Nexus24 | ULI Hines 2024 Competition - Honorable Mention

NEXUS24

Empowering and Enriching the community to lead a thriving Everyday life.

DESIGN NARRATIVE

At an intersection of Seattle’s history and global diversity is the Nexus24. It is a new vision for the development of Seattle, developed for the people. Set on the highest standards of sustainability, the mixed-use, mixedincome neighborhood is designed on the guidelines of LEED and WELL. It connects and transforms, facilitating a thriving community.

Nexus24, a 24-hour neighborhood, is an ecosystem of residential, retail, health, art, and innovation developed as an amalgamation of holistic new development and historically preserved and repurposed architecture. The new development responds to the deficit in the community and attempts to enable a more prosperous civic life. It is designed to be a transformative beacon in downtown Seattle.

FRAMEWORK OF DEVELOPMENT

The project is stitched together with streets as spines of social justice, community engagement, and everyday life, based on the history of the finer grain of the site and the intersection of dramatically distinct neighborhoods. The street network is punctuated with nodes of art, culture, local businesses, markets, everyday activities, and public infrastructure. Corresponding programs emerge from the street spines, creating a holistic neighborhood for converging diverse people and lifestyles

CONNECTING THE CITY

Sound Midtown station’s new light rail makes the Nexus24 significant in the city, a central node between two different urban fabrics. The presence of two stations makes the site a converging city node, connected to major social, cultural, innovation-based, and economic landmarks. It will facilitate collaborations with companies like Amazon, Starbucks, and Boeing and non-profit organizations like Keep it Local, DESC, and more. The art+tech innovation centers, business incubation centers, and lowincome training centers will allow people living in and around Nexus24 a larger economic, educational, and innovative reach.

EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY

At the heart of the development is its commitment to empowering the community. Along James Street lies Empowerment Street. Opposite the city hall is the Empower node, inviting the city in on the Justice Plaza, a stage for community awareness and conversation. The Nexus24 offers a transitional housing program with 300 units, supported by an in-house NGO. It also has a resource center, a soft-skills training program, an employment program, and a clinic managed by students in the UW Teaching Hospital across the I-5. The students have housing on the same block, making it a symbiotic relationship.

Additionally, the Nexus houses multiple NGOs to enable the community around the project. It has an early learning facility for children from low-income families to ensure better futures for them. Finally, the development has about 40% affordable housing units.

ENRICHING CIVIC LIFE

The cultural spine of the Nexus24 transcends conventional. It is booming with the diversity in its neighborhood. Along 4th Avenue, Enrichment Street ties retail and restaurants together. It is punctuated with nodes like the Courthouse, renovated as a museum, and an after-school art school with artist residencies. With an array of artistic and educational spaces - from the museum and exhibition spaces that celebrate local and global art to the tech-enhanced performance venue that merges tradition with innovation. It has the new N24 Mobility hub operated by Sound Transit. The renovated Yesler building is a hub for local businesses.

The enrichment extends into public spaces through interactive installations and green spaces; the Flag Park and Plaza become a canvas for community expression and engagement. The rooftop garden, an oasis in the urban expanse, offers a green retreat and educational opportunities about sustainability.

PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AS A FRAMEWORK OF SUSTAINABILITY

The Nexus24 further enriches its residents’ environment and wellness with green and sustainable practices in its urban and architectural design. Developed on a framework on stormwater streets sloping down toward the water, with roadside bioretention, the network of green spaces acts as slow filtration courtyards to reduce surface run-off. Materials like pervious concrete, green concrete, and recycled steel have been used. Utility systems in the development use recyclable energy from Seattle City Light.

THRIVING EVERYDAY

Everyday life at Nexus24 is designed for comfort, quality of life, and community spirit. It has a range of affordable, market-rate, and luxurious condos to cater to a diverse demographic. The project offers a 24-hour grocery and pharmacy, routine retail like laundry, an Amazon pick-up store, and more. For the wellbeing of the residents, there is a 24-hour gym and youth recreational center. Daycare and senior care facilities serve all age groups, ensuring a harmonious and inclusive community. The project also offers spaces for its residents to work outside their homes amidst friends, enjoying the views as they sip coffee.

The Nexus24 empowers and enriches the community to lead a thriving everyday life.

