Bellevue Development News

[rj2uman]

Well even though I have been MIA for awhile I thought I would post. I got to see our new office in DT Bellevue today. We are moving to the Key Bank building. Our buildout is completed. All we need is for the networking, telecom, painters, and coffee guy to install their stuff. I noticed that the hole in the ground across the street (Bellevue Towers) is getting mighty deep. Also for the first time I saw workers at the lot the the east going up 4th. It seems that a new tower called the 333 is actually going up and is being completed! (finally) So how sad I get to work in a tall building. (YIPPEEEEE) That is going to be surrounded by WAY TALLER buildings........ (sadness)

Yea its 1am and my ass is draggin.....

[USAPatriot]

Here's a recent photo I took. This mall square area is really being worked on.

[Bond James Bond]

As a footnote, when I was getting off the bus today at the Bellevue transit center I did a mental count of the # of highrises currently under construction in downtown Bellevue:

The Bravern (2 towers)
City Center II
Washington Square (2 towers)
1020 Tower
Bellevue Towers (2 towers)
Hines 333
Eddie Bauer Building

That's 10 towers!!

Then of course there's 2 more that have recently been completed. And a couple more will likely start construction fairly soon.

[USAPatriot]

Thats a lot of buildings at once.

[Bond James Bond]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ueboom03e.html



Friday, August 4, 2006
Biggest construction year yet reshaping Bellevue
By Ashley Bach

Seattle Times Eastside bureau

Downtown Bellevue's real-estate market is on fire. Construction cranes seem to loom over nearly every intersection, as more than 4 million square feet of glitzy new condos, offices and retail stores take shape.

This is the biggest year ever for development in the city, officials say.

• Building permits for about $625 million worth of square footage are expected to be approved this year, shattering the old record of $460 million set in 1999.

• A dozen major projects are under construction; a dozen more are in the permit pipeline.

• About 1,700 apartments or condos are being built, with another 3,000 units in the works.

To the delight of city leaders, the development is not just office space, as in previous booms. A new hotel tower is planned, Overlake Hospital is expanding, upscale retailers like Neiman Marcus are on the way — and about 10,000 people are expected to move downtown in the next 15 years.

"It's just unbelievable, how much is going on and what's coming," said Mike Brennan, the city's deputy director of development services.

Already a major draw for shoppers and corporate headquarters, the epicenter of the Eastside stands to gain even more vitality and visibility.

Including current construction and projects in the pipeline, the amount of downtown office space will jump from 6.9 million square feet to some 9.7 million. Retail space will increase from 3.8 million square feet to 4.7 million, and apartments and condos will swell from 3,500 units to 8,100. About 15,000 parking spots will be added.

The construction is part of a regional and national building boom — Seattle has its share of major projects, too — but Bellevue's relatively modest skyline is being transformed. About 20 high-rises are under construction or planned, and they'll take their place alongside the city's tallest building, Lincoln Square's 42-story south tower, which opened last fall.

Not that growth is easy. City leaders say they're finding it hard to hire enough building inspectors to keep up with the demand, and some residents don't appreciate the rumble of dump trucks and trackhoes.

Leaders in the neighborhoods next to downtown say they love being able to walk to a show or a nice dinner — and the nightlife options are growing each month. But they also worry about cut-through traffic, light pollution and crime that may come with the new development.

"We want the city to honor their promise to preserve the neighborhoods ... from increased urbanization," said Renay Bennett, president of the Bellecrest Neighborhood Association.

Much of the available land in other suburbs is gone, Brennan said, and downtown Bellevue and Seattle are some of the last places for large, intense development in the Puget Sound region.

Bellevue city leaders laid out their vision 25 years ago with a "wedding-cake" design that would bunch the tallest buildings in the downtown core, with medium-size buildings on the outskirts.

After the state Growth Management Act was passed in 1990, the city decided to funnel most of its new residents into a downtown that still had plenty of room left to grow.

Now the sidewalks on Bellevue Way are filled with people day and night, and the buildings are rising.

"It's a very exciting time in the city's history," Mayor Grant Degginger said.

[CityView Jim]

I'm surprised by how many projects are expected to get underway before year end. Probably an aggressive estimate.

[USAPatriot]

Lets hope the condo and urban drops will not effect Bellevue and it's growth.

[Black Box]

Wow! So much buzz in Bellevue. I really like witnessing the upward growth of Bellevue from my hood. My bicycle commute is graced by two growing skylines. Nice thread.

[velciane]

I stopped in downtown for some shopping and decided to take a few photos, so here you go!

Update shot of the steel going up! * Click to enlarge picture *


The new crane being built for the 1020 building. I had to go down a closed road to get this shot. * Click to enlarge picture *

[Dancer]

oops I just posted a dumb question

thanks for the photos man

[velciane]

Also noticed that they placed a new cam for the work site of Lincoln Square, its in a time lapse video, but its up July 31 in the movie. You can see them building the steel towards the end of the video as well:

http://lincolnsquare.com/lsqMovie.php

[TheBellevueBoss]

nice clip....thx

[LA Guy]

Hey Bellevue fans, I've been up in the Seattle/Bellevue area doing business the last month and can say that what is going on in Bellevue is insane. Downtown is becoming a vibrant fun place and will only continue down that path. Over Seafair I saw it from the lake and it looks unbelievable. Anyways, I met w/ one of the Freeman's (who works for him) and I asked him about the height limits in DT and he said they are working on that for their upcoming projects. I also asked him about Safeway and he said they want to do something similar to Lincoln Square but taller. I'm sure you might know this already but thought it might be interesting.

[mhays]

Oh boy did you just open up a can! I'd be excited to see something taller there.

[BellevueBoy]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

Hey Bellevue fans, I've been up in the Seattle/Bellevue area doing business the last month and can say that what is going on in Bellevue is insane. Downtown is becoming a vibrant fun place and will only continue down that path. Over Seafair I saw it from the lake and it looks unbelievable. Anyways, I met w/ one of the Freeman's (who works for him) and I asked him about the height limits in DT and he said they are working on that for their upcoming projects. I also asked him about Safeway and he said they want to do something similar to Lincoln Square but taller. I'm sure you might know this already but thought it might be interesting.

That's awesome! I would love to see some 500-600 footers in dt Bellevue. I think anything taller may look out of place though.

[needsalife]

Next thing you know, Bellevues going to have a supertall before Seattle

[velciane]

Just a short update:

Bellevue Towers now has 1 crane up, probably gonna see the second one up early next week. Not that they will be able to do much without concrete at this point.

[CityView Jim]

Originally Posted by velciane

Just a short update:

Bellevue Towers now has 1 crane up, probably gonna see the second one up early next week. Not that they will be able to do much without concrete at this point.

Strike talks resume Monday!!!!

[BellevueBoy]

Originally Posted by velciane

Just a short update:

Bellevue Towers now has 1 crane up, probably gonna see the second one up early next week. Not that they will be able to do much without concrete at this point.

I'm guessing that the crane for the 333 Tower acrosss the street from Bellevue Towers will go up by the end of summer. that will give bellevue ...... eddie bauer tower (1), washington square (2,3), bellevue towers (4,5), avalon safeway (6, 7), hines (8), 1020 (9), and bellettini (10)......10 cranes by october!

If the concrete strike ends, we should see a crane for city center plaza and probably 2 for bravern by year's end.

[seattlehawk]

I thought the old Safeway next to Lincoln Square would be torned down for a new project. I do not see anything planned for that yet. That surely is an ugly eye sore.