Railspur – 419 Occidental Renovation

Railspur – 419 Occidental Renovation

Seattle, WA

419 Occidental (the former FX McRory’s/Manufacturer’s Building) is one of three early 20th-century buildings that are part of the Railspur redevelopment. Railspur includes an alley activation and a new retail district in the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle.

This 89,000 SF, 7-story unreinforced masonry, building was built in 1906. The owner’s plans for retail on the ground floor with offices above triggered a substantial alteration of the building’s use. Per the city of Seattle, this change required a seismic renovation along with the other planned improvements.

SSF provided a seismic assessment of the building using the ASCE 41-13 standard building code guidelines. Working with developer Urban Villages and SHED Architects, the seismic upgrade included a new global lateral resisting system and the anchorage of floor and roof diaphragms to the wall systems. We also designed a Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) structure for a penthouse addition, a new exterior stair, and other structural repairs and modifications beyond the seismic modifications.

Railspur DJC Article