Will a condo be built in front of me?

November 9, 2009 6:13 PM

If I buy a condo in Seattle with a great view, will that view be blocked by new condo construction in the near future?

There is a condo for sale that I am interested in which has a great view. Currently there are 2 small commercial buildings in front of the condo, which do not obstruct the view.

I'm going to be devastated if I buy this place, and then either one gets torn down and someone builds a shiny new building which will block my view.

How can I figure out if this is likely, possible, or planned?

[Side note: I asked a question 6 months ago on how to convince my wife to move to Seattle. Thanks folks, she agreed to the move, and now she loves it!]

posted by nyc_consultant to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Go to the city and find out what the zoning is for the other lots and if such a structure is allowed. Of course, if the current or future owner wants to get a variance down the road and build something that would block your view, you are shit out of luck.

Just as your building probably obstructed someone else's view, your view could be obstructed too. That's the breaks in living in the city.
posted by birdherder at 6:24 PM on November 9, 2009

It depends upon the zoning. I am not familiar with Seattle, but in my city there are some areas that overlook a large urban park that are zoned to meet maximum height requirements so that buildings closest to the park are shorter and those further back from the park are taller. This allows most buildings to have a view of the park.

Here is a case where buyers sued a developer when he built an adjacent building that blocked their (former) skyline view.

You should look at city or county records to see who owns the properties in question. Are they active businesses? Are they boarded up? Also, you use city/county records to see how the buildings are zoned and if any rezoning has occurred for the properties. (King County, WA zoning)
posted by Andy's Gross Wart at 6:24 PM on November 9, 2009

Best answer: Take a looksee at the King County Parcel Viewer. Many areas of the downtown core were up-zoned a year or two ago. You'll be able to find that information by searching the archives of the seattlepi. Also, keep in mind areas around future light rail stations. Chances are the commercial property near your building is zoned at either 45, 65, or 85 feet.
posted by mmdei at 6:37 PM on November 9, 2009

Well, maybe. It does depend on the zoning, as above. Really, though, that's what you sign up for living in a growing city. Everyone moving into that "shiny new building" is going to have the same concern as you, too.
posted by setanor at 6:56 PM on November 9, 2009

Where, exactly, is it?
posted by tristeza at 7:02 PM on November 9, 2009

You should familiarize your self with the history of the Cosmo condo, and perhaps contact some of the owners who were active on this exact issue there.
posted by squid patrol at 7:36 PM on November 9, 2009

Yup. Parcel Viewer (mmdei), and thems' the breaks.

Threats to cherished views, unruly downstairs/next-door neighbors, crack dealers moving into the alley 2 years from now... all risks one must take when owning city real-estate. It just comes with the territory. (Thankfully, IMO the goods outweigh the bad, but YMMV.)
posted by whycurious at 7:47 PM on November 9, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks. The parcel viewer is really useful. At least now I know exactly the units I'm talking about and their zoning status.

I'm not a lawyer though, so I can't translate all this mumbo-jumbo into the answer for "could they build a new condo there?"

Here's one of them, for example:

http://www5.kingcounty.gov/kcgisreports/property_report.aspx?PIN=0695000045
posted by nyc_consultant at 8:05 PM on November 9, 2009

Best answer: Here is my guess:

The link you gave doesn't appear to have zoning information. However, at the bottom, there is a blurb of text that says, among other things:

King County Assessor: eReal Property Report (PDF format requires Acrobat)

Click on that link, wait for the PDF to load, and look at the Zoning entry on the 2nd line of the right column. In your case, it says DMR/R 125/65. Pursuant to Seattle Municipal Code 23.30.010, DMR/R means "Downtown Mixed-Use Residential." As near as I can tell, this means that a given parcel can be used for residential on its upper floors, and commercial on the lower ones. As for what the numbers mean, SMC 23.49.008 says that the larger, first, number is the height allowed for the portion of the building used for non-residential purposes and the smaller, second, number is the applies to the residential portions of the building.

With the facts I can verify out of the way, it looks like the building could have 12 stories of commercial and an additional 6 stories of residences on top for a total height of 190 feet (or approximately 19 stories). That part is just a guess, but it seems to jive with a couple of forum posts I found.
posted by fireoyster at 8:23 PM on November 9, 2009

Here's an earlier discussion on similar topic.
posted by valannc at 9:30 AM on November 10, 2009