Very nice glassy tower! Hey even the monorail is there.

sequoias...it is 400ft!

sequoias...it is 400ft!

okkkkk, don't yell. :) I didn't know the height, so I was guessing 400 ft or so.

What is the current status on the 1521 tower? Proposed? Approved? Construction date set?

^^Its proposed, for sure because we haven't had the height limits approved yet, so the 1521 is taller than what we allow at the current 240 or 300 ft (not sure) limit in that area for residential towers. The new height limit would be 400 feet if approved with go ahead.

it will be alot taller then the surrounding buildings then...hmm...BTW i wasnt yelling. THIS IS YELLING!!!

you guys are so weird

When was City Council supposed to meet on this? It's nearly the middle of July already.

I just went all over the city website trying to find somthing on the new height limits. I found tons of things about it but there was nothing, as fare as i could see, as to when it comes to a final vote.

I did find a relly cool seminar with the head of archicture & city planning of the Royal Danish Academy of Archicture (or somthing like that) It was on Seattle TV. if you have an hour & a half to kill you should check it out

Here is the page its on for anybody who is interested. The video link is on the right under Highlights. It is called Urban Sustainability Forum.


http://www.seattle.gov/html/business/default.htm

i think one of the two office buildings that's suppose to on the same lot as the cosmopolitan is about to start. the northwest corner of the lot is fenced off the building that was there has been demolished and it's now just a bunch of dirt.

Do you know much about the building? How tall? How designed it?

i think it's 18 floors 250' it's not on emporis. they have had the land use notice signs up for a while though.

i don't know if this has been on here already, but here's some info about grouphealth possibly leasing out 130,000 square feet in clise's 7th at westlake. i can't remember exactly but they said they would start construction when either 50% or 66% of the 250,000 square feet was leased in an old article

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/2002370077_grouphealth09.html

I wonder how that will effect the views from the cosmopolitan. The parking levels dont look very tall.

yeah only like 80' of the cosmo is gonna be higher then it, and it's right next to the cosmo. so lets just hope this little office building has all kinds of terraced gardens and like a nice alley or courtyard, so the people don't just look out their window and see a bunch of people typing or whatever

^ getting naked? i mean...ughh hem....umm anyways, is there any renderings of this bad boy?

Do you guys watch the wamu-sam webcam? It kinda looks like the art musiem might have topped out. If it hasent it will soon. I dont think it is going to be much taller.

http://www.oxblue.com/client/wamu-sam/

^yup, we have seen that for bout 5 months now...but thats alright.

more than 5 months, since last september.

it was a guess.

Looks like the floors are climbing faster now.

I saw a proposal sign on Cherry and 8th Ave. in First Hill, it says a 2 tower would be 21 stories with 199 units of apartments and some units of hospital space, I'm not sure. I don't have the picture or details about it, it's just what I saw. It would border 8th and 9th Ave along Cherry Street where about 58 units of apartments will be demolished, along with parking spaces.

That's a retirement housing project by Presbyterian Retirement Communities NW.

Hey, what's going on with the giant hole that was on First Hill at Madison--the one that had been dug up on the Westside of the giant commie block building and then abandoned...any change at that site?

^^someone on the forum said that they will resume construction last month, but that never happened. I dunno when the hell they will FILL that GAPING hole that has been sitting for 2 years!!!! It's embarrassing to see a gaping hole being there for that long

in response to an earlier question: The old wamu tower is going to be leasing the space from what i hear, they will be moving to the new tower and only keeping the one.

Sorry i havent put any pics up i forget since i work in the fricken place everyday.

however heres an update: The highrise core is only a month or two from topping out. The floors are moving fast now and we just started pouring a half a floor a day which is a huge boost. The highest floor that you can actually walk on is 18 i believe and beams are rapidly being put in daily to up the floors.
If you havent noticeed by walking by, the windows have been going in fast, up to around 8 floors up now. A second manlift is being installed this week because of the enourmous traffic especially during dayshift. this make the total count of three manlifts.
The highest crane is as high as it will get, the other will continmue to be lifted as needed.
anywhoo theres a little general update.
Also: if you drive by the site on first avenue and union and look up above the covered sidewalk at 8pm you will see me eating lunch with my buddies on swing shift.

i took these randomly with my phone though:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/kluvs2sing/79190517893_3300_2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/kluvs2sing/79190576773_3300_2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/kluvs2sing/79190613637_3300_2.jpg

hey thanks for the update. the big ass dude that always sits along 2nd ave and stares at the construction between 6 and 7 p.m. from the garden of rememberance is me

You took them with your phone? Now, tell me, does there not sound like something is wrong with that statement? Taking pictures with a phone?!

I tried to get a picture of all the cranes in SLU and denny from the freeway, i came within 3 inches of rear ending the car infront of me. Needless to say I put hte camera away.

in response to an earlier question: The old wamu tower is going to be leasing the space from what i hear, they will be moving to the new tower and only keeping the one.

Sorry i havent put any pics up i forget since i work in the fricken place everyday.

however heres an update: The highrise core is only a month or two from topping out. The floors are moving fast now and we just started pouring a half a floor a day which is a huge boost. The highest floor that you can actually walk on is 18 i believe and beams are rapidly being put in daily to up the floors.
If you havent noticeed by walking by, the windows have been going in fast, up to around 8 floors up now. A second manlift is being installed this week because of the enourmous traffic especially during dayshift. this make the total count of three manlifts.
The highest crane is as high as it will get, the other will continmue to be lifted as needed.
anywhoo theres a little general update.
Also: if you drive by the site on first avenue and union and look up above the covered sidewalk at 8pm you will see me eating lunch with my buddies on swing shift.

i took these randomly with my phone though:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/kluvs2sing/79190517893_3300_2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/kluvs2sing/79190576773_3300_2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/kluvs2sing/79190613637_3300_2.jpg

Nice view from building to beach :D

I tried to get a picture of all the cranes in SLU and denny from the freeway, i came within 3 inches of rear ending the car infront of me. Needless to say I put hte camera away.

Drive yes. Driving and photo taking, no! :soapbox:

There are about 7 cranes in the SLU/Denny area.

Drive yes. Driving and photo taking, no! :soapbox:

There are about 7 cranes in the SLU/Denny area.

You can stop the car and take pic. :cheers:

You took them with your phone? Now, tell me, does there not sound like something is wrong with that statement? Taking pictures with a phone?!


well, when im working a shift i dont even carry my phone with me, but i happened to take these on my lunch. Sorry i didnt take my $400 digital up with me to take poster quality photos of my daily work environment. geesh, i think my camera phone suffices for now.

Hey man Ill take all the photos I can get. Those were great

Those are spectacular.....never before seen views...except for a lucky select few! ;)

If you look at the oxblue cam it looks like the main tower is beggining to separate from the sam side.

If you look at the oxblue cam it looks like the main tower is beggining to separate from the sam side.
yeah, the top of the sam expansion is reached, that is on floor 17, the top deck is 20 so far. the floors are getting smaller and smaller. Hopefully that doesnt mean that the employed gets smaller and smaller heehee.

I remember there is a Live Cam on WAMU Tower?, Does anybody got the link?

Yeah here it is http://oxblue.com/win/?siteID=b309b0da4344ad8fb26bdf90695e4f55

thanks :okay:

^that's not an updated one. I wonder what's going on. It shows rain coming down, but it hasn't rained in three weeks...

I look at it a few times a day and it's working properly for me.

guess what???? In First Hill neighborhood (east of Downtown Seatlte) Avalon @ Madison is RESUMED! They cleared out the overgrowth of vines on the fence and the gaping hole of the site on 8th and Madison St. They have new fences on the parrell parking for the equipment, it looks clean after all the mess of vines was cleared. It's a 15 story condo tower with retail level at the ground. It was dead since 2001 and finally resumed!

awesome, i hate that hole!

Thank GOD! :dance:

Yup! I work directly across the street and if I get a digital camera next week I will take some construction pics for you all, how does that sound. And I also work directly above the Hotel construction on 1st ave and Madison and from my vantage point I have been able to see construction of wamu tower/sam expansion. AH I will borrow my friends camera and get you guys some good pics. next week.....in retrospect I should have done this months ago.

^Thanks Mender! Get as many construction sites as possible. :D

Great news about Avalon.

Do we have a master list of all that's under construction?

SAM, Hotel 1000, Madison avalon, cosmopolitan, 2200, What else.

Beasley lofts(Wallingford), New construction in Ballard old car dealership near The Bay theater, 3 proposes in down town (1 new hotel near Bell telephone tower, One near Church in belltownish area, 1 near DSHS, Silvercloud Inn (Safeco field), 4 projects planned for SLU (1 around the corner from Athletic supply, One near Rosetta building, One is the future interurban 3,4, One up in cascade district near ally 24/REI-they are apartments, quite nice I might add, another one in cascade district (4 building complex and directly across the street is a now under construction project. I know I have given few names but It's just I either don't remember them or the are proposed land use and I don't have a name to give. Also I was wondering if anyone had info about the proposed building construction at current bank of California building.

Is the cascade apartments the neptune project, you can see them from the freeway, it looks like quite the large wood frame development. Man I really want them to up the height limits so denny can grow! And let's get cracking on light rail north and the viaduct! Go seattle go!

No, the Neptune is on Dexter, nearly a mile from I-5. There are three U-C housing projects in Cascade, all wood-frame, totaling about 460 units. (Cascade is bound by I-5, the Mercer ramps, Fairview, and Denny.)

That's great news about the Avalon Madison! PS, it now has about 220 units instead of 160, and it'll have medical offices instead of regular offices. Plus a small supermarket of 11,000 sf. The supermarket will be a big deal for the near part of First Hill.

In other news first hill has been cut from the link north route.

Board cuts First Hill rail station

By Eric Pryne

Seattle Times staff reporter

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A reluctant, almost apologetic Sound Transit board yesterday dropped First Hill from its plans for a light-rail line between downtown and the University of Washington.

The vote was 12-1, with Seattle City Councilman Richard McIver dissenting.

"This is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't vote," said Metropolitan King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac.

A deep-underground station in the dense, job-rich, pro-transit Seattle neighborhood had been part of Sound Transit's plans for nine years. Only in recent weeks did agency staff members raise serious questions about its construction risks, citing a recently completed analysis and the agency's experience excavating a similar station under Beacon Hill.

Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl recommended Tuesday that the First Hill station be scrapped. "I understand nobody wants us to drop First Hill," she told the board yesterday. "I don't either."

Officially, the board won't make a final decision until at least December, after an environmental review is completed. But judging from most board members' comments, there was nothing tentative about yesterday's vote.

"We made a 100-year decision here today," said Metropolitan King County Councilman Larry Phillips, D-Seattle.

The decision could have political implications. Brian Parker, representing the board of a First Hill condominium, said he would vote and work against future Sound Transit ballot measures. State Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, whose district includes First Hill, said the neighborhood's past support for Sound Transit "will turn into opposition, even for my tax-loving constituents."

After the vote, King County Executive Ron Sims and McIver proposed that the agency take one more look at whether the First Hill station could be built using different methods or in a different location to reduce risks.

That motion was tabled until Aug. 11.

Sound Transit planners estimated eliminating the First Hill station would drop the cost of the downtown-university line from $1.85 billion to $1.5 billion. But Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said that "even if we had enough money, the construction-related risks of the First Hill station would put the entire project at risk."

What's more, he added, retaining First Hill could cost $1 billion because it would threaten $650 million in federal grants the agency is counting on to build the line.

The Bush administration has recently tightened cost-effectiveness requirements for projects seeking federal money. Sound Transit says that, with a First Hill station, the project wouldn't qualify.

Board and staff members vowed to look at other ways to improve transit service to First Hill, including exclusive bus lanes and priority for buses at traffic signals. Phillips offered a new idea: a rail shuttle in a short, shallow tunnel between First Hill and the proposed Capitol Hill light-rail station.

McIver argued the board was making its decision too hastily. First Hill, a major employment center, was being "irrevocably ripped from the system with a two-day notice," he said.

But Metropolitan King County Councilman Dwight Pelz, D-Seattle, who is running against McIver for City Council, called the vote "an act of leadership. ... We are making a decision today to move light rail forward."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20050730/SheratonHotel.gif

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busin...sheraton30.html

Sheraton hopes bigger will be better for all
Expansion work is to start next month and end by the spring of 2007

By BRAD WONG
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

In a competitive world in which cities bid against one another to attract conventions, the number of rooms at a major hotel is just as important as its proximity to downtown restaurants, museums, impressive buildings and places to relax.

With that thinking in mind, the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers yesterday released more detailed plans for a $112 million expansion that would add a 25-story tower and 415 guest rooms to its 1400 Sixth Ave. location, making it -- when finished -- the city's largest-capacity hotel.

The Westin currently is the largest, with 891 rooms and suites, according to its Web site.

Construction on the addition to the current 838-room Sheraton, which is close to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, is scheduled to start next month.

When finished in spring 2007, it will have 1,253 rooms, according to Terry Botten, hotel general manager.

The new tower will be named the Union Street Tower for its location at the south end of the block from its current Pike Street Tower.

Such a large hotel would ideally spur activity for other tourism-related businesses, such as taxis, restaurants and other hotels, said Botten.

"The pie in Seattle gets bigger with a convention hotel. Everybody shares the pie," he said. "We don't take business away from other hotels, except in other cities."

Botten hopes the expanded hotel will play a key role in attracting convention goers and meeting attendees, especially those from the technology, medical and biotechnology professions.

Also, as Asia continues to play an increasing role in the U.S. economy, he hopes the larger facility and Seattle's proximity to that part of the world will attract new visitors from both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

The idea for an expanded facility began a few years ago, when a Sheraton-backed study found that a large hotel of at least 1,200 guest rooms was needed. Other cities, including San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Vancouver, B.C., have those larger hotels, said Botten, adding that Seattle competes with those cities for convention dollars.

As part of the expansion, the hotel is working with Seattle-based Callison Architecture on the new rooms and plans to increase its largest ballroom by 29 percent to 18,000 square feet. Its junior ballroom will more than double to 9,800 square feet.

Bars will be revamped, he said, and the hotel meeting space will grow to 75,000 square feet.

Two national restaurants also will open at the hotel as part of the expansion. While those contracts are still in the works, he said, one would serve Mediterranean food and the other one would primarily offer up steaks. Seattle-based Dilettante Chocolates will run a boutique coffee, chocolate and pastry cafe at the expanded hotel.

While the hotel, which opened in 1982, will not add more parking to its current 440 spaces, Botten believes there are enough garages in the area to absorb additional automobiles.

Each year, the hotel has about 220,000 occupied rooms, or about a 72 percent occupancy rate. Daily room rates range from $150 to $220, depending on the season.

While the hotel released details of the expansion yesterday, Botten said hotels in the convention industry coordinate reservations three to 15 years in advance.

With marketing staff in New York and Washington, D.C., he said, the Sheraton is trying to book the hotel for the 2008 convention season.

^^ nice project, to bad it couldnt be a little bit taller.

Its too bad that out of all these new buildings under construction right now and most of the ones that will start soon only the WAMU tower will have an impact on the skyline

a lot of em will have an impact whenviewing the skyline from lake union. also they'll make the city feel more full when walking around. the sheraton won't be visible on the skyline but. but it'll deffinitely fill a whole when looking out from my rooftop deck or other spots around downtown

Oh ya dont get me wrong. All of them will have a small impact from certain points and I cant wait till they give this city more ambiance when going out on the town. What I was talking about was the typical postcard shot that shows the city from a far and as a hole. The view from Queen Ann, west Seattle, and B of A tower from I-5. You will be able to see most of them from most angles but only the WAMU tower will have a significant affect :dunno:

I've been waiting 20 years this hole to be filled. It's been especially irksome because so many visitors walk by there.

PS, this will bring us to about 1,000 hotel rooms u-c in Downtown. That's not our biggest boom. I'm counting well over 3,000 in the past 10 years or so. Hell, around 1982 we opened 2,500 new rooms and also a massive re-do of the Olympic (with bigger rooms but 300 fewer).

PS, around 1982 we also had a remarkable array of high-rise residential towers, like First Hill Plaza (35 stories?), Continental Place (35 stories?), the Bay Vista (23 stories), Watermark Tower (22 stories?), and others. Or so says a real estate website. What a remarkable time. With the Columbia Center also being built, you could say that that was the year Seattle was finally a big city.

If the Sheraton will be the largest hotel, what is as of now? I would think the Westin, right?

According to the article year, westin has 891 so the Sheraton in it's unexpanded form is almost as large. Good for seattle go infill go hotels!

I wonder how the convention market is, given how much expansion of convention space seems to be bank rolled by local governments trying to boost their downtowns, Denver comes to mind, seems like there might be a glut of space. How is seattle holding up, I don't think the WS convention center is that big relatively either.

Seattle has a "boutique" convention center. It has far less exhibition space than even the Stadium Exhibition Hall, though the CC is a much larger complex if you count lobbies, meeting rooms, kitchens, retail, etc.

While Denver goes for groups of 12,000 salesmen, we're successful drawing groups of 5,000 surgeons or biologists. Because Seattle is a desirable city and our hotels are expensive we focus on big-spenders.

We already beat most cities in the number of hotel rooms within walking distance -- probably 6,000, out of the 10,000 we have in the greater Downtown area. That's unusual. By 2007 Denver will have about 7,000 downtown rooms and we'll be in the 11,000 range -- compare that with the 15,000 and 5,000 figures. Despite allowances for doubling up, etc, our conventioneers can all fit within walking distance and theirs have to be bused in.

Convention centers are certainly getting overbuilt. It's a fine idea to expand if only, say, half of all cities do it. But nearly all of them are doing it.

Seattle is in an ok position for the future because our moderate expansion didn't cost very much (we didn't overextend ourselves), because our attractiveness as a city will help us compete even if the market declines long-term, and because we're a very convenient location due to proximity to hotels, as well as retail and tourist attractions.

Other cities have made dangerous bets. We'll find out especially when neighboring cities open their expansions.

The increased density shouldn't be under-estimated. Look at pictures of Sao Paulo, Tokyo or even Vancouver BC. Seattle already has some height. Also, start imagining midrises (and hopefully highrises someday) in other parts of town which will contribute to the larger urban skyline.

Developer fee to pay for parks?

By Bob Young
Seattle Times staff reporter

Developers would have to contribute money for parks and public open space for the first time in Seattle under a proposal announced yesterday by Mayor Greg Nickels.

Nickels wants to impose "impact fees," common in other Washington cities, as a way to "make growth pay for growth," said Nickels' spokesman Marty McOmber.

The mayor's plan would apply only to the city's most crowded neighborhoods. It represents an effort to balance Nickels' development agenda in the city's six designated urban centers, where city leaders hope to funnel future growth.

Nickels, who is running for re-election this year, will not send legislation to the City Council until next year. But McOmber said Nickels wants to start talking about impact fees now because they're linked to his "center city" strategy to allow taller buildings in neighborhoods in and near downtown.

Developers now are required to provide open space in new projects — but that space is on-site, geared to tenants, and does not have to be public. It often takes the form of rooftop decks and plazas.

In rough terms, Nickels is looking at charging developers $1 to $2 per square foot on new projects, McOmber said, with the money set aside to acquire and develop new parks. City planners project that center-city neighborhoods will need 12.3 acres of additional open space to balance population growth expected to occur by 2024.

The fees would apply to residential, commercial and office projects in all six urban centers: Uptown, South Lake Union, downtown, Capitol Hill/First Hill, the University District and Northgate.

City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck said the timing of Nickels' announcement was curious.

Chairman of the council's land-use committee, Steinbrueck has questioned Nickels' center-city strategy, which is modeled partly on planning goals in Vancouver, B.C.

Steinbrueck has hired two Vancouver planners as consultants to analyze the mayor's plan. The two planners are scheduled to make recommendations to the council Monday. He said the consultants have pointed out a lack of downtown open space.

"I'm very pleased," Steinbrueck said. "My Vancouver consultants already are having an impact."

McOmber disagreed. "This is not a response [to Steinbrueck]. This has been in the works for a while," he said.

The mayor hopes to raise about $57 million through impact fees, McOmber said, enough to buy about half of the desired open space. City leaders would have to figure out how to raise the money needed to buy the rest and maintain all of it.

Seattle has struggled in recent years to fund park maintenance. Steinbrueck said the city might find money for new parks by renewing the $198 million parks levy voters approved in 2000.

Some prominent developers were not aware of the mayor's proposal yesterday. Lyn Tangen, a vice president at Vulcan, which owns 60 acres in South Lake Union, said she would not comment on the plan until she saw more specifics.

