Thursday, January 15, 2009

ah, progress

As usual, my ballard has some good coverage of the ongoing Denny's saga. Check out the pictures of the proposed 'iconic' development if you want to laugh your ass off. It looks like a cross between a retirement home on the Oregon coast and an outlet mall.

review

I have really won out this year. From the windows of my house I can now see three townhouse developments and one mini condo. I think some reviews are in order. First of all, the development across the street, which has clearly been designed with the spirit of new Ballard in mind. In keeping with neighborhood trends, the developers have thoughtfully included an additional structure for each one visible from the street. The front houses face a major thoroughfare and the houses behind them must have a nice view as well.

We can be thankful for the tasteful palette. Each three-story townhouse is a slightly different hue from the next, ranging from an attractive sand at one end of the development to a demure sage at the other. The sand to sage gradient is indicative of the developer's depth of thought. We also see diversity in the choice of trim. One set is trimmed in off-beige (I can think of no other word to describe this color, which hints at baby shit green but settles for subtle), the other in off-white, and two in shades of creme, which contrasts nicely with the plastic white-framed windows.

The look is finished with slate-colored roofing and, for a nice soul-crushingly northwestern touch, small shingled balconies.