New cottage development planned for Madison Avenue

Published 4:17 pm Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Madison Tot Lot may be moved to make way for a new development of 32 cottages near the corner of Madison Avenue and Wyatt Way NE.

The project, called Wyatt Cottages, will be detailed by its developers during a community meeting next week. The meeting is 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23 in council chambers at city hall.

The project is planned for three parcels of land that total 2.13 acres. The lots are just north of Wyatt Way NE, and the three properties form a  “U” shape that surrounds the existing apartment building that fronts Madison just north of the undeveloped lot at the northeast corner of Madison and Wyatt.

Small homes are a big feature of Wyatt Cottages.

Two dozen of the homes in the development will be smaller than 1,000 square feet. A total of 14 one-bedroom homes will be built, plus 10 two-bedroom homes.

The project also includes five two-bedroom cottages, each two stories in height.

Two other one-bedroom homes, and another two-bedroom home — all slightly larger than 1,000 square feet — are also planned.

Building heights vary from 16 feet to 28 feet.

The developers will also work to retain the forested feel of the property.

According to preliminary plans on file with the city of Bainbridge Island, approximately 47.8 percent of the property will be left as open space. Existing trees on the northeast corner of the project will be preserved, and new native trees, shrubs and other plantings will be installed in the development’s semi-public spaces.

The site currently has 96 tree units, which will rise to 127 after the project is built and more trees are planted on the property.

Two of the three lots are separately owned by Madison Avenue Development and Carol King Aexel and John Aexel. The third parcel, where Madison Tot Lot is located, is owned by the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park & Recreation District.

If the property is developed as planned, the current tot lot will be moved to the corner lot on Madison and Wyatt, an undeveloped parcel most known for its preponderance of campaign signs during election time.

The plans also call for a new sidewalk on Wyatt Way where there currently isn’t one.

The project was designed by Cutler Anderson Architects.

According to the developer’s vision statement for the project, the development will be “a low scale, walkable neighborhood of mostly single family homes.”

Homes will have loft interiors, private garden space, and roofs that are orientated for maximum solar panel exposure.

“Pedestrian and vehicular circulation will co-exist under a canopy of trees with pervious paving, often called a ‘woonerf’ after first being implemented with regulations in the Netherlands,” according to the vision statement.

A meeting between the developers and the city’s Design Review Board has not yet been scheduled.