Federal Way/Auburn/Kent Development News - Page 2

pwalker · June 23rd, 2007, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flotown

Don't hold your breadth on this one. Unless Fed Way subsidizes the life out of (or in this case into) this it won't be built as depicted any time soon (five year horizon). The market is not there IMHO. Check out the "context" plan. I just don't see wealthy people spend highrise-type dollars to live next to Toys 'r us, Executel, Tj Maxx, etc. And yes, you need wealthy people-type rents to pay offf high-rise construction

That said, you could very well have all the public sector components proposed plus bond-financed mid-rise apartments, some nice townhouses and the park and potentially make it work.

I see your point on the relative costs involved here. And the Sea/Tac market has not exactly been a hot high-rise apartment or low-end condo market. But what about office? Couldn't FedWy support some more office?

Crazy, Federal Way is about 26 miles from downtown Seattle. Some consider it more of a suburb of Tacoma than Seattle. (Although not sure Federal Way would claim that!

)

USAPatriot · June 23rd, 2007, 06:42 AM

Lots of photos here of Federal Planned Towers.

Federal Way right now is all urban sprawl, and if they do this project, thatr would be awesome... but i don't see the rich people living in that southern area of the Puget Sound.

CrazyAboutCities · June 23rd, 2007, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker

Crazy, Federal Way is about 26 miles from downtown Seattle. Some consider it more of a suburb of Tacoma than Seattle. (Although not sure Federal Way would claim that!

)

That's not what I asked. I asked how far is downtown Federal Way from I-5?

pwalker · June 23rd, 2007, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyAboutCities

That's not what I asked. I asked how far is downtown Federal Way from I-5?

Sorry I misunderstood your question. There really is no downtown Federal Way right now, the closest pinpoint would be 320th S. and Hwy 99, which is less than a mile from I-5. Which kind of proves my point, that this area is so perfectly positioned to be a new dense edge city! Sea-Tac mall (or whatever they are calling it now) is right in the area, and the rest of the area is currently surrounded by the usual suburban chain stores and eateries.

CrazyAboutCities · June 23rd, 2007, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker

Sorry I misunderstood your question. There really is no downtown Federal Way right now, the closest pinpoint would be 320th S. and Hwy 99, which is less than a mile from I-5. Which kind of proves my point, that this area is so perfectly positioned to be a new dense edge city! Sea-Tac mall (or whatever they are calling it now) is right in the area, and the rest of the area is currently surrounded by the usual suburban chain stores and eateries.

No worries!

Less than a mile from I-5? Perfect! I can see it while it is under construction or after built along I-5 one day. I am very looking forward to see this new skyline to grow one of these days!

sequoias · June 23rd, 2007, 08:31 AM

yup currently its urban sprawl since it looks like a mess of streets and no downtown street grids. I wonder if they will create a new downtown street grids. its the 3rd largest city in king county.

Fedwayer · June 23rd, 2007, 03:43 PM

I find interesting a couple of the comments that suggest that there are no well-paid young professionals and no rich people who currently live in the south end, or that even if they are here, they all want to live in big suburban houses or commute to their south end jobs from Seattle or Bellevue. Federal Way, for example, has the highest number of white collar jobs in South King County, has the highest average income of major cities in South King and Pierce Counties, and is the home to thousands of jobs at the corporate headquarters of a Fortune 100 company (Weyerhaeuser). And this development only has to attract 900 of the 1.4 million people who live in South King County and Pierce County.

horatio_the_hermit · June 23rd, 2007, 08:50 PM

What kinds of income groups are they looking at attracting?

Puertalian · June 23rd, 2007, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAPatriot

Lots of photos here of Federal Planned Towers.

Federal Way right now is all urban sprawl, and if they do this project, thatr would be awesome... but i don't see the rich people living in that southern area of the Puget Sound.

Tell that to people buying property in North Tacoma

Fedwayer · June 24th, 2007, 01:41 AM

They are targeting primarily middle income buyers, estimating prices from $200K-800K.

NW Mike · June 25th, 2007, 05:22 PM

I think it will do well. Alot of retired people in Fedway that would love the condo life...And to get 800 people or so will not be hard.
By the way who is the developer of this plan? Has it been set...Is this real?...Or a dream of the city politicians.

