Focus On Bellevue – Planning to Make a Model Downtown

By Amy Rose and Lucy Bodilly

The pace of growth in Bellevue, Washington would make Lance Armstrong breathless. Three office towers are under construction, as well as 14 residential projects, all within the 410-acre downtown core.

None of this would be possible without two things: a firm commitment from the city planners to facilitate growth and a growing economy.

“It’s part of a longstanding vision,” said Emil King of the city of Bellevue planning department. “For several years the city worked to make sure the core was well served by transit, with improved access supplied by the state Department of Transportation and a clean building code with fast permitting.”

The city was on the verge of a boom at the beginning of the decade. “In 2001 we had about a 1.5 % office vacancy rate.  Within five quarters it was up to 30 percent,” says Leslie Lloyd, president of the Downtown Bellevue Association.  Blame the dotcom bust.

Continued success of companies such as Microsoft and its travel arm Expedia.com, which signed lease agreements for the bulk of the office space available in the Bravern and Tower 333, respectively are adding fuel to the fire.

“Most of the residential space is being taken by Microsoft employees here for training or people who will live here permanently, but need a place to stay until they get settled,” Lloyd said.

“The City of Bellevue has taken some important actions over the years to help ensure a quality downtown,” King says.

• Set out a clear vision for the downtown subarea back in 1979 that called for a vibrant mixed-use urban center. 
• Developed a density incentive system for downtown that has helped add a variety of public amenities through private development actions.
• Either led or participated in a number of "catalyst projects" such as Downtown Park, Bellevue Arts Museum, King County Regional Library, Convention Center, and the new Bellevue City Hall.

Summit 108

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The Summit is a three-building, mixed-use complex that began in 2000. Currently, two of the three new buildings have been completed, and a third building has been designed and permitted and is ready to begin construction, Gary Carpenter, construction manager says. “We hope to have it completed in 2009,” he adds.

No official construction start date has been announced.

Construction of the third building involves demolishing the 68,000 sq-ft  Summit Ridge building and replacing it with a 15-story, 330,000-sq ft building. All three buildings are similar in scope. Building B includes 283,000 sq ft and 13 stories and was completed in 2002. Building A includes 241,000 sq ft of space and 11 stories and was completed in 2005. The architect for all three buildings is LMN Architects, and the general contractor is Sellen Construction, both of Seattle. The complex already includes the 13-story Puget Sound Energy Building, which opened in 2002, and an 11-story building that was finished in July.

In many ways, The Summit brings a unique character to downtown Bellevue. “It’s really rare to have a site this big in an urban area,” says Walt Niehoff, a partner at LMN Architects. “To do three buildings all linked in one site was an amazing opportunity. From a master planning standpoint, we were able to do some things that bring a suburban feel to an urban area.” Niehoff credits Bentall Construction with focusing from the beginning on the master planning of the entire project. “Gary (Carpenter) really made sure to emphasize that the design needed to maximize the opportunities for both the site overall and the individual buildings,” Niehoff adds.

One example of this attention to detail is the parking structure. “The below-street garage is six levels deep,” Niehoff says. “When we start the third building, we’ll construct a similar parking garage there and connect it to the first two. You’ll never be able to tell the structures were part of different phases.”

Carpenter and Niehoff both point out the community feel of the complex. “We have a large public space on the ground floor of Building B that acts as a big living room area,” he says. “There’s a TV, café, seating and a fireplace. The space has proven to be a big draw for potential tenants.”

Niehoff calls the public space the “winter garden” and says the construction of a glass atrium to enclose the space gives it a connection to the outdoor courtyard of the complex. “This common space is available for all of the tenants in all three buildings, and even the condos across the street use it,” he adds. “We wanted the courtyard to be open to the public, so there’s a water feature that draws people in from the street.” Bill Badger, senior project manager at Sellen Construction, says the whole complex has a “sense of campus. The buildings all have similar lobbies, infrastructures and construction, and they’re all brought together by the central courtyard,” he said. “It’s something you might find more often in the suburbs rather than an urban setting.”

Building A includes an onsite day-care facility, so the courtyard includes a play structure for children, Niehoff says. “Having kids playing outside gives a nice feel to an urban office structure and it’s certainly convenient for the parents who use the center.”

Construction of Building A had challenges of its own. “We actually constructed the first three floors, including the day-care center and a health club, and then capped it off during the dotcom downturn,” Carpenter says. “We came back later and constructed the rest of the building on top of both of those businesses while they remained open and operating. It required things like special ventilation and overhead protection, but we were able to work with the city and finish the building.”

Badger says the safety of the tenants was the primary concern. “We built basic scaffolding on three sides of the building and created ways for the tenants to come in and out of the building for emergencies and daily activity,” he adds. “The kids (at the day-care facility) used the play structure about half a dozen times a day, so we took extra care to make sure they were safe coming and going.”

Major subs and consultants include MacDonald-Miller, Advanced Glazing Systems, DW Close Electrical and Expert Drywall.

Tower 333

Designed by LMN Architects, Tower 333 will be clad in highly transparent glass maximizing the site’s views west to Lake Washington and the Olympics, south to Mt. Rainier, and east to the Cascades.  Tower 333 will also maximize natural light in tenant spaces with full-height windows and 10 ft finished ceiling heights, a first for Bellevue.  Flexible 23,000 sq ft  floor plates, some of the largest in Bellevue, will provide for efficient space planning.  State-of-the art, energy-efficient operating systems will be included.  A half-acre outdoor plaza is planned for the project, as well as a below-grade parking garage capable of offering tenants three stalls per one thousand square feet. Due to the “green” nature of the project, Hines is applying for LEED pre-certification for Tower 333.

General contractor, Lease Crutcher Lewis and structural and civil engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates, both of Seattle, mechanical engineers ME Engineers, and landscape contractor McLeod Record all worked on the project.

In November a crane fell on the site, killing one person and damaging three surrounding buildings. The state department of Labor and Industries fined both LCL and MKA. Both are appealing the decision.

In November, a crane fell on the site, killing one person, and causing damage to three surrounding buildings. The State Department of Labor and Industries fined LCL and Magnusson Klemencic. The decision is under appeal.
 
Bravern Investcorp's real estate group announced that it has entered a joint venture with Schnitzer West, a leading Seattle area real estate development group, to complete the Bravern, a 1.6 million sq ft, retail and residential project. The total value of the transaction exceeds $800 million.

Microsoft already leased 750,000 sq ft of office space, in two high-rise office towers. A further 305,000 sq ft of luxury retail space will be anchored by a 125,000 sq ft flagship Neiman Marcus store.  There will also be two 29-story residential towers with 456 luxury one-bedroom, two-bedroom and penthouse condominiums.  Construction on The Bravern has been underway for over a year, with PCL Constructors, Seattle, building the condo portion and Skanska USA Building the office tower. Under the terms of the joint venture, Investcorp will provide a majority of the project equity.  Schnitzer West will provide a substantial portion of the balance of the overall project equity and will serve as the project's day-to-day investment developer.