Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Daily Journal of Commerce Report on CamWest's Latest Walkable Community


Daily Journal of Commerce
June 26, 2009
Mansion moved to make way for 24 new homes in Kirkland
By JOURNAL STAFF




Image courtesy of CamWest Development
The Nettleton Mansion was moved to a new location on the site. CamWest is selling the home for $1.2 million.

These days when it comes to residential development, walkability trumps location.
The two factors are tightly intertwined, yet developers such as CamWest Development like to feature the pedestrian experience.
In launching Nettleton Commons, a project with 25 single-family homes about a quarter-mile from downtown Kirkland, CamWest directs reporters to WalkScore.com, which calculates an area's walkability.
The 2.5-acre project site's highest score is closest to downtown. That area rates a 97 out of 100, or what WalkScore says is a “walker's paradise.”
Go to the point farthest from the city center and the score drops to 82, which the site still considers “very walkable.”
“We've always been focused on infill,” said Eric Campbell, president of CamWest, which was formed 20 years ago at about the time the state approved the Growth Management Act, whose aim is to combat urban and suburban sprawl.
As more people moved to the Puget Sound region from the East Coast and other countries where walkability is prized, CamWest began adding pedestrian amenities to its developments.
A curving sidewalk cuts through the middle of Nettleton Commons.
A curving sidewalk serves as the spine of Nettleton Commons, Campbell said. Residents and neighbors will be able to cut through the approximately $12 million project as they walk or bicycle to and from downtown rather than walking along State Street.
Drivers will also be able to traverse Nettleton Commons, though the street, Third Lane South, curves and would be slower than traveling on State.
The key to developing a walkable community is to work with consultants “who can work with and be creative with the topography,” Campbell said. “What you don't want is a team that comes in with a pre-conceived design package.”
The 1914 Nettleton Mansion, a southern-colonial revival style home built for former Seattle Post-Intelligencer publisher Clark M. Nettleton, was on the site. It was designed as a replica of his wife Jennie's childhood home in Missouri.
The mansion later became a funeral home.
CamWest worked with the city of Kirkland and Kirkland Heritage Society to preserve the mansion, which was moved to a different location on the site and refurbished. The Robinson Co. of Snohomish County moved the mansion.
CamWest is selling the home, which is slightly less than 3,000 square feet, for $1.2 million.
The 24 new homes are sized from nearly 2,200 square feet to slightly more than 2,800 square feet. They will range in price from the high $600,000s to the high $800,000s, Campbell said.
The three-star BuiltGreen homes were designed to capture natural light. The homes have open floor plans, high-end kitchens and hardwood floors.
CamWest, which is its own general contractor, began construction late last year. The project is to be done in September.
Campbell said there still is demand for close-in locations. With lower interest rates and lower construction costs, he said today's purchasing power is as much as 25 percent greater than it was 18 months ago.
Triad Associates did the site plan and landscape architecture. The Dahlin Group is the architect. False Creek Design Group of Vancouver, B.C., designed the interiors. Site Development Co. of Bothell is the project civil engineer. David Little of Windermere is the listing agent.

Copyright ©2009 Seattle Daily Journal and djc.com. Comments? Questions? Contact us.

1 comment: