Columbia City Abbey Apartments is a former church that Allied8 Architects transformed into housing in Seattle, Washington.

Description
From 1891 to 1993 the Columbia Congregational Church called this site home, drawing in residents to an entirely undeveloped Rainier Valley. At that time, the land was often given to churches, because the City understood it could be a useful tool in creating communities and economy. After 1993, the building changed hands several times before falling vacant in 2012. Several developers had attempted to redevelop the property but failed on the hurdles of an old building, a strict zoning code, or a limited budget.
In 2014, Allied8 was hired to breathe new life into this anchoring building. We worked closely with the client to navigate each successfully. Our research found that if we did not change the exterior massing (a hard sell for an architect!) we could significantly increase the floor area on the interior. This preserved the curbside presence and offered our client an improved ROI. Combining planning and design, we revised an old master use permit and an expiring contract rezone while designing an adaptive reuse concept, increasing the total floor area by 28%, or 5,000 sf. The increased rentable space opened the developer to refacing parts of the façade. We incorporated a public plaza, offering a public gathering place and art space. No two homes are the same?from dramatically exposed rafters, rounded windows, to in...