[Seattle206]

From todays DJC.

http://www.djc.com/news/re/12112164.html

June 21, 2018

Rainier Square's big lease to Amazon is on again, so what about that hotel?

Wright Runstad suffered a nasty scare last month when Seattle City Council passed its controversial head tax. Last week, Wright Runstad President Greg Johnson was relaxed, chipper and upbeat in a briefing about the project to CREW. Recalling the May kerfuffle, said Johnson, “I didn't anticipate getting a call from Amazon saying, ‘We may not occupy your building.'”

As for the hotel, a roof deck with bar is a given, said Johnson, who described the future hotel operator as “high-end, four-star” and a flag new to Seattle.

What brand could that possibly be? From Hilton to Hyatt — and all their subsidiary imprints — down to the premium boutique market, pretty much every hotel operator in the world is well represented here.






Wright Runstad says it has picked an operator for the 163-room hotel in Rainier Square but can’t announce the name yet. Equinox Fitness is opening an upscale gym in Rainier Square – and the company is also launching a new chain of hotels for "the high-performance traveler."

I'm betting on a LeMeridian Hotel. Just a hunch.

 

[HammerAndNail]

The article speculates (in an all-but-confirms way) that it'll be an Equinox hotel to accompany the Equinox gym going in. https://www.equinox.com/hotels

 

[RumbleFish480]

Nerdy fact: Three buildings to the left of the rendering are buildings in Chicago. Some of the Seattle waterfront renderings use the Chicago skyline as a backdrop as well.

 

[pilarscousinnoah]

Nerdy fact: Three buildings to the left of the rendering are buildings in Chicago. Some of the Seattle waterfront renderings use the Chicago skyline as a backdrop as well.

Makes sense being that the ENTIRE project is bad, lazy "architecture." Please do not forget the architects were scolded by the DRB for trying to copy features of Rainier Tower. "We don't need you to do that." And yet Rainier Square Tower will still have a matching, square, parapet top as if that needed to be duplicated from Rainier Tower. A lot of lost messages and a lot of lost opportunity.

 

[CityView Jim]

Are you speaking to that of the hotel portion, or the "bad lazy architecture" of the most unique building to be built in Seattle in at least the last 10 years?

 

[iogeon]

Nerdy fact: Three buildings to the left of the rendering are buildings in Chicago. Some of the Seattle waterfront renderings use the Chicago skyline as a backdrop as well.

To give the likely intern who did the background of that rendering some credit:
Rainier square context buildings by David Boynton, on Flickr
Looks like they just plopped some Chicago buildings in as placeholders for the 1903 and 1933 5th Ave towers. I'm sure at the time of this rendering they had very little more than massing. Escala's distinctive teal bulk and balconies appears to be there at least!
That and as I know way too well, it can be really quite a bit of work to actually understand a future skyline, sight lines and everything else, and is obviously a bit of an obsession of mine.

 

[SounderBruce]

The pedestal for the north crane actually has a fancy relief image of the Seattle skyline with two layers of detail, plus a plane, the moon, and a union insignia.


Rainier Square Tower crane pedestal by SounderBruce, on Flickr

Also, getting on a double decker bus heading slowly up 4th Avenue yields the best view of excavation.


Rainier Square Tower excavation, June 2018 by SounderBruce, on Flickr

The view from the street isn't too bad from some angles, though, thanks to the open fence.


Rainier Square Tower hotel excavation by SounderBruce, on Flickr

 

[Vashon118]

Rainier Square Tower 2018-06-21 by LB Bryce, on Flickr


Rainier Square Tower 2018-06-21 by LB Bryce, on Flickr


Rainier Square Tower 2018-06-21 by LB Bryce, on Flickr

 

[testdrive]

Looking at the construction cam I am guessing that b/c where they shifted the conveyor and how the pile of dirt is placed and the fact actual construction is scheduled to begin next month that they are very close to bottoming out on the excavation. So the fun should really pick up soon.

 

[geoffloftus]

Rainier Square, 7/9/18

Hotel core is getting started. Still digging vigorously on the tower site.

 

[testdrive]

I just noticed that where the separation between the hotel portion and the tower there is about 25' wide buffer where they are not digging any deeper and there will be a wall in the garage. Was that necessary to give extra support to the existing foundation of Rainier Tower? Will that area still be used for a garage as far as it goes?

 

[Ginkgo]

 

[SJM]

Was curious about the latest cam shot, have they reached bottom? Noticed that section to the left of the conveyor is covered or something.

 

[Bron yr aur]

Was curious about the latest cam shot, have they reached bottom? Noticed that section to the left of the conveyor is covered or something.

Here's the link to the cam......
https://app.oxblue.com/open/rsqtower/rainiersquare

 

[CityView Jim]

Was curious about the latest cam shot, have they reached bottom? Noticed that section to the left of the conveyor is covered or something.

Certainly looks like it has there. There was a no-rebar cement pour there today finishing around 2pm (which is what you were referencing). I'm guessing the very NE corner is the bottommost elevation but a lot of dirt still to remove.

 

[seattledude]

They are planning on bottoming out with the digging around August 25th, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[smerfylicious]

Certainly looks like they'll have bottomed out before the 25th. The excavation has been very brisk for the past 2 months. Maybe a week ahead of schedule by the looks of that area...as long as they don't slow the soil removal.

 

[yurodivoy]

I'm betting on a LeMeridian Hotel. Just a hunch.

Good god, please let it be that or an Intercontinental or some well known brand that we don’t have in Seattle yet. I thought we’d run out of obscure hotel chains, the kind most of us hadn’t heard of until press release.... and then we get rumblings about “Equinox”. icard:

 

[nwctybldr]

They are planning on bottoming out with the digging around August 25th, if I'm not mistaken.

I believe the plan is to do the mat pour in late August. Seems like they're on track for that.

 

[Bron yr aur]

Lots of activity onsite today. they're moving the conveyor system again and they have created another smooth lane or whatever you wanna call it next to the one created last week... Speaking of the mat pour in late August, the 25th I believe people are saying, wouldn't that mean they need to have all the excavation done a least a week prior to prep the site? https://app.oxblue.com/open/rsqtower/rainiersquare