Rainier View Homes – Seattle, Washington

Rainier View Homes (RVH) originated from a random land acquisition in 2012. The land is adjacent to Hillview Apartments. The developers, Wendy and Gary, have owned Hillview Apartments since 2006 and were offered the one acre parcel for a very reasonable price from a private lender who took it back from developers who could not continue in 2011.

Fast forward to 2016. Wendy went to King County Planning (KCP) to understand how the prior developers could obtain a permit to build 11 Single Family Homes as the parcel is zoned R6 or only six individual homes.

Wendy, with the help of a planner at KCP, took some time to understand the unique cottage concept in WA State. It then became clear how to build 11 Cottage Style Homes on the land next door to Hillview.

All the original participants in the project were contacted: Living Shelter Design Architects, TEC Engineering and Harmsec Surveyors. The project began anew in October 2016. After the massive updates in the 2015 King County Building Codes, most of the project had to be redesigned.

After considerable planning, King County awarded the Rainier View Homes building permit in August of 2017. It is a project they like to see: Level 4 green building, energy efficient homes, entry level pricing, clever design, focus on landscaping and close to downtown Seattle and public transit.