Slumpless in Seattle

Developers Ignore real Estate Jitters

It's the economy as usual in Seattle.While the rest of the nation lingers on the brink of recession, Boeing, Microsoft and the ties to international trade are keeping local businesses afloat.

Downtown Seattle construction activity remains strong, in spite of the economic downturn in the rest of the U.S., according to a report released in February by the Down-town Seattle Association.

The group is made up of major area developers and businesses, which have office space in the downtown core.

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In 2007, an estimated $1 billion in development was completed in the downtown area, which is bordered by Lake Union, Puget Sound, Capitol Hill and Boeing Field. This marks a 44% increase from 2006. Projects worth over $3 billion are expected to begin this year, the report says.

Maybe that’s because the rental rates for Class A office space have gone up 25% during that time. Currently 42 projects are under construction. Other areas of Seattle have seen a complete renovation of Northgate Mall and the beginning of work at the Safeco Building in the U-District.

Slumpless in Seattle Developers Ignore Real Estate Jitters

Companies like Microsoft are moving into the downtown Seattle core, pushing rental rates up. Vulcan Real Estate, the owner of 60 acres in an underdeveloped area of downtown, is planning to start construction on 1 million sq ft in 2008.
(See Northwest Construction November 2007)

The iconic example of what is happening in the marketplace can be seen at 1521, a residential building under construction two blocks from Pike Place Market, one of the longest continuing farmer’s markets left in a downtown area.

That intersection, Second and Pike, has long been the place to score drugs in downtown. The developer, Opus Co, Bellevue, Wash. hopes that 1521 and seven other projects planned in the immediate area will make it safe. The 38-story, 143-unit building is slated for Leed Silver certification. Total cost is estimated at $100 million.

Potential residents clearly aren’t worried. The building has only 10 condo units units left, and it won’t open until 2009. The building will be the first to be completed under the new city of Seattle Building code, which allows taller buildings heights if the developer meets LEED silver standards.

“We are the first tall, thin building in Seattle,” says Blaine Weber, principal architect with Weber+Thompson, the project architect. Floor plates are 10,700 sq ft, as opposed to the 15,000 sq ft allowed in a typical city block.

“That gives us the advantage of water views from every unit,” Weber adds. “The disadvantage is that there is more common area, so the developer has less marketable space.”

The LEED rating comes from a highly efficient building envelope, which contains glass with a high U rating and an aluminum curtain wall that doesn’t conduct heat. A U rating describes how much non-solar heat is conducted through the glass.

1521 is also one of the first buildings in the city to have “smart elevators” programmed to help passengers reach their floor with the fewest number of stops.

Passengers enter the floor number they want before getting into the elevator. All the passengers going to floors that are close to each other are guided to the same car.

Another first is the window-washing arm. “We chose this one because we have a limited space for the rooftop mechanical systems,” Weber says. The system contains a single arm that swings around the whole building. Because it has almost no setup time, “it should cut costs by $9,000 per window washing cycle.”

Design Team

Owner and Contractor : Opus NW LLC, Bellevue, Wash.
Electrical Design Build : Valley Electric, Kent, Wash.
Mechanical Design Build : MacDonald-Miller, Seattle, Wash.
Conceptual Design: Weber + Thompson
Architect of Record: Opus A&E
Structural and Civil: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Interior Designer: Susan Marinello Interiors