From Condos to Assisted Living

Housing Leads Seattle Projects

The gardentop roof the the Washington Mutual Tower is a highlight of the building.

The busy pictures in a Where is Waldo book inspired one Seattle developer to hide a replica of the skinny, striped-shirted guy in its architectural model of the South Lake Union area. Even adults, looking at Vulcan's model depicting its projects couldn't find Waldo.

With 25 projects under way in the downtown core, developers could easily hide several Waldos between Lake Union and Quest Field. Vulcan alone announced that it would soon start five projects near Lake Union. The Downtown Seattle Association reports six others owned by different developers in the planning phase.

Most of the projects involve some sort of housing - hotels, apartments, assisted living, or condominiums. Laboratory and research space along with Group Health Cooperative headquarters are planned for the Lake Union area.

The biggest project under construction in downtown is the The Washington Mutual Tower/ Seattle Art Museum addition, valued at $300 million.

If all the projects start before the end of the year, contractors will be looking for more than Waldo. They'll need a guaranteed supply of skilled craftsmen and the reassurance that subcontractors haven't over extended themselves financially.

"We aren't having labor problems yet, but as the bigger projects come on line, somebody's going to," said Kevin McCain, project manager with Skanska USA Building, Seattle.

Sheraton Hotel

Crews from Skanska USA Building, Seattle, plan an extended stay at the downtown Seattle Sheraton as they build a 25-story, $96 million addition, under a guaranteed maximum price contract.

The first phase of construction is the most critical - the three story tie-in to the existing podium level and a complete remodel of all the services there, including ballrooms and convention space.

"That's the most difficult part right now, because it has to be completed before July 7, 2006 in order to accommodate summer conventions," said Kevin McCain, Skanska project manager. Work on that portion of the project started January 17, 2006. Not only does the renovation have to be completed; the new podium level has to be done, as it provides exits needed to obtain the occupancy permit.

McCain, who has three similar hotel projects under his belt, sees the initial scheduling as the biggest difficulty of the project.

Like other contractors around the Seattle area though, he sees a potential labor problem as well. "We haven't had any trouble so far, but once the other big projects come on line, there could be one. Even if we don't have any trouble, down the line somebody will."

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Contractors like to brag about tight sites, especially in urban areas, but this site makes a full sardine can look spacious. The back of the building is next to I-5, the south side next to a freeway entrance ramp, and the west and north sides are major retails streets. "We are on just in time delivery for everything. We are even having trouble with some of the formwork because there is no place to store anything," McCain said.

One thing all hotel guests want is a restful stay, so the demolition work on the job has also been difficult. "I know the hotel is getting its share of complaints, but sometime we just have to get the work done. We are working closely with the hotel operations staff to make sure we cause as little disruption as possible," McCain said.

When completed, that area will look more modern, but the design finishes will still echo the existing building. The new podium level will include restaurants and other services. Skanska will also be extending the existing podium level, and McDonald-Miller Facility Solutions, Seattle will take care of the mechanical tie-ins and other mechanical work. The poduim level in both buildings is steel frame. The new tower is post-tensioned concrete.

Project Team

Owner: Sheraton Hotels
Architect: Callison, Seattle
General Contractor: Skanska USA Building, Seattle
Mechanical Contractor: McDonald-Miller Facility Solutions, Seattle

Addition

Looking at the new WAMU tower design and construction, it's harder to tell who had to be more creative - the designers and contractors working on the building or the artists who created the pieces that will eventually be housed there.

The need to be creative started at the inception of the project, which started with a partnership between the art museum and the banking company. Washington Mutual wanted to buy the parcel next to the art museum so it could build a new headquarters and put all its offices in one location. The Seattle Art Museum didn't want to give up the land. It planned to build an addition to its facility someday so it could have more exhibit space.

Matt Griffin, a principal with Seneca Group came up with the daring plan to build both.

As it stands, the art museum will own the first four floors of the tower. Washington Mutual and various other tenants will lease the rest of the building from the art museum. After 10 years, the art museum can take those floors back from WAMU, two floors at a time.

"At first everybody balked at the idea," Griffin said. "How to design a building that could address the needs of both parties was the major issue."

But, both saw the advantages. It allows more time for the museum to fundraise to improve its collection. Washington Mutual can build an urban campus in the downtown core. Creative consultants and contractors solved the design issues.