"It's long overdue," said John Barber, a citizen advocate for open spaces. "I think it's moving in the right direction, but we don't have a lot of details and I'm not sure it's directed at projects that neighborhoods have already designated for open space."

PS, this will bring us to about 1,000 hotel rooms u-c in Downtown. That's not our biggest boom. I'm counting well over 3,000 in the past 10 years or so. Hell, around 1982 we opened 2,500 new rooms and also a massive re-do of the Olympic (with bigger rooms but 300 fewer).

PS, around 1982 we also had a remarkable array of high-rise residential towers, like First Hill Plaza (35 stories?), Continental Place (35 stories?), the Bay Vista (23 stories), Watermark Tower (22 stories?), and others. Or so says a real estate website. What a remarkable time. With the Columbia Center also being built, you could say that that was the year Seattle was finally a big city.


IMO, Seattle has finally become a big city with the LRT being built. The city's first rapid transit system.

they're starting to put glass up on madison tower. cosmopolitan is about two floors above ground level. union tower lot is all fenced off and ready for excavation. that should go up pretty fast as soon as they tear that parking lot out, since the foundation is already there.

Someone grab some pics, we need more pics :)

SAM-42
Cosmo-34
Union-25
Madison-24

Any other 'big' skyscrapers going up in seattle?

the sheraton II starts this month at 25 stories.

:D A "redevelopment" of 12th at Pike and 12th at Madison, I saw that big sign on 12th and Pike showing the web site so here it is, it looks like a nice one.

http://www.12thandpike.com/index.htm

Enjoy!

www.canalstation.com
www.nomaballard.com

Ballard condo projects, nice infill

I wonder where nomaballard is. Guessing the Elks site, currently well underway.

Nice residential projects

Noma Ballard is the project I had stated in my post of nameless projects starting construction. It is located directly across the street from Olympic Athletic Club on Leary next to the small complex that houses the SUBWAY, SUNNY TERIYAKI. They have already started excavating and it is quite a big hole. Can’t way for all these projects to get going. Thanks for the heads up PDXPaul.

OOPS sorry I mean canal st project. Sorry for the mix up :bash: :tongue4: :tongue4:

I wonder what other 6 story wood frame infills are going up in neighborhoods that aren't 'center city' as Greg Nickels would call them.

I found an incredible beta program from google. You can look at cities using 3D building imaging. the website is earth.google.com. Once installed, make sure to click 3D at the bottom left to make the buildings appear. It looks awesome.

Damn that thing is cool. Thanks for the heads up

wow! Check Emporis.com on Bellevue, they updated! They have 6 buildings under construction, and a bunch approved: 450 ft tall tower City center II, 430 ft tall towers (2 of them), etc... and the Technology Tower under construction which is 295 ft tall. Bellevue is going to be pretty dense with all those tall skyscrapers. :D I think they will raise the height limit to 500+ feet in the near future as the current limit is 450 ft.

i think so too.....i technology tower really under constrion though? and linoln square office tower? I think bellevue should make its height limits about 550ft or 600. :)

i think so too.....i technology tower really under constrion though? and linoln square office tower? I think bellevue should make its height limits about 550ft or 600. :)

Yes the Technology tower is under construction and the licoln square office tower, also. :)

really?! i didnt see any cranes or anything at those sites....is there actually workers at the tech site and anything going on at the lincoln tower...like a core?

Shows you how utterly clueless Emporis is.

yeah....thats why im asking ^ cause i know about ss.com

Well, I think they probably STARTING, which means clearing the site, evacuating the site....it's too early. I haven't seen the site where they're having under construction, because Emporis.com says it's under construction.

We'll find out sooner or later when they starting the construction frenzy.

Hey they have a rendered picture of the new Olive Tower going up next to Qwest Tower on a billboard in the parking lot! :cool:

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2004/06/07/daily33.html

No spire though! :(

NOW THAT IS SOME GOOD NEWS :applause: does it look like they are going to break ground soon? Ive got to go check it out tomorrow :horse:

2005-08-12
by Clayton Park
Journal Business Editor

Eddie Bauer plans to move its headquarters in mid-2007 from Redmond to downtown Bellevue, where it will become the anchor tenant of a new office skyscraper across the street from Bellevue Square shopping mall.

The apparel retailer will bring 600 workers to Bellevue's central business district when it moves into its new corporate digs: nine floors of a 28-story office tower that is set to begin construction in January.

The office tower, which will be named the Eddie Bauer Building, is the final piece to a massive mixed-use complex called Lincoln Square, which has been nearly a decade in the making so far.

The first phase of Lincoln Square -- a 16-screen movie theater, retail shops, restaurants, a Westin hotel and an underground parking garage -- is on schedule to open Nov. 1, said Bellevue Square developer Kemper Freeman Jr., who took over the partially built Lincoln Square site in 2003 after the project's previous developers ran into financial difficulties.

The other component to the project -- a 148-unit luxury condominium tower -- is set to open early next year.

``It's really exciting to get this thing started,'' said Freeman of the office tower project. He said Eddie Bauer officials initially expressed interest in possibly moving to Lincoln Square two years ago, shortly after he purchased the property. The final details to the lease deal were completed on Wednesday.

Freeman said he has already received ``informal agreements'' for the financing needed to build the office tower, which is expected to cost $130 million. The total cost of the Lincoln Square project is expected to be around $500 million, he said.

Eddie Bauer sold its headquarters campus in Redmond to Microsoft Corp. in August 2004 as part of its then-parent company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

The retailer, which is now owned by a new parent company called Eddie Bauer Holdings, leases the three-building campus from Microsoft on a three-year lease that is set to expire in the summer of 2007.

Eddie Bauer has approximately 400 stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. The chain recently closed its 34 Eddie Bauer Home Stores, including one at Bellevue Square, to focus on its apparel business, said company spokeswoman Lisa Erickson.

Fabian Mansson, president and CEO of Eddie Bauer, said in a statement issued Thursday that one of his company's priorities was to find a new headquarters site within the Greater Seattle area that was in a strong retail district.

``We really hit the sweet spot with this location,'' said Erickson in describing Lincoln Square, which is located in the heart of the Eastside's largest city, surrounded by office buildings, condos and apartments, and Bellevue Square -- one of the Puget Sound region's largest and most successful shopping malls where Eddie Bauer already has an apparel store.

``To be in a hub where people are working, shopping and living is such a great opportunity for the brand,'' Erickson said.

Erickson said the company also wanted to remain within the Greater Seattle area. She said Eddie Bauer's headquarters staff is evenly split between Eastside and Seattle residents. The company moved its headquarters to Redmond from Seattle in 1973.

Freeman said he was told by an Eddie Bauer official during his initial talks with the company that the retailer wanted its headquarters in a vibrant downtown setting so its employees ``would think that high service and high energy is normal'' and thus make it ``a better company.''

The official, Eddie Bauer vice president of real estate Mark Borison, ``went on to say `It would be similar to having a continuous (motivational speaker) Lou Tice seminar for our employees,''' recalled Freeman, who added, ``It's better verbiage than anything our own marketing department could ever dream up.''

Freeman said Eddie Bauer will occupy a total of 200,000 square feet of space on floors nine through 12 -- roughly 40 percent of the total 540,000 square feet of leasable space that will be available in the new office tower.

Eddie Bauer's decision to move its headquarters to downtown Bellevue was hailed by several Eastside observers as a positive development that will benefit area retailers and restaurants and likely encourage other developers to proceed with new office building projects as well.

``It's awesome. We're ecstatic,'' said Betty Nokes, CEO of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, upon learning the news. ``It brings another great company headquarters to town,'' she said, noting the recent arrival of Symetra Financial Corp., a company that moved its headquarters and approximately 1,000 workers to downtown Bellevue from Redmond in July.

Bob Wallace, a longtime Bellevue business leader who heads a real estate development and property management company called Wallace Properties, said ``It's incredible news, not just for (Freeman's company) Kemper Development, but for the whole community to bring a headquarters of that quality to downtown Bellevue.''

Tom Bohman, an office broker with Cushman & Wakefield in Bellevue, said the signing of Eddie Bauer at Lincoln Square will likely be ``the catalyst that will jumpstart the next round of office development'' in the city's central business district.

Jeff Jochums, an office broker and senior vice president with Colliers International in Bellevue, said ``With the Eddie Bauer signing, it's going to send the message to other firms that this (Lincoln Square) is a viable project.

``It's (also) a healthy chunk of pre-lease that could encourage other developers to kick off their projects.''

Bohman and Jochums rattled off similar lists of likely candidates to proceed with new office developments in downtown Bellevue:

* Hines and Washington Capital, who are considering reviving the long-stalled Technology Tower project.

* Schnitzer, which owns property on the north side of the block where the city's Meydenbauer Center convention complex is located.

* Equity Office Properties, which recently dusted off plans for a proposed City Center II tower near the downtown Bellevue transit center.

* Bentall Capital, which could give the green light to completing the final portion of its Summit office complex.

The addition of new office towers could make it easier for companies interested in moving to downtown Bellevue or in expanding their presence there to find available space, the brokers said.

The office vacancy rate for Bellevue's central business district is currently less than 10 percent, down from nearly 30 percent a few years ago, and is expected in continue to dip in the coming months, said Bohman.

Jochums offered similar assessment.

On the other hand, both brokers agreed that the market demand for office space is not likely to be enough to justify building all four office towers, in addition to the Eddie Bauer Building, so it will probably be a race to see which of the aforementioned developers are able to get their projects off the ground first.

``It'll be interesting to see how things unfold over the next year as you see other players jump into the game,'' said Bohman.

Great news for Eddie Bauer

Olive Tower is supposedly projected to start around January. I like the rendering onsite much better than the rendering in the paper. But it's still a box unfortunately. Smart of them to point the sign at the Cosmopolitan sales center!

Meanwhile, they had quite a crowd today at the Cosmo sales center. There were probably 30 people outside around noon. If they presell a lot this weekend, I bet they'll do a press release.

PS, Olive 8 has a phenomenal location. Imagine being right near the retail district, movie theaters, and your office. If I was moving I'd think about it.

^i agree.

what does the olive tower look like? I thought this project was scrapped. Am i incorrect?

It's a 36-story rectangle, roughly square in plan view. This was taking its sweet time, but Hedreen, who's built several towers, seems to be full-speed ahead now.

