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Bicycling.JPG
Bicycle commuters head out of downtown Seattle on a bike lane adjacent to car traffic. A new apartment building is under construction at 6th and Lenora in Seattle catering to cyclists with bike parking, a cycle shop and bicycle club. (AP/Elaine Thompson file photo)

Only in Seattle: An apartment building designed for bicyclists

November 26, 2012 @ 6:20 pm (Updated: 5:27 am - 11/27/12 )

More than 300,000 cyclists put their bikes on Metro buses every year. Seattle is considered a bike-friendly city with the mayor frequently riding his bicycle to work. Now, a developer is building an apartment complex especially for cyclists in - of course - Seattle.

"I'm not one of the rabid bicycle commuters, but I ride bikes all over town all the time," says Matt Griffin, who has logged 200,000 miles on bikes in the past 30 years.

So far this year, he's ridden 8,000 miles on a bike. He racked up 50 miles alone on the day I talked with him about a new development going up in downtown Seattle.

Griffin is a managing partner with the Pine Street Group. They're designing and building an apartment complex for bicyclists.

It'll have a bike shop on the ground floor, 250 bike parking stalls for residents, and a bike gym.

"We actually put in men's and women's showers and locker room. We have elevator entrance from the alley so people who don't live in the building but want to become bike commuters could belong to the bike club for a small fee, leave their bikes there for service, shower, get coffee, and go on to work," he says."

"I would definitely be interested in that," says cyclist Tom Harkin who rides from Shoreline to downtown Seattle every day. "Our office doesn't have a decent shower and that alone would make me join the club even though I couldn't afford to live in a condo in Seattle."

Griffin took me through the Via 6 Apartments construction site at 6th and Lenora just east of Belltown.

The building is 350-feet long, which is bigger than a football field. They've designed the structure to look less imposing with two towers, linked in the middle by a common area.

Architecture meets anthropology in the building's function because they had to think about what people would need in a building if they didn't have a car.

Seattle's Tom Douglas will open a restaurant in a 10,000-square-foot space on the ground floor with will include a cake shop, coffee shop and grocery store.

Douglas is also developing a line of foods called "Tom's Home Remedy," Griffin says, "which is stuff he makes in his kitchen, you take it up to your apartment and microwave it."

If you don't live in the apartment building, this place still hopes to be a hub for bicyclists.

"If you're a commuter from the north end, you can come in here, shower and catch a bus to Microsoft or Amazon, or head off to Tacoma," he says.

Griffin says with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn's goal of creating dense communities, it makes sense.

"The more the better. The more people we have live downtown the healthier it'll be," Griffin says. "You look at what makes San Francisco, New York or Chicago fun in the neighborhoods it's because there's a high density that work and live there and that make all their bars and restaurants succeed. It's exactly what we should have."

By LINDA THOMAS

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (23)


  • Add A Comment

  • wmcelha wrote...
    Not as big, but there is one in Portland.
    November 26, 2012 10:10 pm
    Just fyi. http://ecoflatspdx.com/
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • south of you wrote...
    Actually, there are at least two in Portland
    December 5, 2012 3:24 pm
    The Milano is situated near a transit hub, event venues, and along a newly installed protected bike lane. http://bikeportland.org/2012/01/25/new-rose-quarter-housing-development-inspired-by-named-after-bicycles-65940 There are also more traditional (older) apartment complexes that have built impressive bike parking for their tenants.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • monkeyal wrote...
    What about all these renter's little kids and dogs?
    November 27, 2012 6:18 am
    Any tricycle stands and dog run areas?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TYR wrote...
    Tom Douglas?
    November 27, 2012 7:35 am
    Akin to Paul Prudhomme setting up shop at the Swedish Heart Institute.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    How obnoxious…
    November 27, 2012 8:52 am
    This will be the epicenter of the world’s most annoying people!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Uncle Carbunkle wrote...
    Time has come
    November 27, 2012 10:21 am
    The time has come to tax bikes like cars. they can be dangerous in the wrong hands and we need to fund the road designs that bikers demand. We need to register bikes, assign a plate to the vehicle and have proof of insurance. Of course there will be yearly taxes based on worth with more expensive bikes taxed more than lower priced bikes. Smaller wheeled bikes would be exempt to protect kids' bikes from taxation.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BikeNazi wrote...
    Time has come
    November 27, 2012 10:51 am
    The time has come to tax GUNS like cars. they can be dangerous in the wrong hands and we need to fund the road designs that GUNS demand. We need to register GUNS, assign a plate to the GUN and have proof of insurance. Of course there will be yearly taxes based on worth with more expensive GUNS taxed more than lower priced GUNS. Smaller GUNS would be exempt to protect kids' GUNS from taxation.

