Fremont Crossing is a new mixed-use complex where two buildings separated by nearly a century in time will come together to create a home for creative tech businesses, retail, and potential dining options. Located at 316 Florentia Street along the Lake Washington Ship Canal and the southwest abutment of the historic Fremont Bridge, the neighborhood is already very popular with the likes of Google, Tableau, and Adobe.

Fremont Crossing will merge new construction inspired by the maritime heritage of the ship canal with the renovated and repurposed 1921 Bleitz Funeral Home. A new, 4-story, 41,000-square-foot mixed-use office building will partially wrap around the back of the 7,800-square-foot redeveloped Bleitz Funeral Home. This layout will create a curved courtyard space nestled between the two buildings offering spectacular views to the east as well as space for outdoor dining and socializing. The SkB Architects-led design is focused on bringing a vitality for the south end of the bridge area and helping to stimulate future development, while bringing new life to beautiful yet dilapidated landmark building. 

“It’s important that the historic Bleitz Funeral Home maintain its identity,” notes Shannon Gaffney, co-founder of SkB Architects and co-designer for the project. “We want to showcase the simple elegance of the design, so we’ll be stripping away post-1921 additions that have eroded the building’s historic integrity. When complete, it will look very similar to how it looked originally.”

The design for the new building will borrow a quasi-industrial aesthetic inspired by the light-industrial structures and maritime businesses found along the Ship Canal. The strongly expressed grid of the structural system will be balanced with floor-to-ceiling windows that will infill each floor. Views will feature the Fremont Bridge, the north end of Lake Union, and Gas Works Park. A street-level courtyard will nest between the old and new buildings, providing space for outdoor dining and socializing. A glazed prow, nicknamed “the treehouse,” will be enclosed in floor-to-ceiling glass and reach from the new building to the old building on the north side of the properties. “It is an opportunity to visually define a courtyard,” notes Kyle Gaffney, co-founder of SkB Architects and co-designer for the project, “while avoiding the feel of a pass-through fissure. It’s a unifying move to connect old with new. A gesture of connection.”

“The area adjacent to the Fremont Bridge,” continues Gaffney, “is experiencing tremendous growth. Catalyzing development around the south end of the bridge (North Queen Anne Hill), will help to focus the growth that will inevitably occur.”