The Florentine Condominium is a historic building located on the south edge of Pioneer Square on 526 1st Ave South. It was built in 1909 and converted from a warehouse into 116 condos in 1990.
During the conversion, an additional floor was built on top of this four story building as the penthouse homes (2 level townhomes). Some might like to call it a loft style home. Floor plans go from one bedroom, one bathroom to two bedroom penthouses.
One Bedroom plus den & Two bedroom 1,036-1,644 sq ft
Penthouse Homes 1,253-2,106 sq ft
Each home has an open floor plan. The front door opens to a long entry hallway with an adjoining large den (office or 2nd bedroom). The hallway leads you to an open living room with a wood burning fireplace, kitchen, dining room, and a balcony. With the exception of the penthouse homes, most single level homes have partial walls that separate the kitchen and bedroom. As for the 2-floor penthouse homes, the master bedroom is on the 2nd floor that overlooks the lower floor. Penthouses also feature dormer windows which help bring in more light.
Over the years, many owners have remodeled their homes. The open layout gave them the flexibility to create their own space. I must say that this is one of the few unique condos that I have seen with very diverse and interesting remodeling work.
Although these homes come with tall ceilings (10, 11 and 22 feet), most homes only have one narrow wall which lets in natural light so it's hard to brighten up the unit unless you have sufficient artificial lighting. Proximity to the Qwest and Seahawk Stadiums can sometime be challenging trying to get into the building when there is a game. However, once you spend sometime familiarizing yourself with the different routes of getting into the building, it's not too bad. Florentine has limited amenities (on-site building manager and lobby). Square footage for these homes is much larger than your typical condo and it's aslo a pretty solid building where you can hardly hear your neighbors. If you are drawn to the character of old-style architecture and prefer an open layout, this is a great building to check out.
Related post:
those poor bums
their westerly views r, going …going
and now
Gone!
I wanted to live in this building because I was considering buying. I had just owned a house and I wanted to make sure I was ready to own a condo. I love the Florentine because it has character and was in a great location. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an absolute nightmare. The resident manager made my living experience there extremely unpleasant. I would ask him for assistance with an issue and he would be dismissive and not follow through. It took several months just to get my name in the outside phone call box. There were several issues like the call box that were unsettling. I kind of understand why he was so difficult because of the people in the building. Don’t get me wrong the neighbor across the hall from me was so kind and wonderful and there were also a few other very kind individuals. But the general tenor of the people in the building was very rude, sometimes confrontational, and not friendly. I was so glad I rented before I bought there because I was out of there a year later.
I now live in a building with very kind wonderful people and it makes all the difference. The vibe of a building is really important and the vibe at the florentine is terrible and does not foster community.
Hope this helps.