CAST’s co-founder Matt Hutchins, AIA, CPHD, and Seattle Planning Commissioner talks about the major update to the Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan.
one seattle for all - 2025/02/08 10:37 PST – Recording

Seattle is growing (and that’s good)!

How do we make room for new housing and be the kind of city we want to live in?

Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan major update – a 20-year growth strategy.

-        Must include affordable housing and middle housing

-        Housing planning aligns with planning for transportation, utilities, climate and the environment, capital
facilities and parks/open space

Two kinds of affordable housing:
1. Subsidized and deeply affordable
2. Less expensive housing by size, type, and age (ie. ADUs, small apartments

-        Neighborhood centers can hold both types of affordable housing

-        Middle housing is less expensive and a great option

-        Urban Neighborhood housing types: single-family housing with ADU, duplexes, townhomes, stackedflats

We need more affordable housing – where does it go?

-        Neighborhood centers can support both types of affordable housing

Let your city council member know you support affordable housing, and you also support neighborhood centers and middle housing.
oneseattleforall.org

Matt Hutchins addresses the critical issue of “missing middle” housing in the U.S., exploring the housing gap that falls between single-family homes and high-density apartments. Serving as a jury member for the Denver Single-Stair Housing Challenge organized by Buildner, he focuses on innovative solutions to promote accessible, medium-density housing options.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orW8tnmPSv0

Missing-middle housing is a housing type that fits in the middle between single-family detached houses and larger apartment buildings. That’s duplexes, tri-plexes, four-plexes, ten-plexes, and small apartment buildings. It’s any sort of increment of density that is greater than a single-family house, but isn’t the blocks of apartment buildings that is much of what we see in the development world today. Missing-middle housing is important for urban development because American cities have lots of space. They are nowhere near full. We have empty parking lots. We have lots that were never developed. We have space in our cities we can use or reuse. There are many opportunities within our cities to densify and make use of existing infrastructure without having to assemble a whole block or use more “high-wire acts” with regard to development.

• Make good use of small lots

• Use of single-stair buildings is a critical tactic for taking advantage of small urban lots

• Adapt building regulations and make required changes

• Use underutilized urban land

• Use space correctly

• We have already invested in the urban infrastructure

• We can have a more efficient city and residents with a lower carbon footprint

• ADUs and DADUs are powerful tools to keep communities together, keep the property in family, and create generational wealth

• Missing-middle housing is compact, efficient, and sustainable

RiversMeet, a mixed-use project in the town of Winthrop in Washington’s Methow Valley, is positioned to become the upvalley entrance to “old downtown.” The site is a challenging set of narrow parcels overlooking the confluence of the Methow and Chewuch Rivers.

RiversMeet is envisioned as a template for how buildings can work within Winthrop's westernization code while striving for high levels of sustainability and providing more inclusive housing options.

The program will provide two 2-bedroom residential units overlooking the river, with approximately 1,870 SF of pedestrian-level retail space. The second floor incorporates 1,870 SF of office space. The second floor incorporates 1,870 SF of office space, continuing the client’s tradition of renting below market rate to community non-profit businesses.

GREEN DESIGN
1. Concrete mix uses fly ash, reducing use of higher-carbon cement
2. Low-Carbon Foamed Glass Aggregate replaces typical underslab foam board insulation
3. Gutex wood fiber exterior board insulation
4. Low-Carbon Wildfire Resistance Strategy:
- Wood siding treated with a non-toxic solution that provides fire resistance without the high carbon penalty of fiber cement
- Exterior sprinkler system
- Fiber cement siding reduced to areas where it's most effective
5. FSC-certified wood framing package
6. High-efficiency all-electric heat pump space heating
7. High-efficiency heat pump water heating
8. Solar array

TEAM
Client: Peter Goldman and Martha Kongsgaard
Architect: CAST architecture
Builder: North Star Construction Company  www.Northstarbuilds.Com
Civil & Structural: DCG, now Facet   www.dcgengr.com  
Electrical: TFWB   tf-wb.com
Environmental:  Grette  www.gretteassociates.com 
Geotech: Geoengineers  www.geoengineers.com/ 
Mechanical: Ecotope   www.ecotope.com 
Survey: Tackman   www.tackmansurveying.com

ECHO, a 10-unit apartment building in the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle, is now a Design Certified PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) Core 2021 project.

This apartment building will replaces a single-family structure in this residential urban village, adding missing-middle housing. It utilizes the stacked flats concept which pushes the bounds of the single-family envelope but maintains an urbanism-friendly street frontage.

The two homes on the ground floor are both fully accessible. And, the top two units have high ceilings with lofted sleeping areas.

High-performance design elements include: thermal control, airtightness and moisture control, balanced ventilation, and high-performance glazing.

TEAM
Developer: West Crescent Advisors, LLC, Nancy Melton
Architect: CAST
Passive House Institute US: @passivehouseinstituteus
Builder: Carrig Construction @carrig_construction
Project Consultant: Woodworth Construction Management LLC, Lydia Anne, @woodworth_built
Civil Engineer: Davido Consulting Group, Inc. @dcgengr
Structural Engineer: Harriott Valentine Engineers @harriottvalentine
Mechanical Engineer: Ecotope @ecotope_inc
Envelope Consultant: B.E.E Consulting, LLC
Electrical Engineer: TFWB Engineers, Inc
Windows: Alpen Windows – Passive House Certified
Landscape Architect: @karenkiestlandscapearchitects
Arborist: Moss Studio
Geotechnical Engineer: PanGEO, Inc.
Surveyor: Terrane @terranesurveying
Third party verifier: Balderston Associates

An array of CAST’s detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs)

Statewide efforts to boost housing options make headway

This past legislative session, several bills made it through both houses and each will have long term benefits for the production of urban infill housing types such as cottages, ADUs, and small stacked apartment buildings.

