(Image: PUBLIC47 Architects)
Changes to the design under the review process include an effort to make the Boylston Ave E facing lobby more “pedestrian friendly” (Image: PUBLIC47 Architects)
In July, CHS reported on a rarity across the city’s core neighborhoods including areas stretching across Capitol Hill, First Hill — the only meeting of the year so far for the East Design Review Board as it convened over approval of plans for an eight-story project above Eastlake.
Now in the final days of 2025 and with the housing affordability crisis in the city as sharp as ever, this 2727 Boylston Ave E project appears to have hung on to its dubious distinction.
Wednesday, the review board is set to convene to sign off on what CHS has found is the only project to come in front of the volunteer group this year.
“The reality is that very few ground-up projects currently pencil,” Mike Yukevich of developer Eastlake Real Estate Partners says.
The developer says the same mix remains in place that CHS reported on this spring as we documented the disappearance of construction cranes — and design review — from Capitol Hill.
- Construction Costs — too high
- Interest Rates — too high
- Rental Rates — too low
“Until these variables change, we will not see many new market rate apartments being built within Seattle,” Yukevich said. “We continue to push our project through so that we will be ready when the time comes.”
As for CHS’s claim that 2727 Boylston Ave E is the only East Review Board project of the year, the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections took a few days but says, yup, “The only East Board meeting this year was the Project 3039625 @ 2727 Boylston Ave E.”
In the meantime, the board is set to convene Wednesday for a virtual session focused on the final recommendation phase for the eight-story, 83-unit apartment project with parking for 16 vehicles designed by PUBLIC47 Architects. A 1909-era duplex will be demolished to make way for the project.
It will be the second attempt at this final level of the review process that has been criticized for slowing projects and adding unnecessary costs over relatively minor and sometimes unpredictable issues.
The early design guidance for this project was wrapped up in the summer of 2022 after the Eastlake firm acquired the property for $1.6 million.
Issues raised by the board over the months and years since include a requirement for the project’s massing to be “more reflective of the East Lake neighborhood and the angle points focused more on views to the lake” including reorienting the building’s Boylston-side lobby to create a more “pedestrian friendly” environment along the busy street.
The board also “encourages the use of evergreen green trees where appropriate along with a more expansive landscape plantings” and veered into quality of life aspects of the design, citing concerns about noise from nearby I-5. The developers have promised “triple glazed with laminated glass to minimize sound transmission” in return.
2727 Boylston Ave E
Land Use Application to allow an 8-story, 83-unit apartment building. Parking for 16 vehicles proposed. Existing building to be demolished. Early Design Guidance conducted under 3039736-EG.View Design Proposal (26 MB)
Review Meeting
December 17, 2025 5:00 PMMeeting: https://bit.ly/Mtg3039625
This one and only East review comes as the city will grapple with the final phases of completing its Comprehensive Plan update as leaders, groups, and neighbors grapple over compromises to the vision of spreading more housing development to more parts of the city.
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