The modern building is by local architecture firm Clark Barnes
A new apartment building, the Crane, opened up at 16th and Dravus in Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood in late June. Positioned between several different landscapes—Queen Anne on one side, Magnolia on the other, with Interbay shipping and industry in between—architecture firm Clark Barnes says the inspiration for the building is largely drawn from the Balmer railyard. (Those that aren’t peering out the Crane’s windows or working at the railyard may recognize it from passing through on the Elliott Bay Trail.)
The modern building has a shape that’s pretty familiar to Seattleites by this point: boxy with a corrugated metal exterior. An outdoor stairway is sheltered by a bright accent wall. It also includes green roofs and solar arrays—which factor into a LEED Gold certification, the second-highest standard of energy efficiency awarded by the United States Green Building Council.
The seven-story building has 37 units ranging from studios to two-bedrooms with south-facing windows and views. Some homes have balconies.
Current rental listings for the Crane show prices ranging from $1,475 for a 380-square-foot studio to $2,795 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,066-square-foot apartment. Units have in-unit laundry, air conditioning, and dishwashers, and allow pets.
Common areas include a lobby with a cathedral ceiling and a custom mural, a lofted media room, and a rooftop deck with seating and fire pits. Art and finishes either emulate or depict cranes and rails, a nod to the industrial heritage of the neighborhood.
Clark Barnes previously worked on local projects like the Mountaineers Clubhouse in Warren G. Magnuson Park and the historic preservation of Publix in the International District.
While Interbay, which runs along 15th Avenue along the BNSF rail corridor that separates Queen Anne from Magnolia, is just adjacent to popular neighborhoods like Queen Anne and Ballard—and not far from the tech boom in South Lake Union—it hasn’t been absorbing a lot of Seattle’s apartment-building boom. Data compiled by Seattle in Progress shows just a few projects, with fewer than 50 units total, completed in the past year.
The Crane represents the beginning of Interbay’s own residential boom, though, with about 20 projects permitted or under construction along the corridor, according to Seattle in Progress data.