Settled in Shorewood: After more than 50 years, this is still a unique refuge for renters

At the time, it seemed enormous — a 700-unit apartment complex that rose from the north shore of Mercer Island to its crest. It would accommodate the rapidly growing community that was transforming Mercer Island from summer cabins to permanent homes for commuters — a movement driven by the opening of the Lacey V. Murrow floating bridge in July 1940.

In 1948, after facing off with the community about its size and impact, Charles Clise was able to build Shorewood, a multifamily rental development. It took shape over two years. The first 116 units in eight buildings opened in July 1949 along the lake in an area formerly known as Fortuna Park (now Covenant Shores retirement community). Others were completed in the uplands above the present I-90 corridor (now Shorewood Heights).

Generations of renters can be grateful to Shorewood. Physicians and interns at the University of Washington medical school found affordable housing there. Singles and young married couples could live in reasonably priced housing until they bought their first homes. It supported the baby boomer population in the postwar era and boosted school enrollment on the island. As families weathered the transitions brought about by death, divorces and moves, Shorewood was there. And it let seniors downsize as their families grew up and moved away from home.

After Mercer Island was incorporated in 1960, City Hall was set up at Building 15 in upper Shorewood. "Bathrooms performed double duty as walk-in file cabinets," according to a 1985 Seattle Times article. In the mid-1960s, world-famous hydroplane driver Bill Muncey opened a convenience store in the old Activity Center, which operated until his death in 1981.

Architects Stuart and Durham were aware that a key factor in making such a large housing project attractive to people would be developing a sense of individuality among the 40 buildings on the site. They did this by establishing 17 floor plans within four typical styles — Colonial, Modern Colonial, Modern and Early American. To vary the exteriors, they used different color schemes and a variety of building materials. These included smooth siding, rough-sawn siding, machined shakes, hand-split shakes, combed cedar, vertical boards, flush siding and board and batten. Three types of brick — common, painted and Roman — were used.

Other multi-family housing projects completed in the 1930s and '40s, including Yesler Terrace, Holly Park, High Point and Rainier Vista, lost their integrity over time. Wood siding was replaced with vinyl; decaying wood windows were replaced with energy- and cost-efficient options; roof forms, porches and interiors were altered, and some were recycled or removed entirely. By contrast, Shorewood has largely retained the physical qualities that attracted people in 1949.

Beginning in 1998, Shorewood Heights underwent a comprehensive renovation under the direction of GGLO, a Seattle architectural firm that has worked on many housing projects, both new and old. The objective was to restore and preserve the property while updating systems and adding enhancements so the property will be around in another 50 years. The project comprises 568 units on 44 acres and has cost more than $20 million. It is the largest multifamily renovation project in the state's history.

To its credit, Shorewood was built for longevity. Its designers provided spacious, well-proportioned rooms, hardwood floors, tiled bathrooms, painted woodwork and large, paned windows to bring ample light into the units. The units are mostly flats but some are townhouses, ranging in size from 700 to 1,185 square feet and renting for $950 to $1,550 a month. Their appeal means that some of the tenants have lived here for more than 30 years and, despite the prospect of temporary relocation as their units were refurbished, have stayed on.

Randi Olpinski, a charming, stylishly dressed 89-year-old who came to the United States from Oslo in 1941, ushers visitors into a meticulously kept apartment at Shorewood — her third in nearly 40 years of living here. Even before she moved to Fortuna Drive above Lake Washington in 1963, she was familiar with it.

"My husband and I were driving to Snoqualmie to ski and drove past Shorewood," she remembers. "I had seen the architecture of the buildings in Architectural Digest. It impressed me because they were so varied compared to the usual rental projects where every building is the same. I said to him, when the time comes I have to look for an apartment, the first place I will go is to Shorewood. And I did."

It was a beautiful spot, she says. "I came from work, met a friend at the tennis court, then I went and had a swim in the lake and went home to dinner. Some years I swam until October." She speaks about the refined, mostly professional people who were her neighbors. "We lived much more graciously than we do now. I felt that it was very prestigious to live in Shorewood."

When lower Shorewood was sold to Covenant Shores in 1979, Olpinski was the last to leave. The manager promised her an apartment at upper Shorewood, and she moved to what she considers one of the nicest units in the complex.

When she moved a third time because of the remodeling, it was to a smaller apartment. "I could get my things in, but it's very crowded," she says.

Nevertheless, she's stayed on. "I never considered going anywhere else."

Lawrence Kreisman is program director for Historic Seattle.