FINANCIAL NARRATIVE

Nexus24’s priority toward community well-being, diversity, and financial well-being for future growth has led to a development program with varying land-acquiring strategies and program combinations that make the project feasible. From its prioritization of social empowerment, historic preservation, and focus on art+tech, the project acquired multiple partnerships and funding sources.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

Nexus24 seeks to transform the segment of downtown Seattle intersecting historic Pioneer Square and the Chinatown International District, First Hill, and Yesler Terrace into a 24-hour neighborhood through a 4.5 million square feet mixed-use development. Over a tenyear span and three phases, Nexus24 will deliver 600,000 square feet of affordable housing to one of the most expensive market areas. This development also preserves historical buildings, transforming their uses into destination retail, museum and artistic space, and office space for local businesses. Nexus24’s commitment to housing the unhoused includes 300 transitional housing units and associated support services. The City of Seattle’s partnership on this endeavor is critical to the success of the development. It includes long-term ground leases and the donation of land under the defunct Administration Building. These public investments create essential neighborhood amenities such as grocery stores, pharmacies, clinics, office spaces for local NGOs and nonprofits, a community kitchen, and a business incubation center. Nexus24 also taps into federal funding from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, the HUD Continuum of Care program, the National Housing Trust Fund, and the HOME Rental Development program to subsidize affordable housing development. Private parcels will contribute to increased homeownership and overall project return in Nexus24 by selling condominiums.

PHASING

The project’s phasing strategy has been developed to prioritize the holistic development of the neighborhood and a potential increase in revenue over the years as the phases progress.

PHASE 1

The first phase focuses on developing the central core - a public ‘plus’ along Enrichment Street that brings in revenue from rentals and activates the neighborhood’s vibrancy. This phase also includes redeveloping critical historic nodes, the Courthouse, and the Yesler building.

PHASE 2

The second phase extends with added housing units, a combination of affordable, market-rate, and luxury apartments. The historic Morrison building has been restored as an entirely reasonable housing building. The Prefontaine building is purchased to connect across the Yesler Way, tying the project to the international district and symbolizing future development. This phase also extends into the development of public infrastructure under the I-5 to enrich the neighborhood further and generate more significant revenues in future phases.

PHASE 3

The last phase ties the project across the I-5 with the development of 5th Avenue and the expansion of Yesler Bridge as a public plaza. The spines of landscape along the I-5 further tie the initiative together.

REGIONAL VISION

Placing the Nexus24 in the city of Seattle - A long-term vision of transformation

Since its founding, Seattle has been home to a rich palette of diverse communities. As the city grew, its economy evolved, attracting more diversity and rendering the Emerald City a Global City

As time passes and the world rapidly becomes digital, Seattle finds itself at a unique intersection of history and technological advancement. Its growth needs to be supplemented by its history to ensure balanced development. The city is in need of mixedincome, mixed-use, community-oriented neighborhoods that are developed for the well-being of people from all sectors of society. It needs development that facilitates community empowerment and enrichment and enables thriving everyday lives.

The Nexus24 will be Seattle’s beacon of transformative development, setting standards of balance between the future and history.

COMMUNITY BENEFITS

Uplifting people living in a deficit to facilitate a

Mobility

Holistic Fitness Center Youth Recreational Center

Local Business Hub Day Care & Senior Care

Everday Retail

Grocery & Pharmacy

Business Incubation Center

Co-working Spaces

Grocery & Pharmacy

Innovation Hub

Mix of Affordable & Market-rate apartments

‘EMPOWERiNG AND ENRiCHiNG THE COMMUNiTY TO LEAD A THRiViNG EVERYDAY LiFE.’

Uplifting people living in a deficit to facilitate a happy, educated and empowered community.

History & Art+Tech Museum

Retail + Food and Beverages Exhibition Areas

After-school Education Program

PARTNERSHIPS EMPOWER EVERYDAY

Uplifting people living in a deficit to facilitate a happy, educated and empowered community.

Offices for Non-profit organizations

Over 40% Affordable Housing Units

Transitional Housing Program

NGO Office for Transitional Housing Program

Resource Center for Low-income and Homeless

Community Center

Community Kitchen

Subsidized Early education

Basics Training Center Clinic

Justice

HISTORY

Uplifting people living in a deficit to facilitate a happy, educated and empowered community.

Preservation of Historic Buildings

Re-inventing identity of government buildings

District for everyone

History through Art

Extending Connectors

Activating Yesler way

OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS

Studying the city for deficits and opportunities - an analysis to determine the needs of the city, to provide; and the strengths of the city, to bring in A study of a 10-minute walk from the site.

