Council committee reviews First Hill alley vacation tied to Ovation towers, public plaza and Town Hall improvements

Seattle’s Transportation Committee on April 15 reviewed legislation to finalize an alley vacation in First Hill (Block 52, A.A. Denny’s extension) connected to the Ovation apartment project and associated public benefits, including a publicly accessible plaza and improvements that create a new frontage for Town Hall.

Lish Whitson of Council Central Staff introduced the item and said the city’s vacation process includes three committee appearances: early review, a public hearing with conditions and a final administrative check that those conditions were met. Whitson said the petitioners had paid the vacation fee in 2020 and that conditions tied to the 2017 approval have been satisfied.

Project team members — including Beverly Barnett of the Seattle Department of Transportation, Michael Jenkins, director of the Seattle Design Commission, and Cortera representatives Peter Van Overbeck and Katie Kendall — described the built results. The development, known as Ovation East and West, comprises two apartment towers with 548 homes and roughly 7,000 square feet of ground‑floor retail. Construction occurred 2018–2022; the project received a temporary certificate of occupancy in June 2022 and final certificate of occupancy in February 2023.

Public benefit and right‑of‑way changes: The petitioners built a roughly 5,500‑square‑foot public access plaza with seating, lighting, a water feature, special paving and planting areas with bioretention. Plaza bollards are removable to allow food trucks and programming in coordination with Town Hall, the presenters said. The project included sidewalk improvements, ADA ramps, pedestrian signalization, bike racks and right‑of‑way improvements that better connect the site to Freeway Park.

Michael Jenkins of the Seattle Design Commission highlighted how the project converted what had been a rear or “back‑of‑house” condition into a more welcoming public frontage for Town Hall, and how the design preserved necessary alley access while prioritizing pedestrians over motor vehicles in the new, partially paved alley space.

Logistics and access: Committee member Kettle asked about loading, garage and service access; Cortera representatives said garage access is consolidated and accessed from Hubbell Place and that the two towers sit atop a single shared garage. The private alley retains ADA and drop‑off access used by Town Hall while reducing the sense of a vehicle‑first service corridor, the presenters said.

Outcome and next steps: Central staff characterized today’s appearance as a final administrative review; the substantive council decision had occurred earlier when conditions were approved. The committee did not vote on the vacation ordinance on April 15; staff said the ordinance is expected to return for final action at a future Transportation Committee meeting (the chair indicated the item would likely be presented for a vote at the next committee meeting).