    See how stupid that sounds now?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Shplunker wrote...
    idiot
    November 27, 2012 11:02 am
    First off, anyone with "nazi" in their name is pretty stupid. Second, I'm just glad that when someone breaks into my home I don't have to run to the garage to defend myself with my Schwinn. And last....if all you bike jag-offs had to obey the rules of the road, you'd look at things differently.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • monkeyal wrote...
    Time to include guns
    November 27, 2012 1:12 pm
    in the spirit of 'Obamacare' and require everyone to have one or face a fine/penalty/tax collected by the I.R.S.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • focus503 wrote...
    Time has come
    December 3, 2012 10:11 am
    That's the best counter to the idiots flogging that dead old horse I've heard in a long time.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Dan1 wrote...
    Agree with flipper
    November 27, 2012 10:52 am
    These tools think they own the road. I would not stop if I saw one get splattered on the road.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • focus503 wrote...
    Speaking of Toolbags
    December 3, 2012 10:13 am
    I wouldn't stop someone clubbing your kids to death in the street either. So how does that make you feel?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Dark Jedi wrote...
    Furniture? Groceries?
    November 27, 2012 10:59 am
    So what happens when they see an all natural, enviromentally responsible dinette set they want? With nothing but bike parking, they'll just chew up already precious street parking.

    Also how to do you impound a bicycle that has been locked to a bench that was intended for people to sit down upon?

    To me, this sounds like a real big loop hole for developers to build bigger condo complexes and not install parking spaces. Label it "90% bicycle community".

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ovalofsand wrote...
    Anything constructive to add?
    November 27, 2012 12:39 pm
    Cos yer soundin kinda whiney.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cigarfan wrote...
    Awesome!
    November 27, 2012 11:08 am
    What a great way to improve one's health, escape driving and downsizing/improving density! When a person drives down the road, it seems like 1 out of every 4 or 5 businesses reinforce American addiction to oil. This is rehab for those unable to quit!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • The Dude Abides wrote...
    Bike Licensing FTW
    November 27, 2012 1:21 pm
    I disagree with the idea of taxing bike owners. Bikes don't cause damage to the streets like cars do, and the more bikes on the road, the fewer cars, which is good for both traffic congestion and the environment. In fact, I would be in favor of the gov offering coupons or tax deductions of some sort for people who purchase street-legal bikes, just like they do for people who purchase hybrid cars or energy efficient appliances. I would, however, like to see the gov take charge and start licensing street-legal bikes and their owners, perhaps even requiring them to get insurance. If we can do that, as well as hold cyclists responsible when they cause a traffic accident or damage property, perhaps then they will be more careful when riding through stop-and-go traffic. If cyclists can be more careful and more responsible, perhaps drivers will be more courteous to them, and we can all have a less stressful ride to work in the mornings.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bicycle Rights wrote...
    Bike Licensing FTW
    November 27, 2012 2:59 pm
    I like the way you think, el Duderino!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • focus503 wrote...
    Never work.
    December 3, 2012 10:18 am
    Apart from the obvious fact that any program to license bicycles is doomed to failure as too costly to administer and enforce, an experience repeated in every city
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • vanderleun wrote...
    Putz central
    November 27, 2012 1:45 pm
    Good to have the all in one place come the revolutiøn.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }