Talaris

Talaris Conference Center, Seattle

Talaris is a 18-acre site in Seattle, formerly home of the Talaris Research Institute, that was put on sale for redevelopment in mid-2017.  Proposals for the site, which is currently zoned for single-family residential, range from maintaining it as public open space, to a new institutional tenant, to detached single-family housing, to higher-density apartment housing. 

Address: 4000 NE 41st St., Seattle, WA 98105. Google Maps.

Background

The Talaris site is located between the University of Washington campus and the Seattle Children's hospital complex, in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. It was developed in the 1960s as the Seattle Research Center of the Battelle Memorial Institute, a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio

In 1964, landscape architect Richard Haag teamed with architect Bill Bain, Jr. of NBBJ, Inc. to develop a plan for the 18-acre campus. The project was completed over two phases: four buildings by 1966; and three additional buildings and landscape improvements by 1971. Richard Haag Associates and NBBJ were known for their early use of Modernist design principles, a style which utilized strong Japanese overtones and reflects the influence of  traditional Japanese architecture and garden design. 

In 2000 the site was acquired by the Talaris Institute, a childhood-development research program funded by Apex Foundation, of Bellevue, Washington, the family foundation of telecommunication billionaire Bruce McCaw and his wife Jolene McCaw.  In 2012, most of Talaris Institute's assets including the Talaris site were sold to Maryland company Teaching Strategies. Since then, Columbia Hospitality has been managing the property primarily as a conference center (still named the Talaris Conference Center), available for private events.

Teaching Strategies proposed constructing up to 333 homes in multiple apartment buildings, leading to strong neighborhood opposition led by the Laurelhurst Community Club. The required zoning change from single-family residential to multifamily was not obtained by the owner, and in 2013, Friends of Battelle/Talaris successfully nominated the site buildings and landscape for landmark status. 

 

“This is one of the largest contiguous, privately owned properties in the City of Seattle,” said Tom Pehl, Senior Vice President with CBRE Capital Markets. Pehl, along with Lou Senini and Dean Johnson, are listing the property on behalf of the owner, 

 

 

The parklike Talaris campus in Laurelhurst spans 17.8 acres between the University of Washington and the hospital complex of Seattle Children’s. Originally built for Battelle Memorial Institute in the 1960s, it later became home to the Talaris Research Institute, an organization that was sold off in 2012.

It now holds a small conference center, offices and a lodge, but the vast majority of the land is green open space and water. The company running the conference center calls it “Seattle’s best kept secret” — hidden behind large trees and a fence on back streets, next to quiet single-family homes, and a popular spot for wildlife.

Last week, the property’s owner — an entity linked to telecom billionaire Bruce McCaw, who funded the Talaris Institute — put the property up for sale, noting the campus was ripe for potential redevelopment for homes or a research institute. There is no asking price.

 

Advocacy groups involved

• Friends of Battelle/Talaris
  Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Friends-of-BattelleTalaris-556899987675448/. 
   
• Laurelhurst Community Club
   
• Upzone Talaris. Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1247534972013566/. 

 

References

 

• Bertolet, Dan. "When Historic Preservation Clashes WIth Housing Affordability." Sightline Institute. December 19, 2017.
  http://www.sightline.org/2017/12/19/when-historic-preservation-clashes-with-housing-affordability/.
  Discusses various Seattle historical preservation cases and controversies, including Talaris. 
   
• CBRE. "Talaris Campus." (sales brochure). http://talariscampuscbre.com/.
   
• The Cultural Landscape Foundation. "Development plans threaten Haag’s Battelle Memorial Institute."  Apr 10, 2013.
  https://tclf.org/landslides/battelle-memorial-institute.
   
• Friends of Battelle/Talaris. "Landmark Nomination Application [for Talaris site]." August 5, 2013.
  http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/Neighborhoods/HistoricPreservation/Landmarks/CurrentNominations/LPBCurrentNom_Batelle.pdf.
   
• Laurelhurst Community Club. "Statement on Comprehensive Plan Amendments July 11, 2013." 
  http://www.laurelhurstcc.com/issues/ERACare/documents/LCC6021TalarisCompPlanAmendmentStatementJuly2013.pdf.
   
• Rosenberg, Mike. "Large Seattle ‘oasis’ up for sale as market clamors for rare home-building sites." Seattle Times, May 8, 2017.
  https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/large-seattle-oasis-up-for-sale-as-market-clamors-for-rare-home-building-site/.