Fedwayer · June 26th, 2007, 04:21 PM

The developer is a Vancouver developer named United Properties. The City still has to chose between their proposal and another proposal. They clearly spent a lot of time and money on their proposal, and they have a strong local team of reputable architects and construction guys. So they seem real. But we all know how these projects go -- nothing is a done deal until the topping off ceremony.

flotown · June 26th, 2007, 08:26 PM

Good luck to Federal Way. I've seen a lot of town center-type propsals and this is one of the wackier, or should I say, fanciful ones. The risk to Federal Way is 1) a vacant lot controlled by a third party if/when the funding goes upside down or 2) a hole in the ground they'll need to subsidize to complete. It all comes down to how well the DDA/PSA contract is written - if they can exact specfic performance standards from the parent development company they may be okay. As far as the exit to the REIT, that may be a good strategy but cap rates may be much higher three years from now. Seems like a weak argument for the apartment side penciling.

sequoias · June 27th, 2007, 08:53 PM

I don't think it will be hard to get 800 or so residents to live in one of those condos in central Federal Way. It's better than nothing.

mhays · June 27th, 2007, 09:23 PM

Oh, it'll be hard. If it wasn't, something like this would have been built already.

But a good developer can often make the hard projects work. If so, more power to them.

That's what developers do. The market doesn't allow "easy" projects, because supply is always right below demand, and profits can't be too high without other developers flooding the market. So developers find niches and opportunities that they think they can make work. There's always risk, and it takes tremendous talent and vision.

The exception is when a project like Moda turns out to have a level of demand nobody else expects. Or when the demand is so strong that it overwhelms supply.

Fedwayer · July 18th, 2007, 04:30 PM

The Federal Way City Council voted to move forward with the high-rise proposal last night. It was a close vote (4-3), with concerns raised particularly about the number of apartments (400 out of the total 890 units) and the desire for more retail. Apparently there will be negotiations with the developer about both of those issues and to have more variation in the height and design of the buildings. Pretty exciting time to be a Fedwayer! :-)

kub86 · July 19th, 2007, 03:14 AM

^So they lowered the number of units to 400? What's the overall masterplan for downtown federal way? What about redeveloping the blocks adjacent to this project? That would be my next step.

mhays · July 19th, 2007, 03:51 AM

I haven't heard about anything getting lowered. Only that 400 of the 890 units are apartments vs. condos. Apparently some folks are too uppity to support apartments in Federal Way. I'd say rentals are great for a TOD community, where many residents are singles or young couples and likely to use transit.

CrazyAboutCities · July 19th, 2007, 04:01 AM

Wow! I'm surprised that they approved this proposal! I'm happy for Federal Way!

mhays · July 19th, 2007, 08:21 AM

Why would you be surprised?

June 23rd, 2007, 06:42 AM	#22
USAPatriot Northwest Photo King Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,244 Likes (Received): 2	Lots of photos here of Federal Planned Towers. Federal Way right now is all urban sprawl, and if they do this project, thatr would be awesome... but i don't see the rich people living in that southern area of the Puget Sound. __________________ Washington State Forum Visit today!

June 23rd, 2007, 08:50 PM	#28
horatio_the_hermit Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 215 Likes (Received): 1	What kinds of income groups are they looking at attracting? __________________ We are the trash of Factoria. Our colors clash in Factoria. Grow a moustache in Factoria. We all get smashed in Factoria.

June 25th, 2007, 05:22 PM	#31
NW Mike Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Seattle,Bellevue,Everett Posts: 958 Likes (Received): 43	I think it will do well. Alot of retired people in Fedway that would love the condo life...And to get 800 people or so will not be hard. By the way who is the developer of this plan? Has it been set...Is this real?...Or a dream of the city politicians. Last edited by NW Mike; June 25th, 2007 at 05:27 PM.

