The Laurelhurst Letter

The concept involves replacing all of the existing buildings on the 18-acre site (except the cafeteria, which overlooks the pond) with two new triangular-shaped buildings. The two new buildings, one with a 67,772-square-foot footprint and the other slightly larger, will occupy the northern half of the site, while the southern half will remain open space.

Construction of the new buildings will take place in two phases. The first phase, scheduled to begin next summer and be completed by December 2003, will see construction of a three-level, 124,000-square-foot headquarters for the Talaris Institute in the northwest corner of the site. Phase Two-the timing of which is still to be determined-will see construction of a complementary building, intended to house a second research institute, in the northeast corner of the site. The second research institute has not yet been identified.

During construction of the first phase and until the second phase begins, those buildings that are not being torn down immediately will continue to be occupied by their current tenants, who include the Aljoya Conference Center and Battelle.

The Talaris Institute is an independent, nonprofit research organization whose goal is to discover how children learn. More specifically, Talaris researchers study brain development in children from birth to age 5. Unlike other, purely research-oriented entities, Talaris features an outreach component, whose purpose is to put into practice the discoveries made in the lab.

The architect for the Talaris project is Dorm Anderson, of the Seattle firm NBBJ, which produced the original 1963 design for Battelle. Anderson knows the site well, having once lived opposite the main entrance for more than a decade. His previous projects include Two Union Square and the Olympic Hotel restoration.

The guiding principle behind his design for the Talaris Institute is to "facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation" among the scientists working in the building, Anderson told the LCC trustees. To that end, he has placed all of the labs and offices on one level-the middle level-grouped around an exterior terrace. An auditorium, library, and support services staff occupy most of the lower level, and the top level contains the administrative offices and a childcare facility. Beneath the building are two additional levels of underground parking, which can accommodate a total of 214 cars, and an underground delivery dock.

The building steps down from the northwest corner so that nowhere on the north and west sides does it appear to be more than one story high. The full three-story, above-ground height is apparent only on the southeast side of the building, which faces into the natural bowl at the center of the property. The building will barely be discernible from 41st Avenue, Anderson said.

He said that the building's external finishes have not yet been decided upon, but that natural rock and timber are sure to feature prominently. Many of the roofs, which are flat, will be landscaped, using grasses, bushes, and even trees. Wherever possible the plants that are there now will be left in place, and more will be added. The owners' intention is to "preserve and enhance the existing grounds," Anderson said.

The site was acquired by Talaris a year ago from retirement-community developer ERA Care, Inc., which bought it from Battelle Memorial Institute in November 1997. It is the subject of a 1991 settlement agreement between Battelle, the City of Seattle, the LCC, and a private citizens' group known as Battelle Neighbors.

The settlement agreement regularized Battelle's existence as an "institute for advanced study" in a single-family zone. At the same time, it stipulated that the property could be developed only within certain parameters, that specified setbacks had to be maintained between the buildings and the property line, that adequate parking had to be provided on site, and that ownership or control of the property could not be transferred to a "major institution" (such as the University of Washington or Children's Hospital). Most importantly, it enshrined these provisions as "covenants running with the land," which means that future owners of the property are equally obliged to observe them.

While some previous owners and prospective purchasers of the property have discussed changing the provisions of the settlement agreement to accommodate their own particular needs, the Talaris group took the settlement agreement as a given and used it as a template for redevelopment of the site. Thus, their plans respect all setback, building height, and lot coverage provisions, and they have gone out of their way to try to maintain the property's parklike atmosphere.

Especially notable is their decision to locate two levels of parking below grade, at considerable extra expense. By doing so, they were able to reduce the amount of surface parking and leave more of the existing green space untouched. They have, however, asked that the community club consider relaxing the formula stipulated in the settlement agreement for calculating the number of parking spaces required. That formula is based on the square footage of the buildings, rather than on the anticipated number of users, and if left unmodified, would call for 511 spaces for Talaris alone and almost 1,300 for the two phases of the project.

When operating at full strength, Talaris expects to employ between 125 and 140 people, Anderson said. Taking into account the institute's research subjects and their families, as well as additional visitors who arrive by car, he calculates that the actual demand for parking on site will be approximately 241 spaces. He points out that the city land-use code requires only 147 spaces for a project of this size. The goal, Anderson said, is to provide sufficient parking to meet Talaris's needs without creating an oversupply.

The institute plans to file an environmental impact statement in connection with this project, a process that will take about a year to complete. During this time, there will be a number of opportunities for public comment. Talaris representatives have also promised to attend the LCC annual general meeting on June 5 to present their plans to the public at large.

Among the speakers tentatively scheduled to appear are a group from the Talaris Research Institute, who will present their plans to redevelop the Battelle site, and representatives from Children's Hospital, who will discuss the hospital's latest renovations, including its new multistory parking lot.

The evening promises to be interesting, as well as informative, so please be sure to come.