EMPOWER - The site is located in an area with a bad health index exceeding the 90th percentile - largely due to no exercise. The pluses show the network homeless shelters and free food banks.

ENRICH - To the north of the site are abundant cultural centers (pluscircles), markets (green circles), parks, and technology companies (ochre). There is a noticable gap from the south of the site.

EVERYDAY - Along the north-south spine of Seattle, the site is connected with public transit very well. The site is surrounded by community centers and daily markets - although, lacks these facilities in the heart of the site.

URBAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK

Framework of streets as the spines of development - Punctuated with cultural nodes - Overlayed with green public infrastructure as sustainability management strategies

The urban design framework is a network of streets as the spines of development - offering the programs of empower, enrich and everyday.

The intersections of these spines become nodes - art at the renovated Courthouse museum; justice at the plaza across City Hall, and Art+Tech at the intersection at Yesler way.

The next overlay is the network of green spaces that act as stormwater management features - slow filtration courtyards. These help the stormwater streets that flow down toward the water to reduce run-off.

Upon this, is a neighborhood for the public - walkable, vibrant and homely. Topped with apartments catering to a diverse demographic.

DEVELOPMENTAL SPINES - STREETS

EMPOWER

Justice Street - In the context of the city hall, the justice street invites people living in a deficit. It offers a resource center for homeless and low-income people. It houses a transitional housing program, supported by an in-house NGO. The program extends into training centers for basic skills inorder to train these people to get jobs. The street also has the justice plaza - a place for conversation and awareness.

ENRICH EVERYDAY

Community Street - The cultural spine of Nexus24 - offers retail, restaurants, bars and public plazas for the community to enjoy. This street, within the project is blocked off after 7 PM for the activity to spill out onto the street. The cultural nodes also stand here, bringing life, art and technology together.

Everyday Street - Here, the community lives together - they go to the grocery, the gym, drop kids off at the daycare, elder people meet at the senior care, children enjoy the youth recreational center. This street also has the Early Learning Facility for children from low-income families. This program is associated with the daycare to teach the children values of a better society.

PROJECT ZONING

Combination of program to meet the goals of the project - Empower, Enrich and Everyday

Art + Tech Activties

Affordable Housing

Affordable & Market Rate Housing

Condo Apartments

Rental Luxury Apartments

Student Housing Apartments

Retail Activities: F&B, event spaces

Community: International market, local business hub

Transitional housing program

Mobility Hub

Hotel

AERIAL VIEW

THE COMMUNITY OF NEXUS24

Tech-worker and Artist Medical Student Transitional Resident Single Mother Asian resident from International district Family with two children Work-visitor to Seattle

Alex Johnson, 32 Sarah Ray, 25 Michael Mason, 45 Emily Riviera, 36 Jun-Soo Kim, 40 Nguyen Family, 33 John Parker, 42

Alex works as an engineer in Downtown. He takes after-work art classes at the NexusCourthouse and lives down the with a view of the Elliot bay.

At Nexus24

Sarah is a medical student in the UW Harborview hospital across the I-5. She works part time at the clinic for transitional residents.

Michael lives at the transitional residency since a year. He takes computer classes at the training center and works at a coffee shop.

Emily is a stylist. She lives with her 4-year old son in the affordable housing. She works in Capitol Hill and uses the daycare for her son.

Jun-Soo lives in the International district and runs a Korean restaurant. She sells food at the international market and attends community events.

Lisa and David, with their children of ages 5 and 8 own an apartment in the Nexus24. They enjoy spending time in the plazas and amenities.

John is an architect and visits Seattle frequently from work. He usually stays at the hotel, uses the co-working spaces and enjoys the bars under the hotel.

COMMUNITY LIFE AT NEXUS24

24 HOURS AT NEXUS 24

The spirit of Nexus24 is its 24-hour vibrancy - different people, early risers and night owls; kids and adults, on their preferred schedule can find things to do at all hours. This increases safety and strengthens the sense of being.

