FAQs: What does the parking lift look like?

Matt at the Urbnlivn blog asked if I could post some pictures of the lifts in the Florentine garage, so I headed downstairs and took some snapshots.  Apologies in advance for the quality of the photos — I took these at night, so the light was less than ideal, and the garage isn’t exactly a perfect place to take pictures anyway.  But, hopefully you get the idea about how the parking works.  Leave a comment if you have any questions about parking here, or about the condo!

#1: Here’s a shot of a car up on a lift.  You’ll note that on the right hand side of the lift you can see the safety latch.  This ensures that the lift doesn’t come crashing down!

#2: A head-on view, showing a car on the lift and another parked below.  You’ll also note that the car in the spot on the left is parked on top of the lift, but was left in the down position.  You’ll also note that that is one big truck! 

#3: A shot from behind the lift.  Note the “lip” on the lift that ensures the car doesn’t roll off the back.

#4: Another side view.

#5: Another wide-angle view, from behind.

FAQ: What are the transit options?

We’re a very short walk from the newly re-opened bus tunnel, so that’s a great option for running downtown.  The King Street station is two blocks away, so hopping a train to Vancouver or Portland is easy, as well as the Sounder commuter train.  The downtown ferry terminal is a short (5-10 minute) walk for easy access to Bainbridge or Bremerton.  And, the water taxi dock is about a 10-15 minute walk, in case you’re looking to take the easy way to West Seattle.

The condo is a short walk to the commercial and retail core of the city.  You could get to the downtown library in about 15 minutes or so, to give you an idea.

FAQ: What the traffic on game days?

It isn’t that bad…really!  Sure, we’re aware of when games are, as well as other big events, but getting in and out of the area is fairly easy.  For large events (Mariners and Seahawks games), Occidential is blocked off.  But, Florentine residents get a handy pass that lets us drive right past the roadblocks.  It really hasn’t been much of an issue at all!

One reason that traffic isn’t so bad is because there are a bunch of ways to get in and out of the area.  The condo is really close to I-5, I-90, and 99.  With I-5 (and, since it hooks to I-90), there are a bunch of exits and on-ramps, so it is easy to adjust your route if you’re worried about event traffic.  And, there are plenty of surface streets that can get you quick in and out of the area.

For I-5, we’re partial to the Dearborn exit/on-ramp (on-ramp is North-only; exit goes both ways).  It is rarely backed up, and the access to the condo is quick ‘n easy (exiting I-5: Dereborn to 4th to Jackson to Occidental).

FAQ: Where are the two parking spots?

Both parking spots are located in the main floor garage.  The building features a large secure garage on the main floor (aka, the one you can see when walking down Occidental), and a number of “basement” garages.  The big advantage of the main floor garage is that it has easy elevator access.  The homeowners association provides a number of handy carts that you can use to wheel bigger items (or a bunch of groceries) from your car to your unit.

These parking spots use a lift system. The first car drives on the ramp, then the ramp is lifted up and secured.  Naturally, you’ll want to exit the car first.  Then, there is room to park the second car under the ramp.  Of course, this is a last-in, first-out situation.  One big bonus of the lift is that all our friends seem to think it is really cool.  So, buy the place and impress your friends!

What’s the deal with the construction across the street?

Starbucks is building a new building across the street. This will be office space (apparently Starbucks has outgrown its headquarters — located about a mile south), with first floor retail. One could probably assume there’d be a Starbucks store somewhere in there, too.

We really think this is a positive development for the Florentine. Quite frankly, what was there before–a parking lot and a couple of ugly, little-used buildings–wasn’t much to look at. The new building will screen the not-so-exciting view of the Viaduct. And, it’ll bring even more people into the neighborhood.

I have a few PDFs with renderings of how the building will look:

• Elevations
• East Entry
• East Entry at Night

(Each is approx. half a megabyte in size. Sorry they’re PDFs — it is all I could get!)

FAQ: Is there anything new in this place?

Yes — the carpets in the entry way and bedroom are new. The unit just got a fresh coat of paint — all low- or no-VOC paint. We replaced the water heater last spring (the old one was original to the unit!). And, we installed a new over-the-range microwave.

About a year ago, the fifth floor of the building (which acts as the roof, in part) was completely re-done. As an added bonus–to you–we paid for it, so you don’t have to! Also, in there are plans to re-surface the deck spaces on floors 2-4 (as a part of the normal maintenance program). I’m not sure exactly when this work will be done, but you’ll get the benefit of a brand new deck surface.

FAQ: Where do you grocery shop?

We get asked this question a lot.  The funny thing is that most people don’t realize that there are actually a number of close-by grocery options.

We do most of our shopping at Uwajimaya — just a short walk across the stadium parking lot.  And yes, they do have more than just Asian foods.  You can get all the staples there, including a really great assortment of produce.  And, if you’re too tired to cook, grab some food from their food court.

If you’re looking for ingredients you can’t find at Uwajimaya, run up to the West Seattle Metropolitan Market or PCC.  It take about 5 minutes in the car to get there, and both are great stores.  (There is a Safeway up there, too.)

Also, don’t forget that the Pike Place Market is only a twenty minute walk up 1st Ave!