Demand is surging for multifamily design on the outskirts of Seattle. Shoreline, which sits 10 miles to the north of downtown, will be the home of The Line, a 241-unit mixed-use residential building from developer Evergreen Point Group. The project will have its opening on December 17, 2024.
The Line is one of the first mixed-use apartment projects to be built within Shoreline’s newly up zoned link light rail district and will set the tone for future development in the neighborhood. The following is an interview with the developer, Adel Sefrioui, Vice President Evergreen Point Group.
What was the most exciting opportunity presented by this project?
This project provided a tremendous and exciting opportunity to shape the future of the built environment and to make a transformative, sustained impact on the community. Being that this was the first project to receive its permits in the newly upzoned MUR-70 148th Light rail Substation, there were unique challenges from the onset – challenges that brought profound risk and unpredictability to the project. But this being EPG’s second project in Shoreline allowed our team to lean into our relationships with city staff – relationships that we forged through our previous project, Träd – which provided us confidence that these challenges could be overcome.
What were you trying to achieve with the project?
With unrivaled proximity to the Shoreline South/148th light trail station, EPG sought to achieve a project that provided future residents an experience defined by elegance, energy and convenience, including elevated finishes, lively interior and exterior spaces, and abundant amenities, all within minutes from Downtown Seattle and the Eastside. We also sought to build up character in this newly-formed community by activating the ground floor through the inclusion of commercial retail space adjacent to the lobby, and an expansive “woonerf,” or “living street” that encouraged people, bikes, and vehicles to share space with a focus on community activity and treating vehicles as guests.
It’s through these efforts that EPG hopes to facilitate convenient access to public transit, nearby parks, and ground-floor retail, and contribute to the improved walkability of this new neighborhood.
Are there brand values you want to communicate to the tenants? If so, what are they and why are they important?
When developing the brand values for The LINE, we looked to return to the timeless, elegant and energetic expressions of the 1920s. The primary logo, a custom linear structure, pays homage to both the woonerf and light rail amenities, while uncapped lettering paves the way for open-ended adventures on public transportation. The logo icon affords the “L” the opportunity to take center-stage while the diagonal lines create an effect of a luggage tag or train ticket. The primary brand colors – velvet, martini, rose, and sequin - help evoke feelings of elegance, sophistication, and celebration.
When taken together, we hope the brand identity of The LINE causes one to make these connections.
What aspects of the project are you most pleased with?
We are thrilled about several aspects of this project! We’re honored to bring 241 new apartment homes to Shoreline - a city in need of 13,300 new homes by 2044. We’re excited to be improving affordability in the city and region by dedicating 20% of these new homes to affordable housing. We’re also excited to introduce the first woonerf to Shoreline, which will help activate the ground floor of this new neighborhood and promote easy access to the new 148th South Shoreline light rail station. Finally, we’re proud this project is certified LEED Platinum, which will help minimize our environmental impacts on the community and effects on climate change more broadly.
How does this tie into current trends in multifamily, especially in terms of tenant experience?
Post-Covid, we’ve seen firsthand a shift to more of our residents working, at least in part, from home. As a result, we’re hearing from our residents that they expect to be able to do more and experience more from their homes. As developers then, we’re charged with the task of creating spaces and offering conveniences that help foster authentic experiences for our residents – whether that’s getting in a full gym workout in our fitness studio without the need to supplement it with an external program, or creating outdoor spaces that allow residents to enjoy a gathering around cornhole in the summer or warm up with friends by a fire-pit in the chilly months of winter. Our job is to help create a sense of place.
Adel Sefrioui | Vice-President
Evergreen Point Group
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