July 18th, 2007, 04:30 PM	#36
Fedwayer Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 28 Likes (Received): 0	Project moves forward The Federal Way City Council voted to move forward with the high-rise proposal last night. It was a close vote (4-3), with concerns raised particularly about the number of apartments (400 out of the total 890 units) and the desire for more retail. Apparently there will be negotiations with the developer about both of those issues and to have more variation in the height and design of the buildings. Pretty exciting time to be a Fedwayer! :-)

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June 23rd, 2007, 08:31 AM	#26
sequoias Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Midwest US Posts: 1,601 Likes (Received): 0	yup currently its urban sprawl since it looks like a mess of streets and no downtown street grids. I wonder if they will create a new downtown street grids. its the 3rd largest city in king county.

June 23rd, 2007, 03:43 PM	#27
Fedwayer Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 28 Likes (Received): 0	I find interesting a couple of the comments that suggest that there are no well-paid young professionals and no rich people who currently live in the south end, or that even if they are here, they all want to live in big suburban houses or commute to their south end jobs from Seattle or Bellevue. Federal Way, for example, has the highest number of white collar jobs in South King County, has the highest average income of major cities in South King and Pierce Counties, and is the home to thousands of jobs at the corporate headquarters of a Fortune 100 company (Weyerhaeuser). And this development only has to attract 900 of the 1.4 million people who live in South King County and Pierce County.

June 24th, 2007, 01:41 AM	#30
Fedwayer Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 28 Likes (Received): 0	They are targeting primarily middle income buyers, estimating prices from $200K-800K.

June 26th, 2007, 04:21 PM	#32
Fedwayer Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 28 Likes (Received): 0	The developer is a Vancouver developer named United Properties. The City still has to chose between their proposal and another proposal. They clearly spent a lot of time and money on their proposal, and they have a strong local team of reputable architects and construction guys. So they seem real. But we all know how these projects go -- nothing is a done deal until the topping off ceremony.

June 26th, 2007, 08:26 PM	#33
flotown Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 286 Likes (Received): 0	Good luck to Federal Way. I've seen a lot of town center-type propsals and this is one of the wackier, or should I say, fanciful ones. The risk to Federal Way is 1) a vacant lot controlled by a third party if/when the funding goes upside down or 2) a hole in the ground they'll need to subsidize to complete. It all comes down to how well the DDA/PSA contract is written - if they can exact specfic performance standards from the parent development company they may be okay. As far as the exit to the REIT, that may be a good strategy but cap rates may be much higher three years from now. Seems like a weak argument for the apartment side penciling.

June 27th, 2007, 08:53 PM	#34
sequoias Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Midwest US Posts: 1,601 Likes (Received): 0	I don't think it will be hard to get 800 or so residents to live in one of those condos in central Federal Way. It's better than nothing.

June 27th, 2007, 09:23 PM	#35
mhays Journeyman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 8,346 Likes (Received): 116	Oh, it'll be hard. If it wasn't, something like this would have been built already. But a good developer can often make the hard projects work. If so, more power to them. That's what developers do. The market doesn't allow "easy" projects, because supply is always right below demand, and profits can't be too high without other developers flooding the market. So developers find niches and opportunities that they think they can make work. There's always risk, and it takes tremendous talent and vision. The exception is when a project like Moda turns out to have a level of demand nobody else expects. Or when the demand is so strong that it overwhelms supply.

July 19th, 2007, 03:14 AM	#37
kub86 Twinkie Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Seattle/Bellevue Posts: 746 Likes (Received): 2	^So they lowered the number of units to 400? What's the overall masterplan for downtown federal way? What about redeveloping the blocks adjacent to this project? That would be my next step.

July 19th, 2007, 03:51 AM	#38
mhays Journeyman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 8,346 Likes (Received): 116	I haven't heard about anything getting lowered. Only that 400 of the 890 units are apartments vs. condos. Apparently some folks are too uppity to support apartments in Federal Way. I'd say rentals are great for a TOD community, where many residents are singles or young couples and likely to use transit.

July 19th, 2007, 04:01 AM	#39
CrazyAboutCities Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 8,328 Likes (Received): 15	Wow! I'm surprised that they approved this proposal! I'm happy for Federal Way!

July 19th, 2007, 08:21 AM	#40
mhays Journeyman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 8,346 Likes (Received): 116	Why would you be surprised?