Hard Hat Tour: Lawrence Lofts on 19th & Madison
There are few things that we like more at Urban Living than an early look at new construction. In this case, the new construction is Lawrence Lofts, an apartment building located at 19th and Madison on Capitol Hill that is scheduled to start move-ins in April 2012.
They are currently showing a fully staged model unit by appointment; however, armed with a hard hat and bright orange safety vest I was given the chance to also peek into the lofty double-level penthouse units on the top floors, walk through an open 1-bedroom, a two bedroom unit, and the community rooftop as well.
Following are a few photos (the rest are here):
After peering past all that plastic sheeting, I have to say it looks promising over there at 1818 E Madison. They’ve made some good choices with the interiors by saying yes to floor-to-ceiling windows and taking a pass on carpeted floors. You’ll find concrete floors on the 2nd and 3rd levels, and tile floors on all the rest.
Before you wrinkle your nose at tile floors (I did), they’ll tell you that the tile design has a steel strip weaving through it which is a cut above your normal, boring old tile pattern. Plus, they were then able to add a soundproofing layer under the tile which is probably a good choice for this wood-frame building.
Other things to note:
- The top floor lofts are interesting double-level units but not the classic, wide-open loft with 20′ ceilings you might hope for. Still, you get elevated ceilings and a lofty feel in places.
- The third floor, west-facing (on the quiet side) has units with private terraces, and will be looking out towards some pretty extensive landscaping for privacy.
- There are a limited number of penthouse units with rooftop decks, some penthouses have fireplaces. The 2-bedroom penthouse unit on the top, southwest-facing corner has a wraparound deck.
- The east-facing views from the community rooftop deck were pretty great, plus it will be outfitted with an indoor kitchenette/party room and outdoor BBQ + sink.
- Most windows had protective plastic inside the apartments but several east-facing units promise to have nice views of Rainier.
- 10′ ceilings throughout most units meant the apartments retained a feeling of space even though they are not super generous on square footage.
- Bedrooms are on the smallish side, but closets are big. Kitchens are pretty standard.
- I didn’t take a close look at the garage but I hear there’s lots of storage in there, and a few extra-long parking spots. Plus, the garage houses six car charging stations and two zip cars.
- 131 total units composed of 81 open 1-bedrooms and the rest are studios or 2-bedrooms.
- Lease rates start at just below $1,000/mo for 570 square feet and go as high as $3,195 for a 1,439 sf, 2-bedroom penthouse loft.
- At the penthouse level there are 16 apartments, four of which are 2-bedrooms. The rest are 1-bedroom with den that are priced at about $2,600/mo and up.
- Parking is an additional $150/mo and w/s/g/e is not included in rent.
- Pre-leasing started just a couple of weeks ago, about 40 people have toured through, and 5 apartments are now spoken for.
I was initially surprised to hear that they aren’t offering any pre-lease discounts but maybe not so much since $1.70/sf to $2.22/sf seems pretty competitive for newer apartments on Capitol Hill. Lawrence Lofts is aiming to lease up quicker than Chloe Apartments which launched 117 units in 2009 and leased up in 4 months.
Lawrence Lofts is a project led by Val Thomas who has introduced a surprising list of lofts to Seattle: 19th Ave Lofts, Eastlake Lofts, Pike Lofts, the Klee, and then there’s the condos at West Queen Anne School. The building design for Lawrence Lofts was originally approved back in 2007 and hasn’t changed too significantly since then according to CHS Blog. No LEED designation for Lawrence Lofts that I can discern, and the retail in the building has yet to be claimed.
Have you been to see Lawrence Lofts? Tell us what you thought.