The project across 8th was scrapped when the site was sold to Benaroya, who is thinking about something similar in the next several years.

I was counting projects today, and came up with 2,750 under construction in "greater Downtown", going as far as the Merrill Gardens, Neptune, and Trammell Crow projects on the north, Braeburn on the east (the only one past Broadway), and the ID on the south.

That's a modern-day record! We'd been at 2,500 a few months ago. I didn't count the "Speakeasy" site on Second, which would bring the current number to 2,800.

We could easily top 3,000 uc in a month or so. For example, Avenue 2 is supposed to start soon, with 190 units. And I thought Montreaux 2 would start this summer with 250. Others could be in the August/September timeframe also.

can we get a pic of olive tower anyone please?

This was posted a while back, dont know if this is the final render.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/PacificNW/Olive80001.jpg[/QUOTE]

I was counting projects today, and came up with 2,750 under construction in "greater Downtown", going as far as the Merrill Gardens, Neptune, and Trammell Crow projects on the north, Braeburn on the east (the only one past Broadway), and the ID on the south.

That's a modern-day record! We'd been at 2,500 a few months ago. I didn't count the "Speakeasy" site on Second, which would bring the current number to 2,800.

We could easily top 3,000 uc in a month or so. For example, Avenue 2 is supposed to start soon, with 190 units. And I thought Montreaux 2 would start this summer with 250. Others could be in the August/September timeframe also.

What is the Montreaux 2 project (actually what is the montreaux I?).

ohh yeah..that one...i hope it looks better.

Both Montreaux projects are "workforce" condos -- large numbers of units in small woodframe buildings. Montreaux I is on 5th a block south of Denny, sort of a French motif. Montreaux II would be at the Murray Publishing site midblock around 2302 Third.

Actually the Montreaux II stuff is based upon guesses and a bid advertisement in a construction publication. I haven't read about it otherwise.

I like the oval-shaped facades at the bottom of Olive 8...looks way better on the billboards rendering...gives the area a little well needed flare! :cool:

Has the cosmopolitan started construction? Anyone got pics if so?

It's a 36-story rectangle, roughly square in plan view. This was taking its sweet time, but Hedreen, who's built several towers, seems to be full-speed ahead now.

The project across 8th was scrapped when the site was sold to Benaroya, who is thinking about something similar in the next several years.

Is that the Pine Center? That was a cool project. It would be cool to see a better design of that go up :dance:

It looks like the core of the wamu tower is topped out

The Eddie Bauer Tower news is huge. It looks like the Bellevue building boom will continue.

The Avalon Madison project--They just assembled a white crane today, they aren't done with it, I saw a huge crane part on the parking lot recently late at night. The crane tower is standing tall, :) I assume they will finish assembling it on Tuesday for sure. It looks like they're moving ahead with that project and hopefully complete it by next year or so. :)

^Excellent news.

Dammit seattle we need more projects! San Diego is catching up on us!!!!

Freeman buys more property in Bellevue's downtown

By Tom Boyer

Seattle Times business reporter
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Adding to his real-estate holdings near Bellevue Square, developer Kemper Freeman paid $11 million for the land and building that houses Scan | Design Furniture.

The proceeds go to a charitable foundation begun by Scan | Design's founder, the late Jens Bruun, which supports Danish-American relations and pain research.

The store, at 10515 N.E. Sixth St., will remain in the same location for the next two years before moving elsewhere in downtown Bellevue, Scan | Design President Kent Grimes said.

Kemper Development, Freeman's real-estate company, bought the property while finishing the Lincoln Square condominium-retail-office project across the street.

"We don't have a plan for the property yet," said Jennifer Leavitt, vice president of marketing for Kemper Development. "It's a logical piece of property that makes sense for us."

The seller is an unusual breed, a furniture retail chain that soon will be owned by a nonprofit foundation.

Scan | Design and the rest of Bruun's estate will merge with the foundation over the next year, the foundation's president, Mark Schleck, said.

Bruun, who died in 2002, started selling Scandinavian furniture in Bellevue in 1962. The business grew into eight locations in Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

Bruun created the foundation before he died, earmarking money for studying pain after meeting researchers in Denmark while he was on a business trip, Schleck said.

Among the foundation's beneficiaries are the Seattle-based International Association for the Study of Pain, the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard, and the Northwest Danish Foundation.

The foundation has about $18 million and will have nearly $30 million after the sale of the Bellevue property.

"It seemed to be a propitious time for this kind of a transaction," Schleck said. "This seems to be a very hot time for Bellevue real estate."

The $11 million sale price for the three-quarter-acre property works out to $339 a square foot for the land. The property is valued at $3.57 million by the King County Assessor's Office.

Sound Transit light rail progress pictures of the week-

Stub Tunnel
http://www.soundtransit.org/images/newsroom/photos/2005_0624_PineStAerial.jpg

Beacon Hill Tunnel boring machine
http://www.soundtransit.org/images/newsroom/photos/2005_0805_TBM.jpg

Can that tunnel boring machine be used for future tunnels too?

www.Olive8.com

http://olive8.com/images/Living/Architecture1_big.jpg

Superblock work begins in Bellevue; land is being cleared for condo construction
2005-08-17
by Clayton Park
Journal Business Editor

BELLEVUE -- The Utah developers who bought the so-called ``Bellevue Superblock'' in 2002 have begun clearing land on a portion of the block to make way for the first two of five condominium towers they have planned for the downtown Bellevue property.

Wasatch Property Management Inc. on Tuesday announced that it started demolishing some small buildings on the northwest corner of the superblock on Aug. 2, with plans to start construction of two 22-story condo towers within the next few weeks.

Each tower will have 180 condo units and will be connected to a 757-stall underground parking garage.

The 10.5-acre superblock is bordered by Northeast 8th Street on the south, Northeast 10th on the north, 106th Avenue Northeast on the west and 108th Avenue Northeast on the east.

When the initial phase of the project is completed in early 2008, the three-acre site will also include 26 two-story townhouses, complete with small front yards that face Northeast 10th Street, as well as 20,000 square feet of neighborhood-oriented retail shops, said Roger Nyhus, a spokesman for Wasatch.

The cost for the first phase of the Wasatch Superblock project is expected to be approximately $255 million, Nyhus said.

Wasatch paid $11.5 million to purchase most of the block in 2002 from the late Bellevue developer Eugene Horbach, according to county records. The Logan, Utah-based company proceeded to buy remaining portions of the block over the next few years.

The developers spent more than $10 million to acquire the final one-acre parcel in March from Lake View Commons LLC, a group believed to be made up of Microsoft investors.

Wasatch officials unveiled plans in January for a mega-sized $1 billion mixed-use complex that would take eight to 10 years to complete and which would ultimately be twice the size of Lincoln Square, the huge retail/hotel/office/condo complex currently under construction across the street from Bellevue Square shopping mall.

The superblock is located kitty-corner from Lincoln Square, just east of Bellevue Place.

The Wasatch Superblock project will eventually have five condo towers, a high-rise office building, a hotel, more than 150,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants, a terraced outdoor plaza, pedestrian walkways, a meeting center and a ``world-class'' health club, according to its developers.

``This is the first phase of a project that will change the face of Bellevue and help revitalize the downtown core,'' Wasatch president Dell Loy Hansen said in a statement issued Tuesday. ``We envision the Wasatch Superblock as a pedestrian-friendly community that will make downtown Bellevue both more livable and vibrant.''

The initial phase of the project is being financed by US Bank. The project architect is Seattle-based CollinsWoerman. The contractor is Salt Lake City-based Big-D Construction.

Nyhus said construction of the first phase of the Wasatch Superblock project is expected to involve ``hundreds of workers.''

The city granted the project design review approval in July and a permit for demolition on Aug. 1.

That Olive 8 is really stunning! I like the colors! It looks like eye candy! *puppy eyes*

Very beautiful!

DAMN nice stuff. Things are happening and its looking good

Is olive 8 starting soon?

So we've got WaMu, cosmo, madison, sheraton,Olive, Lincoln SQ Res, ashwood, Lincoln SQ Office, Wasatch. That's a lot of construction this/next year in the 20+ range!

whats avalon look like?

This is what the Avalon Madison would look like, it didn't say under construction. It only said it's approved on emporis.com. It would be 15 stories and 169 feet tall. :)

http://tinypic.com/ape7u1.jpg

This is what the Avalon Madison would look like, it didn't say under construction. It only said it's approved on emporis.com. It would be 15 stories and 169 feet tall.
Emporis is has no idea what is going on. Ive heard from a few of people on this forum that its going up as we speak. I might check it out this weekend to see for my self, since its not far from Queen Ann.

I hear the tower crane went up.

Looking at Emporis takes your knowledge level backward. They're wrong an astounding percent of the time. The simple fact they have an "approved" category suggests that they don't know the slightest thing about development.

LOL. :weird: Good call mhays :cheers1:

I know emporis sucks, they are lazy bums and that's all the info they got. I can't find the latest data on that Avalon Madison....:P

Thats cool. My buddy lives next to the Trader Joe's on first Hill. Im going to chill at his place befoe going to Neighbours on sat night. Ill try to check it out and give my info

Trader Joes is in Capitol Hill/Central area, not First Hill just to make sure.
I live a block from Trader joes :)

Thats cool. My buddy lives next to the Trader Joe's on first Hill. Im going to chill at his place befoe going to Neighbours on sat night. Ill try to check it out and give my info

ya thats close enough to First Hill. To me if you are by Sweedish you are in First Hill but I dont want to piss off anybody from cap hill. Sry

yeah the crane is up i drove by it the other day. i should go to my roof to see if i can see it. so far i can see wamu the cosmo so mof 2200 i will be able to see olive8 probably part of the sheraton. so i'm assuming i'll be able to see this

ya thats close enough to First Hill. To me if you are by Sweedish you are in First Hill but I dont want to piss off anybody from cap hill. Sry

Ya didn't piss me off, lol. I was just making sure, that's all. :) Ya, it's close enough. Trader Joes is a great store!

Im killing my self on those Trader Joes frozen pizzas. They are to good and the wine is not bad aswell

does anyone know how many stories its going to be? OR more importantly, the actual height??

does anyone know how many stories its going to be? OR more importantly, the actual height??

which building are u talking about? Ya didn't mention. :dunno:

If you're talking about the Olive 8, it's 430 feet tall. :)

thats purdy good^

Yeah 430 is a good height but they need to raise the limit so we can get more 500+ to like 700+ buildings built.

