AVA Queen Anne Tour and Photos

If you follow us on Facebook then you may have seen the share a couple of weeks ago about AVA Queen Anne‘s grand opening party that is happening tonight. The apartment building is teaming up with Seattle Weekly to throw a big holiday bash complete with drinks, appetizers, and live music (The Foghorns & Red Jacket Mine). And the fact that the tickets were free means – you guessed it – today’s event is now sold out.

AVA seems committed to gaining a party-friendly rep that started with (very non-Avalon) youthful marketing and continues with this sold out grand opening. In my recent visit, I even learned that DList Magazine had just done a photo shoot at the location and models were, well, everywhere. At least, that’s what I heard :).

Party lifestyle aside, here’s a bit about the apartments from my visit:

• Ava Queen Anne offers studios, 1-bedrooms, 2-bedroom apartments, and 6-7 live/work units
• Currently studios start at $1350 and 2-bedrooms go as high as $2,175 for about 1,500 sf (the highest priced unit available was just rented $3,006/mo for 1,115 sf)
• There are 179 apartments in total and only about 20 have been leased so far, first move-ins were at the beginning of Nov.
• Construction is still being completed on units, none of the live/work are ready yet, and a few regular units are scheduled to come online each month through next May.
• Beyond the expected rate deals with larger corporations, there aren’t any leasing incentives to speak of and definitely no deals on parking.

A few notes from my tour:

• LEED certified building
• Dual-paned windows and dual water meter are among some of the efficiency features
• Bathrooms are equipped with surprisingly quiet ventilation fans
• Units are outfitted with carpet in most areas except bathroom and kitchen
• Appliances were notably stainless (not that fake stainless) but still electric
• In general, the layouts I saw were average (nothing exciting); as were the windows (read: not floor-to-ceiling).
• The location next to Elliott Ave in LQA does mean select units have a chance at a view of the Sound though

So yeah, I’m a bit “meh” about the apartments themselves but the true selling point for this place may be the community amenities. The gym is huge and well-equipped; plus, the chill lounge has great views, opens to a terrace, and is home to the most massive BBQ I have ever seen — you must be able to grill like 30 burgers at a time on that thing.

Plus the chill lounge had a few green walls.

The lobby was loungy too.

The reclaimed wood in the mailbox area was what I liked most.

Residents can also post to the digital wall in the lobby to invite others to events or generally be social. And that’s about all I’ve got, the rest of my photos can be viewed here.