We're moving to Bellevue! We decided to buy the last lot in YS Development's Bellevue 41st project.
Location
We can give a list of place descriptors, but unlike Seattle or Kirkland where geographic labels mean something to us, we do not really know what these labels entail. The good thing is that even you folks outside of Seattle will have only slightly less understanding of our description than we do.
The site is on Somerset Hill (this one makes sense; it's a geographic feature), near the Factoria Mall (but what is the Factoria area?), but also in the Newport area (the high school and library near-by are named after this), in the south part of Bellevue (the actual city). One thing we know is that people react much more positively when we say "we'll be living on Somerset Hill" than when we say "we'll be living in Factoria."
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Basically, the site is just south of I-90 (major east-west freeway that heads west into Seattle, and east out to the Cascade Mountains and Eastern Washington) and just east of I-405 (major north-south freeway that parallels I-5 on the east side of Lake Washington — this is the main corridor for the Eastside).
This area seems out-of-the-way to someone who lives up in Kirkland. From there, we rarely have any reason to go south of I-90 unless we're going all the way to the airport, which is another 10 miles beyond Factoria. Shopping, stores, and most other activities we frequent are either in Seattle or in the Kirkland-Redmond-Bellevue (downtown) area. We don't go down to Factoria regularly (we've probably been down there less than a half-dozen times). We only pass by it as part of a longer trip south. That makes it seem far away.
But in driving distance, it isn't far. If traffic on 405 is good, we can make it down there in about 15 minutes; taking the back roads is maybe 20-25 minutes. Coming from Microsoft, downtown Bellevue, or even downtown Kirkland is less than that. The only awkward part to the location is commuting by bus between there and Kirkland; which is, unfortunately, what Erika does (however, we've already discussed alternative options for her, so we can hopefully find something reasonable).
Project and Site
The project consists of five custom homes; the others are in the range of 2300-2900 sq ft. and $800k-$900k in price. We're going to be coming in a bit below that at closer to 2000 sq ft. and a bit over $700k (which was the high end of the Taltree project). The houses are arranged with a short driveway down the middle and two houses on the upslope, three on the downslope.
The houses will probably all be oriented toward the west to take advantage of the views — a few trees close in on the lot, then across Lake Washington to some hills in the south part of Seattle. The upper floors should be able to see some of the lake, too. This development won't have the same major community features as Taltree, but there is already discussion of putting in some shared amenities near the end of the driveway. This development is well along; as of several weeks ago, the first house was fully framed; the second had most of the foundation laid; the third was in design; and the fourth is close to being sold. I'm guessing we'll start design on a similar schedule with the fourth house.
We are taking the fifth lot, which is closest to the (very quiet residential) road, but is at the western edge of the group (on a western slope, so there will be one house behind/upslope from us, but we shouldn't have anything besides trees blocking our view). There is a trail that we are hoping the city will develop into real stairs that lead down to the Factoria Mall. The trail goes right by what will be our backyard, and leaves a nice gap in the trees for the western view. We do have a view of the freeway, and there is some noise; but I found that as soon as you stopped paying attention it disappeared; inside it should be completely quiet. There should also be enough flat space between the house and tree line to the west for a backyard, which will be below street level.
Design
What does this mean from a design perspective? We're not as familiar with the lot yet (we'll be meeting with the architect soon for some preliminary layout); but a three-story house has been suggested to take advantage of the slope, with the lower floor being just one room; potentially a media room or guest room. We're assuming that the entry and garage will be on the east side at the main floor, with the major social areas there; and private living spaces upstairs.
It will probably be mostly west and south oriented; since north is closest to the next house over, and east will be towards the driveway and another house. West and south are more private, have good light, and have better views. But we don't yet have a good idea of what the overall shape or layout of the building will be. The backyard will be at the lowest level, which may be below the main social space, so we may have a larger deck off the main floor (one of the houses currently under construction has this setup). Overall, though, we want the same functionality and general relationship between areas as we discussed for the Taltree project. On the upside, now we will have a personal garage right next to our house, instead of a shared one in a different area of the site.
Personal Thoughts
In the end, how do we feel about this? Well, it is a shame that the Taltree project wasn't coming together in our time frame. While there is no hard limit in our current location (in fact, we've been quite happy here and could probably stay a lot longer), after more than nine months of waiting, we are very ready to finally have our project underway. This has the best timeline and least uncertainty of all the options; and also gives us the best value — being part of a project that already has agreements with various manufacturers, we will get those same deals.
We are not familiar with the neighborhood down there, so that is a source of uncertainty. We did a little bit of exploring, and there are ups and downs. While it is considered very walkable (an 82/100 on WalkScore), that is pretty much all to the Factoria Mall. This is not exactly the most pedestrian-friendly areas, but there is a good variety of businesses. Certainly more than Taltree which only had walking access to a (much smaller) strip mall. Being up on the hill is nice. It provides psychological separation from the mall even though it is only a short (though steep) walk away.
