The process of designing the new Park Place development is still in motion.
The City of Kirkland’s Design Review Board (DRB) is still seeking public input on the project as many have already weighed in on the process. Artist’s renderings on the city’s Web site have touched off concerns among several citizens about how the development will impact the look of the downtown area. Many citizens have already accused the developer, Touchstone, of going back on promises of setbacks and “an inviting plaza” in the main building based on the drawings.
“Those drawings have not been approved,” said City of Kirkland Planning Department spokesperson Angela Ruggeri. “The applicant is still coming to the Design Review Board with ideas and the board has been saying go back and work on it more.”
The city is encouraging concerned citizens to get involved. An important meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 19. During the meeting the DRB will consider plans for “Building A,” the main building that most will see as they enter the downtown area.
City of Kirkland building department and Touchstone employees are aware of the concerns the drawings have ignited.
“We have provided a vision and a context but we have not addressed specific designs,” said Touchstone President Douglas Howe, about preliminary designs included in last November’s approval for zoning-law changes by the council and recent artist renderings. “The original designs were meant to be an opaque representation. The building’s design details are left to the Design Review Board.”
The mixed-us,e eight-story, 1.8 million square foot redevelopment will be a part of the on-going Parkplace development in downtown Kirkland. The development is expected to include 1.2 million square feet of office space and an additional 300,000 square feet of retail. Other uses include a hotel and an athletic club.
“We have begun to make good progress but this is a long process,” said Howe. “We are all trying and working hard to get to the right place.”
Getting it to the right place doesn’t just mean technical aspects. With buildings in the development being eight and five stories tall, the project will irrevocably change the look of the downtown area.
“They (Touchstone) have not got approval for what the buildings will look like,” said Ruggeri. “We have heard those concerns and that is what the Design Review Board is for. If people are concerned, we encourage them to come and see how things are progressing.”
Ruggeri said that the only thing that has been approved so far were the zoning laws back in November by the council: “They only approved what can be put there. The Design Review Board has to set forth the guidelines.”
