{"id":1317,"date":"2007-12-04T08:45:32","date_gmt":"2007-12-04T15:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattlebubble.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/04\/the-amazing-disappearing-condo-view\/"},"modified":"2008-01-30T10:06:47","modified_gmt":"2008-01-30T18:06:47","slug":"the-amazing-disappearing-condo-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seattlebubble.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/04\/the-amazing-disappearing-condo-view\/","title":{"rendered":"The Amazing Disappearing Condo View"},"content":{"rendered":"

Granted, this is pretty much old news by now, but the issue of the disappearing condo views<\/a> is at least worth mentioning.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Shanfelder signed up to buy a condominium on the west side of downtown Seattle’s Cosmopolitan building in 2005 because it was one of the first new downtown high-rises and was convenient to amenities like the downtown bus tunnel and South Lake Union streetcar.<\/p>\n

But before choosing a condo on the west side of Cosmopolitan’s 21st floor, he looked into plans for the adjacent lot and found the city had approved a 13-story office building there.<\/p>\n

“I bought with that assumption,” he said last week.<\/p>\n

Shanfelder knew other nearby projects would block some of his view. But it was a nasty surprise when developers of the neighboring building, which would be 18 feet away, revised their planned height to 34 stories \u2014 one story higher than Cosmopolitan.<\/p>\n

“I would lose most of my remaining view and pretty much all of my sunlight and privacy,” he said.<\/p>\n

Actually, he won’t: He sold his condo last month and moved to Queen Anne.<\/p>\n

This tale of two towers raises questions about the city’s rules for tower spacing, the process for notifying neighbors and reviewing potential effects, and the obligations of a developer to tell buyers about plans for adjacent projects.<\/p>\n

Developer Schnitzer West applied to build the 34-story tower in April 2006, just after the city raised downtown height limits. On Schnitzer’s site, limits went from 300 feet for a commercial building and 360 feet for a residential building to 500 feet for either.<\/p>\n

Adjacent property owners, including Cosmopolitan developer Continental Properties, were notified of the new application, as per city requirements. But those who had signed agreements to buy in Cosmopolitan were not.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ah, the joys of downtown condo living. Amazing views (for a year or two), trendy granite and stainless steel finishes (which will never go out of style, ever<\/em>), and easy access to the SLUT. Who wouldn’t<\/em> want to pay half a million or more for all that?<\/p>\n

(Aubrey Cohen, Seattle P-I<\/a>, 12.02.2007<\/em>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Granted, this is pretty much old news by now, but the issue of the disappearing condo views is at least worth mentioning. 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