The Seattle Waterfront-A Future View

The last time we posted an update about the Alaskan Way Viaduct Project was in September after the neighborhood meeting. The Viaduct is scheduled to come down in 2015, and discussions for its future are still underway. Today, the Seattle PI posted an online photo album of the current Viaduct and a number of simulated images that could be the new Seattle waterfront. The images were taken from and compiled by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The “future” images provide Seattleites with a little bit of hope, because the replacement will surely be timely and messy. If we have this to look forward to, it may just be worth the trouble!

Pnk Ultra Lounge-The Place to Be and Be scene!

Seattle’s newest lounge, Pnk has been the talk of the town since it first opened its door last month, Countless individuals, mostly young mid 20’s-30’s , go there from all over to get a piece of the new modern playground made for Seattleites and people alike. The lush Vegas atmosphere and hip ambiance creates a very trendy and certainly cool environment you sure won’t want to leave. This multi-million
dollar project was created with idea of “women” in mind. The owners Rob and Tammie Armijo created a perfect environment for the young urban professional women with 3 bars, 40 flat screens, 2 VIP areas, outdoor seating, and even a bar in the Women’s bathroom equipped with its own male bartender! Whether you’re male or female you’re sure to find a place at Pnk. Now open on the 4th floor of Pacific Place. Special thanks to our companies own, Erwin Park, for negotiating the lease. For more information about Pnk please visit their website www.pnkultralounge.com

New Apartments in Belltown

Just as the McGuire Apartments are headed to demolishment, a new apartment project is proposed for Belltown. The 17-2tory apartment building, to be called “Alto”, will be located on 3rd and Cedar. The expected 184-unit building ‘s construction will be the first of multiple proposals in Central Seattle in the last three years to start. The building will also have 2,700 sf of retail space. The developer, Harbor Properties (who is well known for Downtown’s Harbor Steps project) bought the land in March of last year, but decided not to build until the financial market had improved. The high demand for rentals in Seattle, especially among the younger populations in Belltown, has increased substantially in the past few years. As many of the projects in Belltown are condos, it is a nice change of pace to see some new apartment buildings. This will be the newest among a number of other buildings including 2300 Elliot, The Avalon, and Archstone Apartments, to name a few. The apartments will be aimed at middle-income renters as well, which is a plus for the younger population. Looks like Belltown living is back on the rise, as we expect the residential project from Goodman Real Estate (located on Western) to start in the near future as well.

Plans for the old Ballard Denny's lot.

The Ballard Denny’s once sat on the corner of 15th Ave NW and NW Market St. Back in 2008, after much controversy, the old “Googie” architecture that housed the breakfast chain was torn down to build a condominium complex. Due to the market crash of 2008, the lot continues to sit vacant-but not for long. On Monday this 1.38 acre lot sold for $12.5 Million to Chicago’s Equity Properties. The name may sound familiar as the company owns several other condominium projects throughout Seattle including Harbor Steps, Olympus, and the Centennial Towers, just to name a few. Equity Properties is the biggest openly traded apartment company in the nation. The plan is to build a mixed-use building with 288 units and up to 33,850 sf of street retail. Change is in the future for Ballard. A commencement date has not yet been released. For more info visit www.seattletimes.com

Pyramid Living

Most of us have seen the Smith Tower located on 2nd Avenue in Pioneer Square. In the midst of many of the low rise buildings and condos in Pioneer Square lies the Smith Tower, a 1914 Seattle Landmark standing at 42 stories tall. It’s named after its builder, Burns Lyman Smith and it has a phenomenal observation desk on the 35th floor. What most of us in Seattle didn’t know until The New York Times brought recent attention to it was that a family currently lives in the pyramid-shape penthouse apartment near the top of the tower. The Lahaie family, Petra Franklin, David and their two daughters, have a long-term lease in the 1,750 sf, two bedroom, two bathroom downtown Seattle apartment. After the building was renovated in 1998, Ms. Franklin decided she wanted to live there-and that’s exactly what happened. Belltown and downtown Seattle living can be found where you least expect it. It just takes a little effort to find to find a rental or for sale property.

-Image courtesy of planetware.com

McGuire Apartment Tear Down

In a previous blog, agent Michelle McMahan wrote about the McGuire Apartments in Belltown. Yes, that building on 2nd and Wall surrounded by scaffolding, you’ve seen it. In April of this year, the first demolishment announcement was made after reports of structural problems and cable corrosion. Debate (details here) over who was at fault ensued and in the meantime, tenants were asked to vacate with monetary incentives for prompt vacation. Well according to the Daily Journal of Commerce, issues have been resolved and the property owner Carpenter’s Tower LLC and contractor McCarthy Building Companies Inc. have come to a decision-McGuire is good to go. To the ground, that is. Settlement terms and a tear-down date were not disclosed, but Belltowners can be sure that the building will undoubtedly be demolished. We can only hope that construction closures and the like won’t be affecting the surrounding roads and businesses too much.

Bravern’s North Tower Converts To Luxury Apartments.

Due to the success of the south tower conversion last April, Schnitzer West, developer of Bravern’s Multi-use complex in Bellevue, made the decision to convert the north tower luxury condominiums to apartments to mimic its neighboring south tower. The south tower's conversion has been extremely successful with nearly 25 leases per month. In the last 6 months, occupany has reached 65 percent. Luxury Apartments are available in both towers for lease starting at $1,550.
Please see my previous blog about the Bravern Complex for more info.