Community Spotlight: University Plaza


Deverick Martin


Location: Seattle Year Incorporated: 1974 Number of Units: 136 Community composition: 24-story residential condo.


Resident composition: The primary home for most residents, although several owners have a second home in warmer climes and spend the winter there. One resident lives in Alaska and spends time here in the “south” during the winter. There are also a number of family owned units that are used by students attending UW. Our oldest resident will be 101 this year. There are several families living here. We had two newborns last year and at least one more on the way for 2017.


Professionally or self-managed: We are professionally managed.


Number of board members: 5 board members serve two year terms, cycling out after two consecutive terms.


What makes your community a great place to live? The location is hard to beat. Easy access to UW and I-5 for all destinations: downtown, the eastside via 520 and destinations north and south. We will have a light rail station a few blocks away in a few years, and there’s great bus service from here in every direction. Some owners have sold their cars and rent their parking spaces. We also have over 20 guest parking spots which are rare here for an urban high-rise.


What is special about your community? We claim to be the tallest building between here and the Canadian border which affords many spectacular views in every direction. The building was designed with generous spaces. I can walk down the common area halls with my arms outstretched and not touch either wall. We have a large swimming pool in terms of surface area that also is 10’ deep, making it one of the largest pools in Seattle based on water volume. We have a multi-cultural community. Mandarin is the most common second language spoken here, but if you want to chat in any language from Farsi or Spanish there are lots of opportunities.


What challenges do you face now? Our building is over 40 years old. We’ve kept up with major renovations. Our $1,000,000 elevator modernization is just about complete. But looking forward we face more large projects over the next 10-20 years.


14 Community Associations Journal | May 2017


We also face issues related to the city’s tremendous growth: denser development without provisions for parking pushes delivery vehicles and even City vehicles to park over the curb and onto our lawn.


What is your community’s greatest success? We have a dedicated staff and a management company with deep resources and extensive experience. This has not always been the case, and I can assure you it makes a huge difference.


What methods does your community use to communicate with owners? We post notices in the common areas including the elevators. We use BuildingLink to keep our residents up-to-date and to allow them to report problems (e.g., a burned out light), or reserve an amenity (e.g. the freight elevator) or buy and sell stuff, or notify residents about package delivery. This is particularly useful for keeping the owners who are away informed about current issues.


How does your community foster resident participation? In a nutshell, food and some beverages seem to bring people together. A personal call to another resident seems to be the most successful way to engage someone. Often people with busy lives don’t prioritize community building activities.


Does your community hold any social events? If so, what are they? Last year we had two summer poolside events. I ran the BBQ and cranked out hot dogs and hamburgers. Many residents brought side dishes and a bit of international cuisine. Some cold beer and good wine kept conversation flowing.


We also have a holiday party in our lobby so we can nab many participants as they come home from work. At the party we invite participants to sign holiday posters which are framed and placed in the elevators for a few mid-winter weeks.


We have also had owners make presentations varying from a mountain climber’s slide show to a hands-on workshop on making stained glass objects.


And then there was a movie night when my mom (who has her own condo in my building) attended. The movie was in Mandarin with English subtitles. She managed to make friends with a guest of a resident from China who didn’t speak a word of English and invited her over for tea. Later she asked me how she was going to pull that off. Well, living here I knew exactly how to make that happen, but that’s another story.


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