Im not sure if ive seen anybody post anything on this.

http://www.lumenlife.com/

It looks cool. Its a mixed use project on the corner of 5th and Mercer st.
The QFC on Queen Ann is moving into it as well as Tower Records

When did you hear about Tower Records? I thought they split from this project in May 2004.

It's been a month or two since we've discussed this one. From the projected start date to its actual start a year later, I walked by dozens of times waiting for something to happen.

which building are u talking about? Ya didn't mention. :dunno:

If you're talking about the Olive 8, it's 430 feet tall. :)

Where did you get 430'?

I say 390'. Three reasons:
1. The zoning allows 390'.
2. The DJC's 5/17/05 notice about a DRB meeting says 390'.
3. 390' is slightly more than typical for a 36-floor hotel/condo project.

On the other hand, renderings have shown the project to be close to PNB in height, and that's listed at 466 in my World Almanac, which is about right given that it's a 34-story office.

Where did you get 430'?

I say 390'. Three reasons:
1. The zoning allows 390'.
2. The DJC's 5/17/05 notice about a DRB meeting says 390'.
3. 390' is slightly more than typical for a 36-floor hotel/condo project.

On the other hand, renderings have shown the project to be close to PNB in height, and that's listed at 466 in my World Almanac, which is about right given that it's a 34-story office.

Emporis.com says it's 430 feet tall, that's the info I can find. :)

I thought I had read about Tower moving back in but now I cant find it. I guess thats not true becauce I read all the articles in the site trying to find out where I had read that but none of them have said anything about Tower moving from where they are now. oops :runaway:

:doh: Sorry my bad. Bad info :wallbash:

I thought id post somthing because its been days since anybody has posted anything for Seattle. Any body got some good pics to show?

Not much new stuff been going on really.

I thought no one would ever post, its been days lol. We'll WAMU is close to topping out, only 6 or so more floors to go.

I cant remember the last time I went out to bellevue. Has anybody checked out the Ashwood commons?

^ yeah its about 18 floors now, 5 more to go.

:banana: Hey thats news. Bellevue is looking good

How is the Super Block looking? Have they started the excavation yet?

Milliken severs ties with condo-hotel project

By BRAD WONG
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Milliken Urban Limited Partnership has severed its ties with the high-end Westlake Avenue condominium-hotel-retail development known as "2200" and sold its interest to partner Vulcan Inc., the company said Friday.

Milliken plans to focus its attention on developing two unnamed Seattle projects and a downtown Minneapolis project. The company, which did not release the transaction's sales price in a statement, said Vulcan made the initial offer to buy its minority stake.

The three-tower project, which is still under construction, is one of the key anchors of Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen's effort to transform the South Lake Union neighborhood into a biotechnology hub. Allen leads Vulcan Inc.

"Milliken Development Group envisioned the 2200 development and worked for six and a half years to bring that vision to reality," Don Milliken, president of Milliken Urban Limited Partnership, said in a statement.

"Now that we've been very successful in developing the property, we've decided to accept a very good offer and move on to new Seattle projects and another in downtown Minneapolis."

"With the tremendous success of 2200, the project's sales momentum and the construction progress, the timing was right to make this transition," Ada Healey, Vulcan's vice president of real estate, said in a statement.

Vulcan and Milliken were partners in the development, located at Westlake Avenue and Denny Way. When completed late next year, the project will have 261 condominiums, the 160-room Pan Pacific Hotel, a Whole Foods Market and other businesses, including a national spa.

On the Milliken Web site, the development company touts "2200" as reinvigorating the area.

"Milliken Development Group's newest venture promises to impress," the site says. "This dynamic project, a partnership with Vulcan Inc., will bring new energy to the Denny Triangle and South Lake Union neighborhoods immediately north of downtown Seattle."

I thought I had read about Tower moving back in but now I cant find it. I guess thats not true becauce I read all the articals in the site trying to find out where I had read that but none of them have said anything about Tower moving from where they are now. oops :runaway:

:doh: Sorry my bad. Bad info :wallbash:

Until early 2004, Tower was slated to move into the completed building.

'We Want A Place For Lots Of Different People To Live'

August 26, 2005

By Tracy Vedder

SEATTLE - Violence, like the attack in Pioneer Square last month, is exactly what Seattle's mayor wants to avoid as he pushes a new vision for downtown living.

The plan aims to create a vibrant, bustling, livable downtown that will set the course for the next 20 years. But critics say to make downtown livable, it must be safe.

Bliss Daneri bought her downtown condo in May and she loves it. She loves people-watching, and she walks everywhere.

But, while walking with her partner's grandson in broad daylight, she's been threatened. She sees drug deals all day.

And this week, there was a drive by shooting in front of her building. "I will not walk around here at night," says Daneria, "I do not feel safe."

Crime is a problem. But even simple things like buying groceries is tough.

"That is a problem," adds Daneri. "I can't buy toiletries, I can't buy cat food, there's things I cannot buy here."

She has to get in her car and drive to Queen Anne, but not having to drive was one of the prime reasons she moved downtown.

Daneri and the fate of other downtown residents depends on the future of Mayor Greg Nickels' downtown development plan. The mayor wants to encourage downtown migration. To do that, he'll let developers build much taller residential and commercial buildings. In return, they'll have to help pay for affordable housing and parks.

"We want a place for lots of different people to live," says Mayor Nickels, "not just very, very high income or very, very low income."

But Seattle City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck has reservations.

"Bigger, taller buildings alone won't get us there," he says.

On a walk through Belltown, he spotlighted some of the problems just building more housing can cause.

"Now see the two buildings here, look at how close together they are, those poor residents there are looking face to face to that wall of offices."

Belltown has lots of condos and apartments, but no community center, no library, no school, and no parks.

Steinbrueck fears that in the mayor's downtown plan, there are no specifics, and without specific requirements, he fears downtown could become another Belltown.

"It doesn't happen by accident, you have to plan for those things," he said.

But Mayor Nickels says neighborhood basics, like grocery stores and day cares, are already happening. He points to the Whole Foods Market being built at Westlake and Denny, and the Kinder Care daycare downtown next to Nordstrom's headquarters.

Nickels is also planning for six blocks of new parks downtown. But again, there are no specifics in the plan.

"The specific parks are not defined in the plan yet, other than the South Lake Union park that we're developing now," he says.

"I think that vision is great," says Daneri, who is in favor of downtown development "It's just that you can't just have rhetoric, you've got to do something and you've got to make it safe."

Daneri is betting her future on it.

Until early 2004, Tower was slated to move into the completed building.
I might have read an old article. Thats cool though. It did say it would have additional space along with the QFC. That way we get more retail and Tower. :dance:

^ Great article, we need a safer downtown.

Its always a "which comes first the chicken or the egg?" People are saying make downtown safer, give us more shopping, and make it more affordable and the city is saying move downtown and those things will happen. I just hope somthing happens fast.

Thanks for the article Sequoias

^^ You're welcome and wanted to have Seattleites to see that. I do also hope things will change in a good period of time like more police, neighborhood watch program, fair housing market, and many more. It would make downtown Seattle even better than what we have now. :D

i've witnessed a murder had a knife pulled on me and had a gun pulled on my friend kate when she was with me, and i still feel safe around downtown. even though it's not spectacular, compared to many cities, seattle is insanely safe.

Things happen in any city, thats just a fact of life. I think people have the right to ask for a safer City. Having a knife or a gun pulled on you is no joke even if its just once. I do think Seattle is very safe compaierd to other places iv'e lived though (D.C.) (Brooklyn NYC) and I didnt feel like my life was in danger in those cities either but I dident wonder any where any time like I do in Seattle. I think we are very safe here although my wife would argue about that and there is always room for improvement

http://www.polygonhomes.com/communities/comingsoon.php3?communityID=78


OVERVIEW
Welcome to High Point, a neighborhood in the heart of West Seattle. High Point is a true master planned community, just about 15 minutes from downtown. High Point will be a unique blend of single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums, laced with parks and trails. West Seattle's residential neighborhoods are varied and distinctive. All offer nearby public and private schools, great shopping, green parks, open spaces and easy access to libraries. Views of snowcapped mountains, shining waterways and the lights of downtown are simply spectacular by any standard.

http://www.polygonhomes.com/communities/comingsoon.php3?communityID=83


OVERVIEW
150 Meydenbauer Bay is coming soon to the intimate and charming Meydenbauer Bay community in Bellevue. Registration has begun. Please email your information to marketing@polygonhomes.com or call 1.888.3 BUY NEW to register your interest.

Does anyone know about these projects. I assume 150 meydenbauer is a midrise of some sort. High point I would expect to be similar to othello station which polygon is also developing.

Hey Guys and girls,
I have to say that I think the Olive 8 tower is a real piece of amateur architecture. It's like something I came up with in Jr. High School. I can't even imagine that an architect (as opposed to an engineer) even came up with this. It's just a big ole box, with some color and a few little details added on for some interest but overall, a blocky, boxy, and boring building compared to so many beautiful, tapered, tiered, and angled buildings going up in cities all over the world. Just look at some renderings of buildings going up in Vancouver if you wanna see some real style and interest. Maybe we need some outside architects (like Rem Koolhaus) to come into this city and give it some architectural spark. We should be doing SO MUCH BETTER than this. Wamu tower has more interest, but even there a little angled roof or curve or spire or something to take it to the top would have been so great. Simply being tall isn't good enough. Yet another missed opportunity for Seattle.

Unfortunately you are right about Olive8 :doh: Thanks for the insight though :bowtie: Just incase you are wondering, Rem Koolhaus designed the Seattle Central Library :gossip:

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=100524

I would love to go out and take some photos of down town next weekend. How would I go about posting them on SSC? any info would be great

hmm this thread has been dead for a while, doesnt anyone have anything to post?

there is just no new news at the moment

will wamu tower go past the core at all or is that it? I wish it was higher on a hill...lol...it doesnt stand out too much.

What are you talking about??? It's the first major high rise in so long (other than that IDX tower or whatever). It's really easy to notice it, especially if you drive on the Alaska Way Viaduct, it's right there. Or even from I-5 from the north, you can see it. Or the south. It's not the BoA tower or anything, but it's a refreshing sight.

will wamu tower go past the core at all or is that it? I wish it was higher on a hill...lol...it doesnt stand out too much.