Consider the flexibility needed to build one facility that will be used for both a museum and an office building. The list of juxtaposed needs seems endless. Totally different mechanical and electrical systems are required to meet the different uses, yet the building had to accommodate both. Structural column placement could not be repeated throughout the building, as would occur in a normal office space. Instead the column placement had to be flexible between some floors to allow the art museum more available space for exhibits.

Electrical needs in the museum are less than those in an office. Humidity control is a critical part of preserving art work, but not all that important in an office. Probably the only thing easy about the project is that the museum will close for one year to allow for all the tie-ins to the new space and demolition of the part of the existing structure.

David Yuan, a principal architect with NBBJ summed up the problem. "You have to mush two buildings together that will eventually morph over time. It's almost like Siamese twins." NBBJ, the architect of the building has spent about 51,000 hours to date designing the SAM WM project. This is equivalent to a single person working 40 hours per week for about 25 years.

As the contractor, Sellen Construction's project management skills had to be flawless and communication between the two owners: Washington Mutual and the Seattle Art Museum; the two architects; NBBJ for the office tower and LMN for the art museum and has to be extraordinary. Double that skill level for the primary subcontractors on the project, since they have to work under Sellen, but are design build subs under the architects.

As one of the first architects in Seattle to use a computer-based communication system for project management, NBBJ took the lead. Through a central database, all the major parties have instant access to the same documents. "They were pretty rigorous about establishing protocol," said Adam Kriefall, project manager with Sellen Construction, Seattle.
Meeting all the deadlines for permitting was another difficult goal, because the building has two uses and has to meet two sets of building codes. "We went through many, many sessions with the project teams, and that kind of thing will never be replaced by technology," Yuan said.

Sellen was a major part of the team from the very beginning, especially during the costing process.

With two owners but overlapping systems on every floor, tracking costs and administering the project is also complicated, down to the littlest detail. For example, the museum is tax exempt, but the bank tower is not.

"I really appreciate the scope. This is the longest and most expensive project I've ever done," Kriefall said. "Teamwork is the most important part of the project, because no one person knows everything and nobody knows the complete answer to any question."

Horizon House

Most of the housing under construction in downtown Seattle is geared toward empty nesters or young single professionals. Horizon House, located across the street from Virginia Mason Hospital, is attracting people from the higher reaches of the age spectrum.

The assisted living facility for seniors already has a waiting list, even though the foundation is still under construction.

Lease Crutcher Lewis is the general contractor on the $50 million project, which will provide 100 independent living apartments and 52 assisted living units. With views of Puget Sound, an indoor swimming pool and its location close to most of the hospitals in Seattle, the facility was bound for success. Next door is the original Horizon House, also a senior-only apartment building.

The building is made of a mix of concrete applications, including precast and post tensioned. On the interior, the owner is trying to be as accommodating as possible to future tenants. "We can't move around major components like plumbing, but we can change things like finishes," said Larry Bjork, project manager with Lease.

Individuality is key throughout the project with 11 different apartment configurations available.

"Our biggest concern is meeting the needs of all the tenants as they come in and want to customize their apartments. Lease has designated specific people to help with that," Bjork said. "Even in the planning stages, residents knew what they wanted."

To keep ahead of individual demands, Lease created a set of deadlines for the residents, organized by floor. "After that it's just a matter of managing the information," Bjork said.

The contract is a guaranteed maximum price contract.

Project Team

Owner: Horizon House, Seattle
Architect: NBBJ
Developer: Seneca Real Estate Group
Contractor: Skanska USA Building, Seattle
Mechanical: University Mechnical
Electrical: Sasco Electric

Alley 24, just being completed, will be the new home of NBBJ and Skanska USA Building.

Vulcan Real Estate

Vulcan is expecting a stellar year in 2006 and plans to start construction on five different projects as part of the company's goal to rehabilitate the South Lake Union neighborhood.

The redevelopment project is one of the largest such efforts in the United States and will consist of more than 10 million square feet when completed.

2005 highlights for the company include:

• 900,000 square feet currently under construction worth $300 million.
• Three million square feet in the development pipeline.
• Leased approximately 300,000 square feet including 182,000 square feet to Group Health Cooperative and 53,000 square feet to Cole & Weber/Red Cell.
• Pre-sold 259 condominiums at a total value of $138.5 million.
• Announced three new mixed-use residential projects totaling 672,599 square feet.
• Secured permitting for Phase II of UW Medicine Lake Union, which will total 284,000 square feet. Construction for Phase II is scheduled to begin in 2006.

"There is a huge push for these types of projects in the marketplace," said Ada M. Healy, vice president of Vulcan Real Estate.