HB 1337

The passing of HB 1337 expands housing options by easing barriers to the construction and use of ADUs.

·        legalizes two ADUs per lot in any configuration of attached/detached

·        legalizes an ADU on any lot size that’s legal for a house

·        legalizes ADU size up to at least 1,000 SF 

·        legalizes ADU height up to 24 feet

·        ends requirement for owner to live on site

·        caps impact fees at 50% of those charged on houses

·        lifts parking mandates within 1/2-mile or 15 minutes from transit stop

·        prohibits design standards or other restrictions more stringent than what applies to the main house 

·        legalizes ADUs to abutting property lines on alleys

·        legalizes ADUs in existing structures that violate current rules for setbacks or lot coverage

·        prohibits requirements for public right of way improvements

·        legalizes the sale of ADUs as condominiums

HB 1110

The Middle Housing Bill will mandate that medium and large cities create development standards for their lowest density zones to accommodate more housing.  For Seattle, it means:

·        Up to 4 units on any parcel not previously limited by an HOA or PUD.

·        Up to 6 units on parcels that are within ½ mile (a 10 minute walk) of frequent or fixed transit

·        Up to 6 units on any parcel if 2 are designated as affordable. 

The form that these new housing types will be open ended, but the Department of Commerce is busy developing a model code for cities to use as a starting point.  The deadline for cities to comply is 6 months after their next comprehensive plan cycle (for Seattle that is mid 2025). 

Spokane Four

As one of the region's leading voices for abundant and affordable housing choices, we have been advocating for backyard cottages—accessory dwelling units (ADUs)—since Seattle first considered them citywide in 2009.

More efficient land use is critical to address our housing crisis, climate change, and persistent inequities in access to housing opportunities. Modest infill houses like ADUs are a key strategy to empower citizens to provide new housing, build generational wealth, and leverage taxpayers’ investment in infrastructure, transit, schools, and parks. 

Seattle Architect CAST partners with The BLOCK Project

CAST has partnered with The BLOCK Project which builds fully equipped, healthy homes for people experiencing homelessness.  

We are excited to have just permitted our second BLOCK Project home!

BLOCK Homes are permitted and placed in homeowners' backyards throughout Seattle. This model gives residents a place to call home and our communities an opportunity to make a real difference in supporting our unhoused neighbors and addressing the issue of homelessness together.

Their mission: To inspire deliberate relationship building and community engagement as a pathway to ending homelessness.

www.the-block-project.org
@facinghomelessness

Seattle Architect CAST designs affordable housing in the Methow Valley

Winthrop, Washington

ON THE BOARDS — The Housing Authority of Okanogan County’s new Wildrose Apartments will provide 22 new affordable housing units targeted at families earning 30% of Area Median Income. Homes will be a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, accommodating families, seniors, and young adults. A major design goal of the project is to achieve a high-level of integration between the apartments and the surrounding neighborhood of affordable single-family homes being simultaneously developed by the Methow Housing Trust.

The apartments are distributed into three 2-story structures surrounding two sides of a large commons that serves both communities. Both upper and lower units provide outdoor space facing the park, energizing the open space with many sources of activity around its perimeter. The footprint and envelope of each building is kept simple to reduce cost; secondary porches and balconies add visual interest while providing solar shading and weather protection.

Housing Authority of Okanogan County’s mission:
Assisting residents of Okanogan County to acquire and retain affordable housing while strengthening our communities by removing barriers, empowering dignity, and building trust.
www.okanoganhousing.org

See more: www.castarchitecture.com/wildrose-apartments

Cedar Cottage, originally designed for the Phelan family

Recently, Seattle put out a call for lower-cost designs to be ‘pre-approved’ for building permits. One of the biggest challenges for backyard cottages is the uncertainty and permitting difficulty for many people who may never have taken on a big project like this before. CAST answered the call, putting together four designs ranging in size and features, derived from our long experience with the backyard cottage market. Here is a preview of the four models, each has its own special hook—sloped lots, accessibility, expandability, or super small size:

Cloud Cottage, 481 sf footprint, multiple configurations from studio, or 2 story version with studio over garage, 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom.

Kestrel Cottage—one or optional two bedroom (not shown here), all on one level for accessibility and aging in place.

Crow’s Nest, original design for Matt and Amy Stevenson, adapted for Seattle’s Pre-Approved Cottage program

Over the next month, regardless of what this City does, CAST will be developing some or all of these designs and making them available for purchase with an agreement to use CAST for the site specific engineering, permitting and zoning work. If you are interested in finding out more, contact Matt@CASTarchitecture.com.

We are very excited to be involved in a fantastic affordable housing project in collaboration with the Methow Housing Trust.  We are going to to be rolling out two and three bedroom houses along Canyon Street in Twisp, perfect for workforce housing or elderly residents--two demographics that are often the first to lose out when demand for housing is running up prices.