I think it might go a little higher then the core, because the thin middle section of the floor plate sticks up past the rest of it.

What are you talking about??? It's the first major high rise in so long (other than that IDX tower or whatever). It's really easy to notice it, especially if you drive on the Alaska Way Viaduct, it's right there. Or even from I-5 from the north, you can see it. Or the south. It's not the BoA tower or anything, but it's a refreshing sight.

It really is too bad about the IDX. When stuck between 3 buildings that tower is hard to see. The Wamu tower has a nice affect on the skyline although in a city like this to have a big impact it better be somthing. I would like to see a 600 footer somplace like Pine or Olive where it wont get lost. Oh well thats wishful thinking!

Im sure you all know this and its not big news but it looks like a small section of the wamu tower has toped out :dunno:

This thread has really died lately, I thought I'd post a few small updates:

-website is up for the 3rd and Clay condos in Belltown called The Mosler Lofts. www.moslerlofts.com

-new website for Western and Cedar condos in Belltown, now called The Parc. www.parcbelltown.com

-intracorp has a new project in Belltown in the early design stages. The site is at Elliot and Battery. http://www.intracorpseattle.com/residential/detail.php?id=23

-mhays posted at ssp forum that phase II of the Bellora condos is set to start construction this fall in Belltown at Elliot and Cedar.

-Four Seasons Hotel and Residences at 1st and Union is going to break ground on November 1st.

Over in Bellevue:

-Bentall has announced that it will build the third tower of the Summit project, a 15 story office tower at the SE corner of NE 4th and 108th ave.

-The NW corner of 108th and NE 10th is going to be home of a new 22 story condo tower called The Phoenix

-Lincoln Square is set to open in early November, work is scheduled to resume on the 27 story office portion early next year

:banana: Now that is news.

the phoenix? whats that?

Any renderings of the Phoenix?

The Phoenix is going to be on the eastern half of the former Belcarra block. There's not much info out about it yet.

suddenly Seattle development news thread become a ghost town...maybe cuz winter is coming? hmmm

It looks like there are some cool things happening this winter though. We just need them to get underway. Ground breaking of Olive 8, Four Seasons. I thought there was 4 or 5 but I dont remember.

I think people would be posting things about WAMU and 2200 but you can see for your self on the web cams, sinse these are 2 of the biggest projects in the city right now.

September is prime time for starting projects. You can excavate while it's still reasonably dry, which saves cost on stuff like dewatering and helps with general efficiency. It's not as nice as starting in July, but starts are often delayed by a month or two for a little last-minute cost-cutting or because permits take a little longer than expected.

You can expect numerous starts before winter -- three months! For example, Avenue got its fence today, so apparently we have a 13-story start.

horizon house has started. fenced off one of the buildings is demolished, another partially. the heliparker garage where the four seasons is going is having a demolition sale. the whole for the sheroton is coming along nicely, that one should go up fairly quick since they're not adding any parking and i believe the foundation is already there. cosmo is about 5 floors up now. i just wanna know when the clise project and west 8th are gonna start up. also has anyone heard any news about the first united methodist. i think once they make a decision with that things'll move quickly. i do however think they should wait till the height limits are raised and build a mixed use tower with like 500' of office and 250' of residential instead of just one or the other. sorry i kinda ramble sometimes

oh i forgot to mention that olive 8 starts jan 1st. so a lot of the wholes around downtown are gonna get filled in the next couple years also 2201 westlake is suppose to start this winter

Has 2201 found a tenant? i heard they woud get underway as soon as that happened.

Office buildings aren't "supposed" to start. They'll start when they get tenants. Until then don't get your hopes up.

I dident think so but you never know.

I think it might go a little higher then the core, because the thin middle section of the floor plate sticks up past the rest of it.

Looks like you are right. Good call :applause:

Yeah gettin close to finishing the top up. Then facade and internal work.

Oh, man; I wish I had a picture to prove this, but when I was wandering around downtown Bellevue I saw a sign in front of a non-descript, ugly four story building about proposed construction of a 41 story residential tower. 41 stories! I hope this will get approved! If you're wondering where it is, it's across the street from the parking lot by California Pizza Kitchen, if I remember correctly.

Where is the California Pizza Kitchen?

^off 106th accross from the Bellevue Galleria.

Did everybody see the article in the Sea Times today about the Superblock? Its not bad. It had a map of all the projects going on in Bellevue but its not on the online article.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/eastsidenews/2002500472_superblock18.html

I think the project on 106th might be the Bellevue Towers. What ever those are?

Holy crap that project is amazing!

Oh, man; I wish I had a picture to prove this, but when I was wandering around downtown Bellevue I saw a sign in front of a non-descript, ugly four story building about proposed construction of a 41 story residential tower. 41 stories! I hope this will get approved! If you're wondering where it is, it's across the street from the parking lot by California Pizza Kitchen, if I remember correctly.

Assuming you're talking about the old Puget Sound Energy Building (built in 50s or so, yellow, lawn around it), this has been discussed on SSP and/or SSC over the past few months. We're all pretty excited about it.

Im not sure if Ive seen anything about it in SSC. Sry I dont go to SSP much. Which forum do you think is better mhays?

That's an amazing project! That's a megabuck one too! $1.2 billion development, wow! It's like "Las Vegas" of the Pacific Northwest.

i was in bellevue the other day and i saw a tiny section of a lot being excavated. it was the northwest corner. could this be that euro tower thing?

Next big urban push takes shape around Sodo

By JENNIFER LANGSTON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Every morning, workers at Bo Lam's seafood market lug in frozen mackerel, cabbage and tangerine-jelly candies from a warehouse down the street. It's a time-draining ritual he'd rather avoid.

Because of Seattle parking requirements, Lam hasn't been able to expand his bustling South King Street market in the "Little Saigon" business district north of Beacon Hill. The entrepreneur also would like to have the option of building apartments above the market to diversify business and invigorate a street dotted with eclectic shops, weedy lots and trash. But there's a big obstacle: Current zoning rules don't allow housing there.


Paul Joseph Brown / P-I
Vinh Lam delivers produce to Lam's Market from a nearby warehouse in Seattle's Little Saigon. City codes make it difficult to expand.
That may change under a sweeping process under way to uncork stifled development and create livable neighborhoods south of downtown -- from Little Saigon, Chinatown and the International District to the stadium area and Pioneer Square.

So far, Mayor Greg Nickels has focused on creating new urban enclaves in South Lake Union and raising building heights downtown to channel growth to the city center. The south downtown planning effort represents the next big push.

Today, there are about 3,000 apartments and condos in the area, with 70 percent reserved for low-income residents. Neighborhoods interested in attracting more people and diversifying housing haven't met those goals.

"Any changes will be better for me. The place I'm at has pretty much been kind of a dead area," said Lam, who'd like better lighting and streets to make people comfortable walking at night. "Several people have bought a couple of empty lots to build something later but so far nothing."

Nickels is considering changing zoning rules to allow additional housing and taller buildings outside of historic districts. Planners are weighing open-space needs, incentives to restore historic buildings and problems that rising rents could pose for mom and pop stores and low-income residents.

The plan will be the first to seriously tackle development in the stadium district, with an eye toward creating a thriving urban village instead of a place that is empty when games aren't played.

But no one wants new development to jeopardize the area's historic districts, dominated by stately brick buildings, old hotels and small businesses selling everything from tropical fish and kung fu equipment to fine art and jazz records.

"We want it to fit in with the distinct character of the International District and Pioneer Square. What we'd like to do is create some character in the stadium district -- that's a different focus," Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said.


The mayor plans to study potential land-use changes and public investments, gather comment and forward recommendations to the City Council next year, Ceis said.

In an unusual proposal, major property owners in south downtown approached the city about contributing half the estimated $400,000 in planning costs. They've been frustrated that tight budgets have prevented the city from moving faster.

It's not yet clear whether those costs will be paid solely by developers who would profit from the changes or through a fund-raising effort in the broader community, which has long wanted residents to support shops and bolster the area's vitality.

"I'm not offering to write a check for $200,000, but I know personally if that's what it takes to get this off dead center so we can start creating a neighborhood for the future, then it's a small price to pay," said developer Greg Smith, who owns large parcels of land near the stadiums where housing is currently banned.

He's lobbied to transform swaths of run-down industrial buildings and "parking for peanuts" signs into a neighborhood of ecofriendly high-rises that use energy efficiently, recycle rainwater and have water-absorbing "green" roofs. Proponents also argue the city should concentrate people around the region's bus, ferry and light rail hubs.

Ceis said it makes sense for major property owners to share the financial burden of evaluating the zoning changes. A similar deal was struck with Northgate property owners who helped fund a transportation study there, he said.

The funding plan hasn't yet received the blessing of the City Council, which wants assurances that property owners who help fund the planning work wouldn't receive special treatment or unfairly influence the city's recommendations.


Paul Joseph Brown / P-I
If Seattle changes its zoning south of downtown, the area could see more construction such as the Silver Cloud Inn going up across from Safeco Field.
"Land-use regulations should not be bought, and that needs to be very clear," said Councilman Peter Steinbrueck, chairman of the urban planning committee. "But I think it's important not to be an obstacle when there are efforts like this in the community that are civic-minded and consistent with our city's ... goals and supportive of things like green buildings."

The city's planning department has assembled a broad stakeholder group that includes developers, low-income advocates, community organizations, artist representatives and industrial business owners to advise it on potential changes, which Nickels plans to send to the council next year.

That -- along with public comment that begins with an open house tonight -- ensures all voices will be represented in the process, Ceis said.

Major zoning changes in the two historic areas are unlikely. But many see possibilities in parking lots and low-rise buildings around the protected districts, parcels east of Interstate 5 and slivers of industrial land around the stadiums.

Craig Montgomery, executive director of the Pioneer Square Community Association, sees huge potential in the north half of the parking lot adjacent to Qwest Field and the Event Center.

Over objections from those who use the lot for events and trade shows, King County is soliciting bids from developers to build a residential community on 3.5 acres that would connect Pioneer Square to the ballparks.

"It could be the catalyst project for a transformation of the whole south downtown area," Montgomery said.

Seattle Goodwill Industries and Ravenhurst Development Inc. are pursuing a large residential and commercial development on the non-profit's 8-acre property east of I-5, which would require city zoning changes.

Developers harboring big plans for the stadium area are pushing officials to elevate building heights and encourage housing in industrial and commercial areas close to the ballparks. City planners say there's less consensus about what to do there.

