Gelb Building
The current residency for /dev/hack.
4534-½ University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105. See Directions.
Rent is $2200/month.
We get offices A,B,C,D & H, sharing & subleasing rooms E & G to SCN, have shared access to kitchen, bathroom, meeting room, and utility closet. Andrew the Therapist subleases office F
Each office is roughly 300sqft
https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/pcarch/id/1117
https://web.seattle.gov/dpd/historicalsite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=9
Entering and Exiting
Our full mailing address is:
4534 1/2 University Way NE Seattle, WA 98105-4528
However, mail delivery is unreliable and you should not address mail to the space that you care about:
- Letter mail gets delivered to the bottom of the stairwell, but only our regular postie has the code. A substitute carrier will often leave mail with the City of Seattle University Customer Service Center below.
- There is no slot on the front door to slip mail through.
- Amazon/FedEx/UPS/other private carriers will likely not be able to deliver to the inside of the building unless you make them a code with HomeAssistant.
On the other hand, specific things require publicly listing your address somewhere (for example, ham licenses). Feel free to use the space as your listed address, but make sure to keep in touch with us / give us a place to send you your mail when we get it.
There is a PO box to use for official space business. if needed, talk to User:Maia
Internet (external)
On move in, we were directed to Atlas Networks for our internet usage needs, they already had equipment so setup was pretty smooth. started with a one year lease, we're now on a month-to-month at ~$80/month
We have not pursued alternative providers, although there is an ever persistent fiber project in the works.
Internet (internal)
Mostly documented at Network
We have nics wired throughout the space, both rj45 and rj11, although they have strange proprietary faceplate connectors that are in limited supply
Electricity
Electrical Circuits
The electrical breaker panel at devhack is located on the wall of Office E, next to the utility room.
The following table documents known panel mappings.
Two boxes with arrows pointed at each other indicates joined breakers.
| Breaker # | Description | Description | Breaker # |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ↓ROOF UNIT↓ | ↓ROOF UNIT↓ | 2 |
| 3 | ↑ROOF UNIT↑ | ↑ROOF UNIT↑ | 4 |
| 5 | South side rooms lighting, excluding utility room | 6 | |
| 7 | North side rooms lighting, hallway, bathrooms, utility room | 8 | |
| 9 | 10 | ||
| 11 | 12 | ||
| 13 | ↓"GROW ROOM"↓ | 14 | |
| 15 | ↑"GROW ROOM"↑ | 16 | |
| 17 | 18 | ||
| 19 | 20 | ||
| 21 | 22 | ||
| 23 | 24 | ||
| 25 | Kitchen Sink outlet | 26 | |
| 27 | Server Room Outlets | 28 | |
| 29 | 30 |
Of note is that "grow room" refers to a specific 220V circuit within Andrew the Therapist's office & connected to the comms closet.
HVAC
We have both central AC & heating. AC is handled via vents in the ceiling and a roof-mounted AC unit. Heating is handled via radiators and a boiler in the furnace.
Radiators
The radiators can be adjusted individually with valves
Sometimes the valves get stuck, and can be forced with pliers
sometimes the valve will crumble when forced.
apparently the central boiler can be adjusted via a mystery thermostat
Air Conditioning
The central AC can be adjusted via the thermostat on the west side of the hallway, near the staircase.
Plumbing
Our kitchen sink doesn't easily get hot but allegedly does after a long time
Security
Our space does have an automated security system that we have hacked.
Omni Security
Our point-of-contact w/ space security stuff are either Allen or his boss Jared.
Jared set up the security of the space a long time ago
Both seem amenable to our Security Hacks that we've implemented, although Allen is a lot more excited about it / thinks it's cool than Jared.
Current point of contact for security system stuff is probably User:Maia or secondarily User:Ellie / User:Zack
Admin
Our current point-of-contact property manager is Mike, handled via User:Eliri
Our maintenance guy is Ramón, very cool & chill.
Roof
File:File:Photo 4965379491992022403 y.jpg
Let's Make the Gelb Building a Historic Building
This information was copied over and expanded from https://bugs.devhack.net/ticket/719
The Gelb building is listed in the Pacific Coast Architectural Database and was listed on the Department of Neighborhoods Historical Site Listing circa 2012-2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20120609231132/http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd/historicalsite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=9
(This link without looking at an old version through the IA redirects to the seattle.gov homepage and does not appear to be active, nor does the Gelb building appear on the current historical site map.)
Why
"ensures our longevity, low rent, and the aesthetic of our home."
How can we do this?
This fund exists for helping preserve buildings in the state of Washington for up to $3000. Available if we put together a plan for next year in order to retain or return the building to a historic state. This fund is closed for this year as of 05/16/2025.
https://preservewa.org/programs/grants/valerie-sivinski-fund/
This would require us to be a member of the Washington Fund at the ‘Non-Profit Organization’ level or above ($75). https://preservewa.app.neoncrm.com/forms/general-membership-form
Might go towards starting to fixing the roof and part of the celing where it was damages by water ingress and helping to start the process on getting asbestos removed as mentioned in https://bugs.devhack.net/ticket/26.
How can you help?
Look into grant funding, state and city asbestos abatement programs and the like.