STREET VIEW

SECTION THROUGH JUSTICE PLAZA

Luxury Apartments Affordable Housing adjacent to Transitional Housing program and UW Medical student housing

Renovated Courthouse Museum

Condos adjacent to Morrison Building and Smith Tower

Enrich Community Street Justice Plaza

Street

PUBLIC ‘PLUS’ PLAZA VIEW

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

Goals of Nexus24 - Based on Goals and Phasing, a vision of short-term and long-term goals for the project to fulfil the vision of Empower, Enrich and Everyday

Short-term Implementation Goals

Establish Affordable Housing: Complete construction and allocation of the Morrison building for 100% affordable housing.

Launch Subsidized After-School Programs: Initiate arts and educational programs for low-income families.

Open NGO Offices and Resource Centers: Set up operational offices for NGOs and resource centers for the homeless and low-income individuals.

Initiate Community Kitchen and Transitional Housing: Start a community kitchen for transitional housing residents.

Begin Basic Essential Training Programs: Launch training centers focusing on skills essential for employment and daily living.

Open Café and Museum Retail Spaces: Launch café and museum retail to attract visitors and locals.

Inaugurate Exhibition and Event Spaces: Start hosting local art and cultural exhibitions.

Launch Early Learning Facility: Open an early learning facility for low-income children.

Develop Public Infrastructure: Improve public infrastructure including mobility hubs and local business support centers.

Initiate Digital and Tech Innovations: Start a digital creation and innovation hub for local creators.

ENRICH

Vision Discussions, Leadership assignment, Project stakeholders, Funds Sourcing

Cross-sector partnerships, Phasing, Pre-design, Design, Construction

Essential Retail and Services Launch: Open pharmacy, grocery, daycare, and senior care facilities.

Establish Market Rate Apartments and Condos: Complete construction and leasing of apartments and condos.

Launch International Food and Farmers Market: Start a diverse food market catering to various cuisines.

Initiate Co-working and Business Incubation Centers: Open spaces for startups and entrepreneurs.

Initial Phase - Marketting, Project updates, Client-list development, Occupation, Feedback

Long-term Implementation Goals

Sustainable Affordable Housing Management: Ensure long-term sustainability and maintenance of affordable housing.

Expand Educational and Arts Programs: Broaden the scope of after-school education to include more diverse subjects and reach a larger audience.

Strengthen Community Support Structures: Develop a robust support system within the community center for ongoing community needs.

Enhance Transitional Program Success: Track and improve the efficacy of transitional programs for long-term success of participants.

Establish a Self-sustaining Community Model: Create a model where the community can independently operate essential services like the community kitchen and clinic.

Cultural and Artistic Hub Establishment: Establish the area as a premier destination for art, culture, and innovation.

Expand Local Business Support: Develop a comprehensive support system for local businesses, fostering growth and sustainability.

Developing a Green Urban Space: Expand and maintain the rooftop garden, promoting environmental sustainability.

Enhance Learning and Development Opportunities: Offer diverse and advanced educational opportunities in the early learning facility.

Cultivate a Thriving Local Economy: Foster a vibrant economy around food, beverages, retail, and technology.

Feedback, Milestone of Nexus24, Popularity in the city, Larger client-list, Assessment and further development

Sustainable Living Spaces: Ensure long-term sustainability and desirability of living spaces.

Community Health and Wellness: Establish a community-focused health and wellness culture through the fitness and youth recreation centers.

Economic Stability and Growth: Foster an environment conducive to business growth and stability, particularly in retail and innovation sectors.

Integrated Community Services: Develop a seamless integration of everyday services to enhance the quality of life for residents.

Promote Inclusivity and Accessibility: Ensure all facilities and services are inclusive and accessible to all community members.

Continued development, long-term clients, New partners for further development, Management and maintenance

SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE

Architectural and Urban Design actions to make the Nexus24 a sustainable neighborhood

FUTURE SITE PLAN

A 15-year vision of how the Nexus24 extends into the city - Extending public infrastructure as a means of encouraging transformative development in the nearby neighborhoods

PUBLIC ‘PLUS’ PLAZA

PHASING STRATEGY

Phasing Strategy on the lines of Nexus24’s goals of Community Wellbeing intersecting its approach of financial stability that paves the way for future development

Art + Tech Activties

Affordable Housing

Affordable & Market Rate Housing

Condo Apartments

Rental Luxury Apartments

Student Housing Apartments

Retail Activities: F&B, event spaces

Community: International market, local business hub

Transitional housing program

MARKET STREET - INTERSCTING ENRICH AND EVERYDAY STREETS

Empowering and Enriching the community to lead a thriving Everyday life.