Cobalt Flats
Name
Cobalt Flats
Location
Seattle, WA U.S.A.
Client Name
Transit Row Developments
Type of Project
Multi-Family
Year
2023
A transit-oriented apartment building planned around reduced parking and increased shared amenity space.
Designing Around Transit, Not Cars
Cobalt Flats sits two blocks from a light rail station, and that proximity shaped nearly every early planning decision. Reduced parking requirements freed up space at grade for landscaping, bike storage, and a more generous entry sequence.
More Room for Shared Life
The space typically reserved for parking was reinvested into shared amenities: a courtyard, a flexible community room, and covered outdoor seating. These spaces were positioned to be visible and easy to stumble into, not tucked away and forgotten.
A Building Scaled to Its Neighbors
Despite its density, Cobalt Flats steps down at its edges to match the scale of adjacent buildings, softening the transition between the busier transit corridor and the quieter residential blocks behind it.
