Gallery - Belltown, recently relocated their sales office into a townhome unit in the Gallery building at 2nd and Broad. They have a couple of model homes staged and should have seven model homes ready shortly. The first five floors are complete and residents started moving-in this past Friday.

I recently toured the property but the sales staff was a bit disheveled and only had keys to one unit, and couldn’t provide access to common amenities. I’ll reserve judgment of the development until I can get back for a comprehensive tour. But, if there was one item I was disappointed with it was heating - baseboard and stand alone forced air wall heaters, in a $600,000 unit no less. There are still assignment opportunities available, just saw one on Craigslist. For more info on Gallery, visit www.liveatgallery.com.

Veer Lofts - South Lake Union, is nearing completion and expects to receive its TCO in the next week or two, with first move-in by the end of the month. Currently, the project is about 60% sold so there’s still a number of options for anyone interesting in pioneering SLU condo living. Visit www.veerlofts.com for more info.

Canal Station - Ballard, hosted an agent event last night, a final push to close out sales in phase two. A recent price reduction may make the development appealing to hesitant buyers with one-bedrooms starting from $265,000 and two-bedrooms from $415,000.

I spoke with a owner in phase one who lamented the falling values, especially now that phase two is priced below phase one. At the present, he’s realizing a decent-sized loss in value, but hopefully the new pricing will entice buyers, leading to a reduction in Ballard’s condo inventory. Visit www.canalstation.com for more info.

1521 - Downtown, expects first move-in to begin this November.

When: Sunday, September 14th from 12:30 pm to 4:30pm

Where: Start in the lobby of the Key Bank Building, 10655 NE 4th Street

Since Bellevue Towers is still under construction, the following event safety rules apply:

• Close-toed, flat shoes are required to enter the construction site (i.e. no high heels or sandals will be permitted).
• Please meet in the lobby of the Key Bank building to sign your release waiver prior to entering the construction site.
• Children under 18 are not permitted on the construction site.

www.BellevueTowers.com

The project has three things in its favor - (1) the smaller scale of the project, (2) it’s backed by The Royal Group, the Abu Dhabi-based parent company of Essex’s developer, Hydra Developments of Seattle, and (3) access to funding through The National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Essex will be comprised of only 32 luxury condominium homes located adjacent to Bellevue’s Downtown Park. The homes are spacious, ranging in size between 1,200 and 2,900 square feet and are being offered from $1 million to $4+ million.

A presentation center should be completed and opened to the public by year’s end and will feature finish options as well as kitchen and bath vignettes. However, pre-construction reservations are currently being accepted by private appointment for interested buyers. Approximately, a quarter of the units have been reserved.

The developer anticipates razing the existing structure in September with completion and occupancy slated for the fall of 2010.

Essex is the first project for Hydra, which plans to develop up to 8 properties in the region before expanding to other parts of the country. Lease Crutcher Lewis is the contractor and Shugart Bates the architect.

Source: PSBJ, Seattle PI, Essex On The Park

GIS is also the developer of the Stewart & Minor hotel and loft project in Denny Triangle. There hasn’t been any movement or information on that project since last Autumn. Given the news regarding European Tower, it’s likely Stewart and Minor went into deep freeze along with number of other downtown condo projects.

Source: DJC

The presentation center is located at the Skyline Tower at 10900 NE 4th Street, Suite 1510 in Bellevue.

Bellevue’s Essex on the Park (website) announced they have released an initial set of homes available for reservations. The initial release will include just 16 condominium homes with the remainder being held back until completion in 2010. Essex will be hosting special design preview events on April 8th, 9th and 10th for individuals who previously registered on their website.

Essex will rise just 9-stories featuring 32 two- and three-bedroom homes that range in size from 1,100 to 2,700 sq ft. Prices for Essex homes start from $800,000 and will likely top more than $3,000,000.

In addition, Bellevue Towers is offering a limited-time rate lock promotion. For homes purchased in March and April they’ll lock interest rates for free. Alternatively, buyers can apply the rate lock cost (approximately 1% of the purchase price) to buy down rates or apply it to closing costs.

Bellevue Towers report they just poured the 38th floor and expect to top off the project in another two months.

Illustration of Bellevue Towers’ roof top Urban Garden designed by Walker-Macy.

The Newbury Etruscan (website) is a small conversion project on the North side of Queen Anne at 49 W. Etruria. Originally built in 1968, the project features only 8 condominium homes comprised of 6 one-bedrooms about 680 sq ft in size and 2 two-bedrooms that are 860 sq ft. All 8 units are available though they’ve only released pricing for two units - a one-bedroom listed at $319,950 and a two-bedroom listed at $369,950.

The Newbury Etruscan is located near Seattle Pacific University and is only a short stroll to Fremont.

North Seattle

The 845 Condominium (website) is located in the Pinehurst area of North Seattle on 125th & Roosevelt. Of the 15 homes, only 8 one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes remain. The one-bedrooms range in size from 665 to 707 sq ft and start at $214,950. The two-bedrooms are 829 sq ft and begin at $254,950.

Bellevue

The Belcera (website) in Bellevue has been on the market for a few months and have sold more than half of the 11-units available. The two-bedroom homes are approximately 900 sq ft in size and feature slab granite countertops, travertine tiled bathrooms (floor & surround) & hardwood floors. Homes start at $315,000.

Currently, the developer is offering buyers paid HOA dues for 12 months and no mortgage payments for 3 months.

Redmond

Redmond View (website) is another small project that offers 9 two-bedroom homes that range in size from 990 to 1,022 sq ft. Home features include bamboo flooring, slab granite countertops, cherry cabinets and travertine tiled bathroom floors. These homes are priced from $369,950.

Currently, the developer is offering buyers paid HOA dues for 12 months and no mortgage payments for 3 months.

For additional information about this project, please see our previous Vida Condo post.

One Main Street (website) will be hosting its sales center Grand Opening this weekend at 136 - 120th Avenue SE, Bellevue. The sales center will be open to the public from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

There is also a special brokers open on Thursday, Oct 18th from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

The mid-rise One Main Street will feature 62 one-, two- and three-bedroom residences that’ll range in price from the $400,000s to more than $1 million. The project will also include retail on the street level and is located within blocks to the Downtown Park and Meydenbauer Park.

Interior features will include:

• 9′ ceilings with floor-to-ceiling windows
• SieMatic self-closing cabinets
• Natural cherry or walnut hardwoods
• Spa style baths with radiant heated floors, heated towel racks and extra-deep soaking tubs
• Wireless video touch-screen devices to view visitors when they buzz your residence
• Bosch stainless steel appliances
• Fireplace and air-conditioning

A presentation center will open in the fall but One Main Street will be hosting a “Premier Sales Event” that is planned for October 20th and 21st from 11 AM to 6 PM. The Presentation Center is located at 136 - 120th Avenue SE.

The project is slated for completion in December 2008.

One Main Street is promoting itself as a luxury condominium and it will certainly be well appointed. Though, it does not quite meet the same level of luxury as the high-rises being developed in the downtown core, which is good. It’ll provide potential homeowners greater options for downtown Bellevue living.