5th Avenue Flats - 500 4th Street N

[jet777]

Master association bylaws don't allow this space to be used as residential.

[twincitizen]

Here is how it really worked. The entire site was purchased by a developer who hired an Architect to masterplan the entire site (James Dayton). The result was a slender midrise pushed to one side of the site allowing some green space and a future low rise building pushed to the other side of the site. This lowrise was to be a restaurant. In 2007 plans were drawn up for a high-end freestanding restaurant with a great outdoor patio. This was before the neighborhood was a hotbed for good eats that it is today. The developer (the same developer that did the stacks) got cold feet and decided not to build. Therefore, the site has been empty looking for the right fit.

Now, they could have built a 5 story building that filled the entire block in the beginning like we so often get from developers but they decided to go higher and narrower to allow for a more dynamic interesting site. The people that bought condos were made aware of this plan and it is part of the reason the stacks is designed with all glass wall facing downtown (views). This isn't about people being unreasonable with their views; it is a masterplanned site that was given much thought. Decisions were made in the beginning that are not as obvious now that so much time has passed but still valid nonetheless.

This is a really thorough description, thank you!

And... this housing proposal is DOA.
Master association bylaws don't allow this space to be used as residential.

Perhaps, but do you really think they'd have gotten this far along in the proposal without figuring that out? Surely they have some kind of agreement in place or they wouldn't have gotten to the point of already having drawn up plans and submitted them to the city.

[jet777]

Yep, I'm just reporting what I know.