First Look at Stack House in South Lake Union

By Bernard May 23, 2013

The first building in the new Stack House complex, a mixed-use development that takes up a whole city block in the South Lake Union area, is nearing completion. We took a hard hat tour this week of several apartments, the first of 278 that will come online when the entire project is completed later this year. Interior pictures below.

Stack House, located near REI and the intersection of Yale Ave N. and Republican St.

The project from Vulcan Real Estate is named for the existing smokestack on the site, which is part of the Supply Laundry Building, a Seattle landmark that housed a commercial laundry for most of the 20th century. We love that Vulcan kept the building and the smokestack. Unfortunately, you can’t live in the two-story brick building as its being renovated for commercial tenants.

Instead, residents can pick an apartment from one of the two new seven-story buildings located south and west of the former laundry facility. Despite its historic inspiration, Stack House features a clearly modern look and feel.

“Open” one bedroom unit

Kitchen in an open one bedroom unit

Clean lines and vinyl hardwood floors frame the interior of the apartments. In the kitchen, quartz countertops, aluminum shelves and stainless steel appliances continue the contemporary feel. The project’s architect is Runberg Architecture Group, while two 9 Design handled the interior design.

Vulcan Real Estate is targeting LEED for Homes Platinum certification for Stack House. To achieve this status, Vulcan says the building features eco-friendly construction materials, high-efficiency appliances and water fixtures such as dual-flush toilets. Some units will have high-efficiency heat pumps for heating and cooling. The building will harvest rainwater for irrigation.

All apartments have washer and dryer inside the unit, while 5th, 6th and 7th floor apartments that face south and west will have air conditioning.

There’s a variety of floor plans to choose from, including “open one bedrooms”, three bedrooms, lofts and townhomes.

The development is bordered by Yale and Pontius Ave and Harrison and Thomas Streets. The location, two blocks from I-5 and a block from REI, is very convenient for those who want to be close to downtown and all the new activity springing up in South Lake Union.

Some units, especially those facing the street, will have nice downtown and Lake Union views. But many of the units, especially those facing into the courtyard and pedestrian walkway, will look directly into a neighbor’s apartment.

View looking south toward downtown Seattle

The “open” one bedroom units feel fairly roomy given that some of them are just 470 square feet. Several one bedroom units come with a den that would serve well as an office nook. You can check out all of the floor plans on Stack House’s website.

Here are the price points…

Studio: 510 sq ft – $1,437 – $1,732/mo

Open 1 bedroom: 464-541 sq ft – $1,429 – $1615/mo

1 bedroom with den: 678-748 sq ft – $1,833 – $2,2260/mo

2 bedroom with den: 935 – 1,130 sq ft – $2,772 – $3,244/mo

Loft: 781 sq ft – $2,187/mo

Parking is an additional $150 per month. Vulcan is offering one month’s free rent for those who pre-lease. Some of the units have reduced rent for low income residents.

Earlier this week, the leasing consultants told us about 20 units have already been pre-leased and move-in is not until August. The leasing specialists said a number of people have come in asking if they can buy a unit but unfortunately there are no condos, only apartments.

View of Stack House and South Lake Union from the southeast. Image courtesy of Exxel Pacific.

The image above is a screen capture from a webcam that Exxel Pacific, the general contractor, set up over the construction site. Check out the cool time-lapse video that shows the progress over the past year.

Many of the amenities are still being built. When the project is completed, residents will have use of a community room and deck, fitness center, sports court, winter garden, urban rooftop garden, media room and conference room.We’ll go back for another tour once these features are finished. Meanwhile, here are two images of the community room that is still under construction. Note that the tin panels over the fireplace were recycled from the Supply Laundry Building.