Industrial businesses to the south have expressed concerns about the need to get trucks through critical transportation corridors crisscrossing the study area.

Sports fans don't want condo skyscrapers blocking views from the stadiums, and Port of Seattle officials are leery of condos next to its waterfront cargo terminals.

"The area the city is looking at is right between an active container terminal and one of the most active rail yards in America ... so if you put housing there, the people who build the housing and buy the housing need to fully understand that," port spokesman Mick Shultz said.

At a recent meeting of the Livable South Downtown advisory committee, several members urged the city to tap the wealth generated from building height increases to help pay for open space, affordable housing, rehabilitating historic buildings and helping small businesses that might be displaced.

Business owners in Little Saigon -- a bustling retail district of seafood markets, bahn mi delis, travel agents, beauty schools and bridal shops -- worry that new development will drive up rents and price them out of the market.

With the area's profusion of automobile-oriented strip malls, cutting back on parking in favor of more pedestrian-friendly regulations could hurt businesses with a regional customer base, said Quang H. Nguyen, executive director of the Vietnamese American Economic Development Association.

"We realize that in order to change the city into a more livable place, we'd like to have an urban-village sort of model, where you live close to where you shop and work. But in the transition period, how do you make that the least painful?"

Next big urban push takes shape around Sodo

By JENNIFER LANGSTON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Every morning, workers at Bo Lam's seafood market lug in frozen mackerel, cabbage and tangerine-jelly candies from a warehouse down the street. It's a time-draining ritual he'd rather avoid.

Because of Seattle parking requirements, Lam hasn't been able to expand his bustling South King Street market in the "Little Saigon" business district north of Beacon Hill. The entrepreneur also would like to have the option of building apartments above the market to diversify business and invigorate a street dotted with eclectic shops, weedy lots and trash. But there's a big obstacle: Current zoning rules don't allow housing there.


Paul Joseph Brown / P-I
Vinh Lam delivers produce to Lam's Market from a nearby warehouse in Seattle's Little Saigon. City codes make it difficult to expand.
That may change under a sweeping process under way to uncork stifled development and create livable neighborhoods south of downtown -- from Little Saigon, Chinatown and the International District to the stadium area and Pioneer Square.

So far, Mayor Greg Nickels has focused on creating new urban enclaves in South Lake Union and raising building heights downtown to channel growth to the city center. The south downtown planning effort represents the next big push.

Today, there are about 3,000 apartments and condos in the area, with 70 percent reserved for low-income residents. Neighborhoods interested in attracting more people and diversifying housing haven't met those goals.

"Any changes will be better for me. The place I'm at has pretty much been kind of a dead area," said Lam, who'd like better lighting and streets to make people comfortable walking at night. "Several people have bought a couple of empty lots to build something later but so far nothing."

Nickels is considering changing zoning rules to allow additional housing and taller buildings outside of historic districts. Planners are weighing open-space needs, incentives to restore historic buildings and problems that rising rents could pose for mom and pop stores and low-income residents.

The plan will be the first to seriously tackle development in the stadium district, with an eye toward creating a thriving urban village instead of a place that is empty when games aren't played.

But no one wants new development to jeopardize the area's historic districts, dominated by stately brick buildings, old hotels and small businesses selling everything from tropical fish and kung fu equipment to fine art and jazz records.

"We want it to fit in with the distinct character of the International District and Pioneer Square. What we'd like to do is create some character in the stadium district -- that's a different focus," Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said.


The mayor plans to study potential land-use changes and public investments, gather comment and forward recommendations to the City Council next year, Ceis said.

In an unusual proposal, major property owners in south downtown approached the city about contributing half the estimated $400,000 in planning costs. They've been frustrated that tight budgets have prevented the city from moving faster.

It's not yet clear whether those costs will be paid solely by developers who would profit from the changes or through a fund-raising effort in the broader community, which has long wanted residents to support shops and bolster the area's vitality.

"I'm not offering to write a check for $200,000, but I know personally if that's what it takes to get this off dead center so we can start creating a neighborhood for the future, then it's a small price to pay," said developer Greg Smith, who owns large parcels of land near the stadiums where housing is currently banned.

He's lobbied to transform swaths of run-down industrial buildings and "parking for peanuts" signs into a neighborhood of ecofriendly high-rises that use energy efficiently, recycle rainwater and have water-absorbing "green" roofs. Proponents also argue the city should concentrate people around the region's bus, ferry and light rail hubs.

Ceis said it makes sense for major property owners to share the financial burden of evaluating the zoning changes. A similar deal was struck with Northgate property owners who helped fund a transportation study there, he said.

The funding plan hasn't yet received the blessing of the City Council, which wants assurances that property owners who help fund the planning work wouldn't receive special treatment or unfairly influence the city's recommendations.


Paul Joseph Brown / P-I
If Seattle changes its zoning south of downtown, the area could see more construction such as the Silver Cloud Inn going up across from Safeco Field.
"Land-use regulations should not be bought, and that needs to be very clear," said Councilman Peter Steinbrueck, chairman of the urban planning committee. "But I think it's important not to be an obstacle when there are efforts like this in the community that are civic-minded and consistent with our city's ... goals and supportive of things like green buildings."

The city's planning department has assembled a broad stakeholder group that includes developers, low-income advocates, community organizations, artist representatives and industrial business owners to advise it on potential changes, which Nickels plans to send to the council next year.

That -- along with public comment that begins with an open house tonight -- ensures all voices will be represented in the process, Ceis said.

Major zoning changes in the two historic areas are unlikely. But many see possibilities in parking lots and low-rise buildings around the protected districts, parcels east of Interstate 5 and slivers of industrial land around the stadiums.

Craig Montgomery, executive director of the Pioneer Square Community Association, sees huge potential in the north half of the parking lot adjacent to Qwest Field and the Event Center.

Over objections from those who use the lot for events and trade shows, King County is soliciting bids from developers to build a residential community on 3.5 acres that would connect Pioneer Square to the ballparks.

"It could be the catalyst project for a transformation of the whole south downtown area," Montgomery said.

Seattle Goodwill Industries and Ravenhurst Development Inc. are pursuing a large residential and commercial development on the non-profit's 8-acre property east of I-5, which would require city zoning changes.

Developers harboring big plans for the stadium area are pushing officials to elevate building heights and encourage housing in industrial and commercial areas close to the ballparks. City planners say there's less consensus about what to do there.

Industrial businesses to the south have expressed concerns about the need to get trucks through critical transportation corridors crisscrossing the study area.

Sports fans don't want condo skyscrapers blocking views from the stadiums, and Port of Seattle officials are leery of condos next to its waterfront cargo terminals.

"The area the city is looking at is right between an active container terminal and one of the most active rail yards in America ... so if you put housing there, the people who build the housing and buy the housing need to fully understand that," port spokesman Mick Shultz said.

At a recent meeting of the Livable South Downtown advisory committee, several members urged the city to tap the wealth generated from building height increases to help pay for open space, affordable housing, rehabilitating historic buildings and helping small businesses that might be displaced.

Business owners in Little Saigon -- a bustling retail district of seafood markets, bahn mi delis, travel agents, beauty schools and bridal shops -- worry that new development will drive up rents and price them out of the market.

With the area's profusion of automobile-oriented strip malls, cutting back on parking in favor of more pedestrian-friendly regulations could hurt businesses with a regional customer base, said Quang H. Nguyen, executive director of the Vietnamese American Economic Development Association.

"We realize that in order to change the city into a more livable place, we'd like to have an urban-village sort of model, where you live close to where you shop and work. But in the transition period, how do you make that the least painful?"

yeah that 41 story tower sign is next to the galleria of bellevue...i think it is the two that are proposed...i saw that the other day too. Will wasatch be very visible? or just so so...kinda like ashwood commons..? ashwood commons looks amazing BTW. and i wonder about that euro tower...that will be cool to see going up.

Wasatch is 22 floors and Euro Tower is 18 so I doubt either will be that visible from most angles.

Hey looks like this thread is going again :nocrook: Lets keep the news coming
:dance:

Assuming you're talking about the old Puget Sound Energy Building (built in 50s or so, yellow, lawn around it), this has been discussed on SSP and/or SSC over the past few months. We're all pretty excited about it.

Oops. I guess I missed the memo. And yes, that is the one.

http://www.mstreetseattle.com/

This site is for Avalon @ Madison project...I saw the big sign on Madison St. when I was on way to work. Check it out if u need a little bit of info. :)

Whats up dudes, I'm from Vancouver and I got a question. Is Bellingham considered a suburb of Seattle or is it's own town? I went to Bellis Fair today and was pretty underwhelmed. Next time I go to Washington I will definitely go all the way to downtown Seattle

No Bellingham is farther up north, and yeah going to Seattle is always nice.

Here is a link. I don't think it's been posted before. Looks nice!
MidtownSeattle.com

Whats up dudes, I'm from Vancouver and I got a question. Is Bellingham considered a suburb of Seattle or is it's own town? I went to Bellis Fair today and was pretty underwhelmed. Next time I go to Washington I will definitely go all the way to downtown Seattle

Lol not at all. People talk about going to Bellingham like it's a foreign land or something. It's only two hours away or so, but it is not at all part of the metro area. There is about a thirty mile stretch south of it that is essentially nothing but beautiful natural scenery, and south of that is a bunch of farmland, well known for tulip production. I'd consider Marysville the northern border of the metro area (which is just a bit north of Everett)

Any news or pictures about the construction progress of Eddie Bauer Lincoln Square???

Hey guys Destroybananas just posted these at SSP. They are about the new downtown zoning laws

http://www.seattle.gov/council/atta...wn_schedule.pdf

http://www.seattle.gov/council/issu...ght_density.htm

Hmm the links dont work for me

same here, the links must be wrong or down

Any news or pictures about the construction progress of Eddie Bauer Lincoln Square???

Early 2006 start.

http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/height_density.htm

oops thanks west coast bret :okay:

Early 2006 start.

