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Building History

Ivan and Grace DuBois commissioned the new architectural firm of Grant, Copeland and Chervenak (GCC) to design this 21-unit rental apartment complex in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood. This was one of the earliest projects undertaken by GCC. The building contained only one-bedroom apartments, and was constructed of poured, reinforced concrete.Hainsworth Construction Company erected the building primarily in 1955, but units were opened for public inspection by 03/11/1956. In 1989, the Omar Family purchased the property, but ownership transferred to an entity called Magnolia Arms JCL, LLC, in 2003. The property has a had a rapidly escalating value over the last decade, underscoring the neighborhood's desirability; land and apartment were assessed for $875,000 in tax year 2000, $1,253,000 in 2005, $1,530,000 in 2010 and $2,280,000 by 2014.

In 2018, Omar M. Emmett owned the property.

Building Notes

The apartment building at 1950 26th Avenue West was three-stories tall, and had a boxy, rectangular form influenced, perhaps, by the work of Mies van der Rohe. All units had 11-foot-by-6-foot window bands illuminating them. Appended to each short end of the rectangle were two vertical boxes containing three exterior stairways. The building had a strongly modern, geometric appearance, following the period's enthusiasm for Miesian design purity. All apartments had a 11-by-15-foot living room, bedroom, bath and kitchen. Interior walls were drywall painted pastel colors, with mahogany trim; the exterior carried a green and yellow color scheme. The building had no central furnace, as each unit came equipped with its own electrical baseboard heaters. Rentals cost between $75 to $90 per month depending on view and floor. A basement contained a laundry room and storage facilities for each apartment. Located on an 8,000-acre parcel, the building contained 14,032 gross square feet, 10,045 net. The average apartment size was 478 square feet in 2018.

The apartment complex occupied an 8,000-square-foot (0.18-acre) lot.

Value of land and improvement have nearly quadrupled since 2000, according to King County, Department of Assessor records for the Magnolia Arms Apartments. The value has been as follows: $3,710,000 2018, $2,592,000 2015, $1,600,000 2012, $1,703,000, 2009, $1,331,000, 2006, $1,077,000 2003, $875,000, 2000.