Peach Place is latest project on Ericksen

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, October 4, 2006

The developer hopes to achieve an ‘old-timey’ look for the mixed-use buildings.

A new mixed-use development planned for Ericksen Avenue seeks to meld the neighborhood’s historic style with the downtown street’s increasingly commercial character.

“What I’m trying to do is blend this (project) with the surrounding neighborhood,” said island architect Ronald Lacey, who is designing the Peach Place development for the property’s Seattle owner. “The (style) is ‘craftsman,’ and we’re using some of the features of the surrounding architecture.”

The project includes about 4,000 square feet of commercial space along Ericksen’s west side and four residential units lining Winslow Ravine.

Peach Place would replace an existing house now used as commercial space for Fenwick Publishing and Quirk and Co.

The development would include 20 parking spaces, many of which would be tucked into underground lots. In all, 64 percent of Peach Place would be capped by buildings and other impervious surfaces.

All vegetation is slated for removal except for a few trees along the edges of the property.

The development will be re-landscaped with trees and native shrubs, according to Lacey.

The property’s owner, Brian Regan of Seattle, predicted that Peach Place’s street-side commercial units will likely go to office tenants. He said a required 15-foot setback from Ericksen puts his commercial buildings out of convenient reach for retail shoppers.

The city mandated the setback to prepare Ericksen for a possible street widening project.

Regan, who named the project after his wife’s nickname, said he has worked for over two years to develop the property.

The city’s attempts to both preserve the neighborhood’s residential feel while satisfying property owners’ desires has stymied the inevitable, he said.

“The city’s trying to allow a commercial development presence (on Ericksen), but also keep the ‘old-timey’ look that exists there,” he said. “But it’s half-assed zoning. They’re trying to do too many things at the same time.”

Regan had planned to break ground in January, with a possible completion date in October 2007. But Regan has learned to expect delays when developing properties on Bainbridge Island.

“I’m no­where in the realm of predicting anything whatsoever in any shape or form,” he said. “Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.”

The Peach Place development is set to go before the city’s Design Review Board on Oct. 10.