That's too long. They should work on it NOW! :rant:

There was a cool section in the Sea Times today about downtown condos. Here are some of the web sites that I havent seen listed on SSC :cheers1:

http://www.site17.com/features.htm

http://www.secondandpine.com/

http://www.youreastlakecondo.com/

http://www.belltownnext.com/

http://www.midtownseattle.com/

http://www.dennwes.com/index.php

They also talked about 2200 westlake, Mosler Lofts, 1521 2nd ave, Lumen,Madison Tower, The Parc, and Olive 8. Its a cool section of the saturday SEATTLE TIMES if you can find it :okay:

I hope that 2nd & Pike and 7th & westlake are still happening. I also hope 2201 gets a tenant soon :dunno:

they found a tenant grouphealth, i'm kinda pissed the didn't go with west 8th because that one's taller

I don’t know much about west 8th but I think its just office right? :dunno: Going with 2201 is better in my opinion because building something in the Denny triangle isn’t going to do much for the skyline anyway but building more residential like 2201 is good for the “vibrant city life” or what ever the mayor said. :dance:

Thoughts on the topic everybody? :down: :okay: ?

Early 2006 start.

It sounds to me like early 2005

2005-08-12
by Clayton Park
Journal Business Editor

Eddie Bauer plans to move its headquarters in mid-2007 from Redmond to downtown Bellevue, where it will become the anchor tenant of a new office skyscraper across the street from Bellevue Square shopping mall.

The apparel retailer will bring 600 workers to Bellevue's central business district when it moves into its new corporate digs: nine floors of a 28-story office tower that is set to begin construction in January.

they found a tenant grouphealth, i'm kinda pissed the didn't go with west 8th because that one's taller

I don't think the building that group health is leasing is 2201. The article said 9th and harrison which is farther north of the 2201 site.

That really sucks. There is nothing tall north of Denny :evil:

It’s true. Vulcan got Group Health but didn’t get them into 2201. I feel betrayed! :wtf:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002511707_grouphealth22.html

Check this out :banana: http://www.vulcanrealestate.com/TemplatePropertyPortfolio.aspx?contentId=73
Click on the fact sheet close to the bottom :okay:

^
Cool, thanks for the link, Dancer.

Walked by wamu tower today, the glass facade looks amazing and so shiny.

VULCAN PLANS MORE NEW CONDOS IN S. LAKE UNION
Vulcan Inc. announced plans for its 10th residential development in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle.


The Paul Allen-owned company's latest project will include 90 condominiums and 4,000 square feet of retail located at 9th Avenue North and Harrison Street, according to an announcement.

Officials said the project is geared toward first-time buyers with units ranging in size from 680 to 1,100 square feet. Prices begin at around $250,000, the company said.

Construction will start in late 2006 and occupancy is scheduled for fall 2007.

Johnson Architecture and Planning and Walsh Construction have been chosen as the project team, Vulcan said.

Seattle-based Vulcan owns about 60 acres in the South Lake Union neighborhood, and has developed 650,000 square feet of new projects in the past two years. Nearly 900,000 square feet is under development this year and another 2.1 million square feet is in planning stages.

The article i just posted is from the puget sound business journal, just so you guys know.




Oh, and SJM, can u take a photo of WAMU from the ground and post it on the site?????

Didn't have a cam on me, but if I go again i will.

Walked by wamu tower today, the glass facade looks amazing and so shiny.

I just walked by this evening cause I had nothing else to do, but forgot my camera. The cladding is up to about the 15th floor or so. At least that's what it seemed like; maybe it was just up to about 10. The cladding is really cool; it is very shiny and....stuff. :)

Today's (09/27/05) Daily Journal of Commerce (www.djc.com) states that Vulcan has 10 new residential projects that are going to be announced. Anyone know what these might be besides yesterday's announcement?

i don't know, but about three days ago they announced the 23 floor tower on 5th & lenora across the street from top pot donuts. so they're kinda goin nuts, hopefully some more of em are above 20 floors.

This was the 9th and Harrison announcement - http://www.discoverslu.com/content/docs/9thHarrison_info_sheet.pdf

I just heard on the radio (MPR) that the housing market is back up to its highest level. I guess new constructions took a small dip last month.

Hi guys. I've been sitting on the sidelines reading your posts for a while now. I've never been involved in a forum before, so I might screw all this up... Bear with me please. I really like the way you all share information, and I thought I finally had something that could help.

Here are the Vulcan residential projects that I know of (9 out of the 10 that were referenced in the DJC - and most are mixed use):

5th & Lenora - 23 floors
9th & Harrison
420 Yale - 100 units
223 Yale (Alley 24) - 180 units
1225 Harrison - 150 units
301 Minor (Alcyone Apts) - 162 units
2200 Westlake - 260 Units
2201 Westlake - 93 units
Mirabella Retirement Living w/ Pacific Retirement Services - 400 units

It's really hard to keep up with Vulcan, but this was my best effort. Hope it helps.

Hey thats great stuff, welcome to the forums. Feel free to post anything, you dont always have to contribute new building news, but a comment or question is fine too.

:wave: Hey welcome. Everybody here on the Seattle section is really cool so just join in and have fun. :dance:

Just saw this on SSP. its kinda cool. If you are just looking for somthing

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002522961_noair27.html

Great posts. What we really need is someone to do an update of the under construction/approved and proposed list with links. Anyone???

Thats a big list and will take some time

True, true, but I know someone out there want's to take a crack at it.

Also, what do you think about replicating some sort of system of trams (streetcars) like they have in Melbourne? Check out www.yarratrams.com.au. I used these while I was there and they were exceptional. The monorail seems to be going down in flames and I wondered if people have other ideas for Seattle's neighborhoods? Let Sound Transit solve the regional mobility issue with light rail and Seattle with a tram network to connect it's neighborhoods starting with the West Seattle and Ballard and connecting other close in neighborhoods (i.e. Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, First Hill, Eastlake, ID, Pioneer Square, etc.). Paying for it is obviously going to be an issue but I think that they should raise the sales tax by .5% to generate the revenue necessary. Any feedback?

^that would be very cool!

I think we should jack up the gas tax so the oil companies get screwed and force people to use a public transit system. Once people use a public transit system it will pay for its self and the city can give tax breaks to people who use trucks or cars for business. We can employ a heavier cost on car tabs for expensive cars so the rich have to pay more and lower the cost for fuel efficient cars.

I’m no economist or city official but in my uneducated guess this would reduce or dependency on foreign oil, get people to think seriously about a real transit system and use it, help the environment, and keep rich car buyers honest.

I don't think you'd want to do that. Although i agree with you on that, it would backfire by increasing the cost of shipping resources, which would cause even more airlines to go bankrupt, etc, etc, you get the point. But that would be kind of nice. :D

I also agree with you about reducing dependency on foreign oil but jacking up prices for gasoline hurts everyone as has been stated. Here are my reasons for trams from a developement perspective:
PROS:
1. A line that is static and dedicated makes the willingness of developers to invest in properties on and near the line. We'll see how this works in South Lake Union.
2. Trams will replace bus lines that can be used elsewhere and reduce fumes and pollutions in the city core and connected neighborhoods.
3. Running a schedule of intervals rather than time (every 10 minutes instead of 4:30, 4:45, etc.) helps people to rely on a constant source of transportation throughout the city. This system would need to run at least 18 hours per day for people to take full advantage of wanting to have dinner in Queen Anne if they live in West Seattle.
4. At grade construction would not require underground utilities to be relocated en masse unless absolutely needed. Two bridges are required for Ballard and West Seattle.
5. Streetcars will drive up the value of surrounding properties.

CONS:
1. Obviously taxes will need to be levied to pay for this system. Nothing is free but it needs to be equitable and create enough revenue to pay for the system one part at a time.
2. Because the system is at grade it will be a part of traffic rather than above or below. I suggest creating transit only lanes on busy routes to separate cars from trams (i.e 5th Ave which is a one way only going south; other streets can absorb this traffic)
3. The political will to get this done probably is not there. Because of the monorail fiasco there is a hesitancy to tax people again for a system that might or might not be built. I think once the South Lake Union streetcar is built it could be a catalyst for other lines. Making this system part of Sound Transit might help.
4. Lines might be built into the more affluent areas first. To really make a difference start lines in areas where it can be used to help those without cars get around the city to jobs, groceries, etc.

These are just my thoughts. I have ideas for where this system could start and build out but they are only my ideas. I think from a developement standpoint this would go a long way to creating great urban villages and offices within Seattle and the surrounding neighborhoods.

4. Lines might be built into the more affluent areas first. To really make a difference start lines in areas where it can be used to help those without cars get around the city to jobs, groceries, etc.

I dont think thats really a "CON" Thats just the best way for it to start. I like the way you think. Keep it comming :okay:

What about the public transit system has been studied in terms of its useability?

I'm familiar with other urban areas like SF Bay & SD. The transit systems is pretty well used in those areas but they don't really have the penetration that a good transit system could (like BART seems used most by people working around downtown SF and commuting in from elsewhere...).

What about SF residents who don't live near BART? For most of the city Bart isn't a plus for them... muni is no good at all.

Are there similar situations in seattle. i know there are several controversies...

The biggest issue is that the Federal government doesn't subsidize mass transit transportation in it's large cities to the extent it used to (30+ years ago). Seattlelites want mass transit in a huge way; this kind of technology can be more widespread and have better penetration with the same amount of dollars as a 2 line subway system. Our soil presents many challenges to tunnelling whereas streetcars have that kind of European appeal that a progressive city like Seattle could handle and enjoy.

Anyway, is there any new news of developments in Seattle?

There is always good stuff in the DJC

http://www.djc.com/

Does anybody have a subscription to the DJC?

Seattle and Bellevue Office vacancy rates are improving which means more building boom is on the horizon

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002527431_officespace29.html

Good luck Seattle and Bellevue!

Good! I hope that means West 8th, 7th & Westlake, and 2201 will find tenants and get going.

Northwest environment watch web site, has all the details about curbing sprawl, saving the forests, smog, growth, and everything. It's a very interesting site to surf on with maps and all that info. Enjoy!

http://www.northwestwatch.org/

That sprawl on the Seattle map sucks! :puke: I think we should cut down every forest in the northwest and buy SUV's for all the residence in the metro area. You guys with me? :guns1: :horse:

That sprawl on the Seattle map sucks! :puke: I think we should cut down every forest in the northwest and buy SUV's for all the residence in the metro area. You guys with me? :guns1: :horse:

Did you compare the sprawl with Charlotte, NC and Seattle....BIG difference....the sprawl isn't as bad as you thought. Vancouver, BC is the best at curbing the sprawl compared to any major metro in the Northwest, Portland comes in 2nd. Boise, Idaho has the worst sprawl in the Northwest.

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