At Dunn & Hobbes, we believe that real estate development is not just about constructing buildings, it's about making new pieces of city, and this comes with a responsibility to our community. Ideally the pieces of city we make are ones that help knit together, and positively contribute to, the blocks and neighborhoods where they are located. High-density low-rise mixed-use neighborhoods, otherwise knows as “urban villages”, are the heart and soul of great cities. Our company was founded in 1997 with the goal of furthering this concept in Seattle, with particular focus to date on the Pike-Pine neighborhood.
From a broader perspective, our goal is to maximize the appeal of dense urban living, because it goes hand in hand with our desire to preserve this region’s remaining wilderness spaces and to reduce carbon emissions. Attracting more people to live and work in urban neighborhoods will make better use of our transportation and utility infrastructure and ease development pressure on our region’s growth boundary. Maintaining the character and uniqueness of these neighborhoods will help Seattle to continue to attract and retain talented new residents from other places.
“I’m not a sentimental preservationist; ... I just fundamentally believe in the design value of older structures, and that exciting vibe that keeping the old structure injects into the new project... I find it easier to find really interesting, innovative tenants for these old spaces. ... We do crazy things with some of our buildings. We take pieces of roof off; we build stories on top of them; .... we peeled the roof and walls out of one whole bay of the (Chophouse) building and turned it into an outdoor alley instead of an indoor space. We’re always looking for the best way a particular building can be used to serve some new tenant.
We try to do things that are uniquely designed, that preserve some of the character of the city, or create new character, and so, I would like to believe, play a positive role in how we re-urbanize Seattle. ”
All of our projects, whether restoration or new construction, are tackled with the following objectives:
To contribute something unique to a neighborhood while respecting and incorporating its existing fabric.
To express strong design values that help “raise the bar” for quality of architecture and urban design city-wide.
To enhance the experience of living, working, shopping and playing in an urban environment.
Chophouse Row Construction
Agnes Lofts Construction