Jeff's commute will improve; he may not even need to drive to the near-by park and ride to catch a bus into downtown Seattle. If he ever ends up working on the Eastside, he'll be a short drive away. Erika is not as happy, since the best bus is a route that takes about 50 minutes from Factoria Boulevard up to Google Kirkland. On the other hand, she knows there are co-workers who live in that area which might make car-pooling an option; or if she is willing to drive, it will be fairly reasonable, even avoiding the freeway. Certainly not as good as Taltree would be, though.
While the community will not be as extensive as it probably would be at Taltree, the existing members have formed a good community already, and it sounds like a nice group. It is difficult to predict what will happen; but even at the other development, nothing is assured.
One disadvantage is that we'll have to change this blog name... (any suggestions?)
Overall, we're happy. We've both decided it is the best decision; we are happy to be moving forward; and still happy to be working with YS Development.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Update: Site Changes
Apologies for the infrequency of recent posts; we haven't abandoned this blog, but not much has been happening until just recently. First, a little catch-up for some proposed Taltree changes; and then some information about a choice we have to make now.
A few months ago, we got word that the garage plan for the Taltree site was changing. The underground garage was deemed too expensive, and changing it to above-ground parking would allow for a change in unit mix. There was little demand for the largest units, and more demand for the smallest units. A more cost-effective parking setup would the largest units could be eliminated in exchange for more small- and mid-sized units. The exact details of the proposal kept changing; options included: parking directly attached to most units, parking mostly at the front of the lot with some attached parking along the south, and parking spread out (with a garage for us at the south-east corner, nearish our unit). This change had some advantages, so we were fairly happy with it; but wanted to wait until the change was finalized before posting details.
However, a few weeks ago we started talking about some alternate options. The Taltree project still has an indefinite timeline due to difficulties finding enough committed buyers for the project. Talking with Yuval, we came up with a few options to consider: take the last lot at the Bellevue 41st project, reduce the community aspect of the Taltree site in such a way as to allow that project to happen in stages, or find a stand-alone lot elsewhere to buy and build on.
Bellevue 41st
The Bellevue 41st project is five lots, each with a single-family home with personal garage (no shared parking) down in south Bellevue (it is in Somerset Hill, right next to the Factoria Mall, but several hundred feet up). The homes and lots (and therefore prices) are bigger than Taltree, and the location is further south than we would prefer; so we originally weren't considering it as a possibility. However, this project was started earlier than Taltree, so is much further along; in fact, the first house is already framed, the second has a foundation laid; and the third is in design already. If we decided on this, we could start design right away, and be ready to move in roughly 12-13 months later. The trick is meeting our budget: we're aiming for $100k-200k less than the other homes in this development; however, we also want a smaller home. If we can get the lot at a reasonable price, we could be a home there within our budget.
The main site is nice, up on a hill with some really great western views and trees around it. The neighborhood is pretty nice, and has some of the best schools in the area. The general location, however, is not ideal. It is further from Kirkland, where Erika works, and further from where most of our friends live now. However, it is quicker to get into Seattle, where I work, and driving the backroads between Kirkland/Redmond and Factoria does not take as long as it seems like it should; it's even faster if you take I-405 (as long as there isn't traffic). There are more restaurants and stores within walking distance (even if they're all in strip malls or the main mall). The community wouldn't be the same as at Taltree, as there is no group parking, and there is a (short) driveway between the houses. However, the current members have already started to form a good community and are talking about adding some small shared amenities at the end of the driveway.
Taltree (phased)
Another option is to change the plan at the Taltree site. One proposal was to subdivide the land into several lots. One half-acre lot would have a smaller community of four houses; the other half-acre would be divided into two or three lots with a single home each. The individual lots could start development before the community section, and they would be developed independently. Since the number of total units would be reduced, this change would would depend on getting a good deal for the land from the bank. However, it would allow parts of the project get started sooner and allow the builder to stage development. It would also make it easier to hit the threshold of the community section to start development on that. For this option, we'd get our choice of lot and total time would be maybe 14-16 months. On the downside, this setup would probably not have the same kind of community as the original Taltree proposal. Plus, since we would be in the first phase of building with others at indeterminate times, we might be living right next to other construction for a while.
Compared to Bellevue, this location continues to have the same advantages it did before: it is close to friends, it is a good commute for Erika, and, although it is not quite as walkable as the Bellevue location, it is still a pretty walkable location.
Separate Lot
The final option is to find a separate lot in a different neighborhood, and build a single house there. This would require more work to find the lot, and get it ready to build. The timeline would be more like 18 months. Since this would have no community at all, the main advantages would be finding the best location (preferably within walking distance of Houghton, where Erika works; and/or downtown Kirkland; both locations would put me within walking distance of the main bus that would take me to downtown Seattle for my work), and maybe a slightly larger lot for more gardening/play space (since we won't have shared spaces for these things). Unfortunately, it looks like all the lots that even meet the location criteria are going to be more expensive than we like, and would probably push our overall cost up by around $100k. Between the cost, longer timeline, and difficulty of finding/developing a new lot, this option is the least-feasible right now.
