The Cascade Team Blog

By Tom Corrigan

Three residential projects, all in the construction phase, could add up to nearly 650 new residences to the Issaquah Highlands.

The projects are designated as official Urban Villages, according to Lucy Sloman, land development manager for the city. All three projects are making use of the city’s standardized Urban Village zoning.

• Issaquah Terrace, also known as Lakeside Terrace, will consist of 268 rental units in 12 garden-style buildings with additional rental townhouses along Lupine Street in the narrow throat of the project site. It is being developed by Polygon Northwest, and sits northeast of the Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride.
• The Brownstones development, also a Polygon project, is rising southeast of the intersection of Northeast Ellis Drive and Highlands Drive Northeast. It will contain 176 condo/townhomes.
• Southwest of the Northeast Discovery Drive and Highlands Drive Northeast intersection, and being built by Devco, a local apartment builder, Discovery West will hold 200 or so apartments in two five-story buildings with four carriage units along Highlands Drive.

Sloman said a carriage unit is an apartment built above a garage, but that garage does not necessarily have to be available for use by the residents of the apartment. She said such units are present in other parts of the city.

The fact the three developments are following the Urban Village zoning is significant, according to city officials.

Doug Schlepp, a development consultant for the city, said that by using the Urban Village zoning, all three projects fit into specific parameters. Various developmental details are worked out ahead of time, including such things as square footage and traffic impacts. In the case of the latter, once a development agreement is reached, no further traffic studies are needed.

“You can do it upfront,” Schlepp said, adding the Urban Village zoning has been used for the Talus development as well as the three highlands projects.

Dan Ervin, a consulting engineer with the city, said one large traffic study was done that encompassed all three highlands developments. Prior to the arrival of the new developments, Sloman said the city and the Washington State Department of Transportation undertook some major road improvements in the area.

Those projects included construction of the Interstate 90 interchange with Highlands Drive Northeast and a major extension of East Sunset Way.

Sloman added the city took responsibility for the extension of East Sunset from about a quarter of the way along the hill. She said it’s easy to notice the difference in the makeup of the street between the portion constructed by Issaquah and that completed by the state.

Neither developer returned several requests for comment. In terms of project completions, Sloman said she did not have exact dates. She said Polygon Northwest is asking for temporary certificates of occupancy as the Lakeside Terrace and Brownstones projects move along. Developers likely will do the same for the Discovery West project, she said.