5201 Ballard Ave

5201 Ballard Ave NW is a historic masonry building on a prominent corner of old Ballard Ave. Built in 1905, it originally contained 3 shotgun storefronts on the ground floor and a hotel on the second. It was substantially renovated in the 1970s and, as Seattle has discovered with many interventions of that era, the work did not age gracefully.

Heliotrope was approached to perform a gut remodel and substantial alteration, bringing it up to today’s building standards, and realigning the aesthetics with historic district standards. Between asbestos abatements, seismic retrofitting, ADA accessibility and a haphazardly constructed roof, we dismantled the building such that very little but the brick shell remained.

Referencing historic photos, we devised a modern take on the original storefront, featuring lift slide doors, operable transoms, and a new custom tile inlay at the main entry. The light filled lobby features a custom blackened steel guardrail built by the Dovetail metal shop. Visitors who venture through to the back will find one of Ballard’s best kept secrets in sun filled rear courtyard.