So...
We have not made a final decision yet, but we will soon. In the next few weeks, we will find out if we can successfully get a good-enough deal on the land at either Taltree or Bellevue 41st to make those options possible. At that point, we will need to make a decision (or have already decided), since there are other potential buyers interested, too. Once we've decided, then actual development can start relative to the time frames listed above. By the end of the month, we should know where we'll be living!
A few months ago, we got word that the garage plan for the Taltree site was changing. The underground garage was deemed too expensive, and changing it to above-ground parking would allow for a change in unit mix. There was little demand for the largest units, and more demand for the smallest units. A more cost-effective parking setup would the largest units could be eliminated in exchange for more small- and mid-sized units. The exact details of the proposal kept changing; options included: parking directly attached to most units, parking mostly at the front of the lot with some attached parking along the south, and parking spread out (with a garage for us at the south-east corner, nearish our unit). This change had some advantages, so we were fairly happy with it; but wanted to wait until the change was finalized before posting details.
However, a few weeks ago we started talking about some alternate options. The Taltree project still has an indefinite timeline due to difficulties finding enough committed buyers for the project. Talking with Yuval, we came up with a few options to consider: take the last lot at the Bellevue 41st project, reduce the community aspect of the Taltree site in such a way as to allow that project to happen in stages, or find a stand-alone lot elsewhere to buy and build on.
Bellevue 41st
The Bellevue 41st project is five lots, each with a single-family home with personal garage (no shared parking) down in south Bellevue (it is in Somerset Hill, right next to the Factoria Mall, but several hundred feet up). The homes and lots (and therefore prices) are bigger than Taltree, and the location is further south than we would prefer; so we originally weren't considering it as a possibility. However, this project was started earlier than Taltree, so is much further along; in fact, the first house is already framed, the second has a foundation laid; and the third is in design already. If we decided on this, we could start design right away, and be ready to move in roughly 12-13 months later. The trick is meeting our budget: we're aiming for $100k-200k less than the other homes in this development; however, we also want a smaller home. If we can get the lot at a reasonable price, we could be a home there within our budget.
The main site is nice, up on a hill with some really great western views and trees around it. The neighborhood is pretty nice, and has some of the best schools in the area. The general location, however, is not ideal. It is further from Kirkland, where Erika works, and further from where most of our friends live now. However, it is quicker to get into Seattle, where I work, and driving the backroads between Kirkland/Redmond and Factoria does not take as long as it seems like it should; it's even faster if you take I-405 (as long as there isn't traffic). There are more restaurants and stores within walking distance (even if they're all in strip malls or the main mall). The community wouldn't be the same as at Taltree, as there is no group parking, and there is a (short) driveway between the houses. However, the current members have already started to form a good community and are talking about adding some small shared amenities at the end of the driveway.
Taltree (phased)
Another option is to change the plan at the Taltree site. One proposal was to subdivide the land into several lots. One half-acre lot would have a smaller community of four houses; the other half-acre would be divided into two or three lots with a single home each. The individual lots could start development before the community section, and they would be developed independently. Since the number of total units would be reduced, this change would would depend on getting a good deal for the land from the bank. However, it would allow parts of the project get started sooner and allow the builder to stage development. It would also make it easier to hit the threshold of the community section to start development on that. For this option, we'd get our choice of lot and total time would be maybe 14-16 months. On the downside, this setup would probably not have the same kind of community as the original Taltree proposal. Plus, since we would be in the first phase of building with others at indeterminate times, we might be living right next to other construction for a while.
Compared to Bellevue, this location continues to have the same advantages it did before: it is close to friends, it is a good commute for Erika, and, although it is not quite as walkable as the Bellevue location, it is still a pretty walkable location.
Separate Lot
The final option is to find a separate lot in a different neighborhood, and build a single house there. This would require more work to find the lot, and get it ready to build. The timeline would be more like 18 months. Since this would have no community at all, the main advantages would be finding the best location (preferably within walking distance of Houghton, where Erika works; and/or downtown Kirkland; both locations would put me within walking distance of the main bus that would take me to downtown Seattle for my work), and maybe a slightly larger lot for more gardening/play space (since we won't have shared spaces for these things). Unfortunately, it looks like all the lots that even meet the location criteria are going to be more expensive than we like, and would probably push our overall cost up by around $100k. Between the cost, longer timeline, and difficulty of finding/developing a new lot, this option is the least-feasible right now.
So...
We have not made a final decision yet, but we will soon. In the next few weeks, we will find out if we can successfully get a good-enough deal on the land at either Taltree or Bellevue 41st to make those options possible. At that point, we will need to make a decision (or have already decided), since there are other potential buyers interested, too. Once we've decided, then actual development can start relative to the time frames listed above. By the end of the month, we should know where we'll be living!
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