map, look at the color difference and corresponding meaning between U Dist and Wallingford. http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/research/...allzonemap.pdf

[leastprime]

I dont want to be a developer to teardown, a large character home, with 5 bedrooms and a yard. A 4 flat or 4townhouses-3 levels, is going to be a bit odd in this neighborhood.

[primaltech]

I think they want to keep a quieter feel closer to the neighborhoods to its north. Not every neighborhood needs tons of density. 4 stories is a great building height goal for a neighborhood that's 90% zoned SFH. Wallingford just needs to gradually replace a lot of those 1-story old suburban commercial buildings with more 4-story mixed use along its main corridors.

[jabogitlu]

Wallingford is pretty much ground zero for the ultra-wealthy, ultra-white whiny NIMBY in Seattle.

There's even a Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2365795750336874

[pnwguy2]

As someone mentioned zoning has a lot to do with it. The city is zoned for low rise, midrise, and high rise. This will explain future construction unless the zoning changes.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Wallingford is pretty much ground zero for the ultra-wealthy, ultra-white whiny NIMBY in Seattle.

Parts of it, perhaps, especially with water views. For the vast majority of its history, however, it was a thoroughly working-class and blue-collar neighborhood. Lots and houses tend to be small, since it was "workers" that bought/built and lived in them. When the coal gassification plant (the "gas works") was operating, it would have blanketed much of the district in noxious fumes and pollution:

While the plant supplied fuel to homes and industries during Seattle's growth, the "smoke-belching stacks" tarnished nearby residential developments and encouraged marginal commercial uses in the vicinity. By the time Seattle's first zoning ordinance took effect in 1923, much growth had already taken place. Manufacturing and commercial uses were located around Lake Union, often between residences. The Wallingford neighborhood, located north of the gas plant, had tremendous views to the south across the lake, yet was platted with the houses oriented east and west so residents did not have to look at the black smoke emanating from the plant.

Beginning with the gas plant's first day of operations, public health became a relentless issue for the plant's Wallingford neighbors. The plant discharged byproducts and wastes from the operations onsite and along the Lake Union shoreline.

https://www.historylink.org/File/20978

My family moved to Wallingford in 1961, the year before the World's Fair. At the time, the gas works was a rusting hulk and no longer operational. I went to Hamilton Junior High School and Lincoln High School, graduating in 6/66.

[Backstrom]

Zoning. It's as simple as that.

Housing demand is so high here that pretty much every neighborhood is maxed out at its buildable capacity. In other words, however a neighborhood looks is how much it is zoned for. The reason you don't see 200' buildings in Wallingford is simply because they are not allowed there.

Hence, why Seattle is so expensive...when you artificially limit the amount of supply that can be provided.

[pnwguy2]

Yep the city needs to open up zoning, not necessarily in a big way, but to create opportunities for lower income residents. Don’t get me wrong this could just be a minor change that would help some without really disrupting the pattern of life in the city.

[nuggznsauce]

I wouldn't say there isn't demand in Wallingford. Quite the opposite; the demand is high due to the fact Wallingford still has the feeling of a mainly traditional urban single family neighborhood. A lot of professional millennial couples have moved in and it's been a stronghold for University professionals who want an escape from the younger and louder neighborhoods east.