This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.
Martin’s post about Mercer Island link reminds me how under-appreciated (at least by me!) Mercer Island’s light rail stop is. Two stops in one direction to downtown Seattle, two stops in the other direction to (or somewhat in the vicinity of) downtown Bellevue.
Mercer Island is primarily suburban, of course, but there are some good TOD opportunities around the station on the north end (see the above map). Now, Mercer Island’s legislators aren’t known for their benevolence, but it would seem smart to add some more housing around the station.
You know I never thought of that either. It is a really good point. This might bode well for the condo market, especially for those targeted at early 30 something professional couples that want to settled down a bit but not have kids yet.
Ironically, probably the first apartment complex on the eastside was the Shorewood complex built after the opening of the original floating bridge. The buildings were attractive modernist in plan and function, dressed with some brick and all of a piece, mostly three stories high. Buildings by the shore had close access to the lake and tennis courts, while the buildings higher up the hill had great views. Highway 10 (now I-90) roughly bisected the complex.
At the time, the traffic on 10 was nothing like what you would see on a Seattle arterial today, but the management provided a footbridge so people from upper Shorewood could walk down for a swim. This would be considered a stiff little walk today.
The apartments were never supported by any kind of retail or services in the complex, and their history serves as a sad reminder of the limitations of tower housing, even a jewel of tower housing in an opulent setting.
(off topic)
Frank, are you around? I’ve tried e-mailing the one address I have for you, but haven’t heard back. Chrome has been announcing scary malware warnings when people try to browse to Orphan Road.
Hi Matt,
I’m around, thanks. I’m aware of the issue, and I have no idea how to fix it. I’m going to try to rebuild the blog or move it to another hosting system. I contacted my hosting company and they gave me some things to try.
I haven’t found any evidence of anything malicious on the site or in the code, so I have to wonder if it has to do with the shared hosting environment.
I’ll keep you posted.