With the opening of the new Seattle Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in downtown, news have been plentiful.  The 21-story $150 million project includes 147 hotel rooms (levels 3-10) and 36 uber-luxurious condominium homes (levels 11-21).

Project details:

• 11 unsold condo units range from 1,300 square feet to more than 7,000 square feet. Prices range from $2 million to more than $15 million — an average of around $2,100 per square foot.
• Hotel room rates start at $365.
• Fran’s Chocolates has opened in one of the two available commercial spaces. Four Seasons veteran Kerry Sear, former chef and owner of Cascadia in Belltown, runs Art Restaurant and Lounge, the hotel restaurant.
• Hotel features include a business center, 4,900-square-foot ballroom, five meeting rooms, a fitness room, 6,000-square-foot spa, and an outdoor pool and fireplace.
• The first condominium owners moved in earlier this month.
• The new public stairway between Union Street and Western Avenue has 103 steps. 
• The ownership group’s managing principals include John Oppenheimer, CEO of Columbia Hospitality; former Seattle Mayor Paul Schell; and Tom Alberg, managing director of Madrona Venture Group. Other investors include Bruce McCaw and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.

Linkage:

The Four Seasons Seattle website

Four Seasons delivers a jolt of urban energy - DJC

How Four Seasons returned to Seattle - DJC

In the lap of luxury at Four Seasons - Seattle PI

Four Seasons Grand Opening Photos: Amenities - Stroupe Condo Blog

Photos from 11/14 Broker’s Event:

Model Home Unit

View of terrace from 11th floor model home:

Hotel room:

The $1 million floating stairway:

These are all two-bedroom units, ranging in size between 1,700 to 2,000 and are listed between $1,250,000 and $2,100,000. Closing dates are slated for December and February. Presently, there are eight units at 1521 listed in the NWMLS.

The 1915 2nd Avenue project, an Intracorp development, has been around for a number of years and had received approval for its original 24-story condominium design. However, with rezoning, they are now proposing a substantially larger 40-story 400′ tower that’ll be just 57′ from the proposed 1931 2nd Avenue tower. Currently, city code requires an 80′ separation, for those parts of a building above 125′ in height, from an existing building. Therefore, 1915 will require a special exception variance for the proposed design. Not surprisingly, Intracorp is now leaving its options open for either condominium or apartment occupancy. One interesting tidbit, the design includes an automated parking garage.

New design proposal for 1915 2nd Avenue, with 1931 2nd Avenue to the right:

Previous design proposal for 1915 2nd Avenue:

Alternative design proposal that complies with the 80′ separation distance requirement:

Apparently, without the special exception, the developer and architect seem to lose creative design abilities.

On the other hand, with the Terminal Sales Annex building receiving landmark status, the design for 1931 2nd Avenue now incorporates the facade of the 93 year old building. The 400′ 38-story structure features residential units above a 12-story hotel.

Design incorporating the Terminal Sale Annex building:

The great wall of downtown along 2nd Avenue (Escala and Pagoda in background, the transparent building in the foreground is a hotel/apartment proposal):

Per the DJC’s article:

Multi Capital Group is delaying construction on a two-tower development across from the Westin Seattle due to a faltering economy, poor local condo sales and lack of financing for parts of the complex, according to a project official.

[Multi Capital] had planned to start building the 46-story Pagoda and Heron towers in late 2009, said Alec Carlin, senior project manager with Hummingbird Advisors, which is managing the development.

“We’re still trying to decide when is the best time to move forward,” Carlin said.

Carlin said Multi Capital has considered building apartments instead of condos, but “right now it’s staying condos as far as we’re concerned.”

• Spoke with King5’s Bernard Choy today about some major price decreases, namely Madison Lofts and Cosmo. Check out unit #210 at Madison Lofts, SW corner unit - was $549,000 now $429,950. In his report, Bernard stated ML is taking some pretty steep decreases, up to $200,000.

• Pre-sale investors are jumping ship. I’m hearing more and more cases where pre-sale buyers aren’t going to be able to close on their purchases. Already, people have foregone their huge deposits at Washington Square in order to get out of their contracts. Now, I’m hearing the same with Gallery and 1521. Gallery, at least, unofficially, is letting buyers assign their contracts rather than default on the purchase. Makes sense…with rising inventory developers don’t want to be stuck with unsold units. Heard that Vulcan may do the same with one of its projects.

• Noticed R/UC/WOS has significantly decreased its advertising in the Sunday Seattle Times. Just a few months ago they had two full-color pages…now they’re down to a 1/2 page.

• The rumor that won’t go way - the big hole on 2nd between Stewart and Pine might be there a little while longer. Update: It was announced on 6/24 that Starwood has acquired Avalon’s share of the project.

On the other hand, there’s activity at Insignia Towers - additional materials have been delivered and Insignia’s signage is now up.

The proposal for 2015 2nd Avenue, located on the NW corner of 2nd and Virginia, is a 440′ 39-story tower featuring 244 residential units and retail space. If built, 2015 2nd would be adjacent to, and tower above, the Cristalla and One Pacific Tower condominiums.

More info and renderings are included in the design proposal which you can download here (note: this is a 16MB file).

Williams Marketing showed off the new concept during focus group events last week. The purpose of the focus group was to gage participants interest in various home features such as the type of cabinets, windows, appliances, heating/air conditioning, common amenities, green building methods and so forth.

The new Weinstein A|U design is much bolder than previous incarnations, blending historical elements with a cleaner, modern aesthetic. In a sense, it provides a transition from Pioneer Square to the stadiums and the future North Lot development. The new design has cleared the Pioneer Square Preservation Board.

Stadiums Lofts will now rise 11-stories with 4-residential levels. The residences will be located in the new concrete and glass framed structure above the existing building. The 5th floor (current roof level) will be comprised of 20 single-level flats ranging in size from 450 to 500 sq ft with one 1,250 sq ft unit. The 60 two-level lofts will be located above and range in size from 750 to 900 sq ft. The top floor lofts will also feature private roof top decks.

A number of the 5th floor flats are being designated affordable, available for individuals earning up to 115% of median income. The project will not include live/work loft units.

Home features and finishes are still being determined at this time.

The entry to the parking garage has moved from Occidental to Railroad in order to provide residents unhindered access on game days. The project will also include a 5th floor terrace and 3,000 sq ft of ground level common area amenities. Space for 2 restaurants and 2 commercial units are also being included in the design.

Occupancy is slated for Fall 2010. Pricing and pre-sale information is expected to be released during the first part of 2009.

2612 3rd Avenue (Corner of 3rd & Cedar)

2612 3rd Avenue has a newer design than the one I posted a few months ago. The 17 story apartment will house approximately 185 units, a commercial space and just 82 parking spaces. Overall, it seems like a nice addition to this rather dead end of Belltown.

View looking SE, corner of 3rd & Cedar.

Looking NW from 3rd Avenue. Mosler Lofts is to the left.

Main entry facing Cedar Street.

6th & Lenora

The 6th & Lenora Apartment is a twin tower development spanning 1/2 block on 6th Avenue between Lenora & Blanchard. The towers will rise 18 stories with a 6 story podium encompassing 654 units, retail space and 419 parking spaces.

Looking West along 6th Avenue.

1900 1st Avenue

Located close to the Pike Place market at 1st and Stewart, the proposal for the 11-story 1900 1st Avenue development includes a 100 room hotel, 75 apartment units and 325 parking stalls. If built, it will replace a surface parking lot and would obscure lower level views from the proposed 1915 2nd Avenue condominium project.

Recently, Stadium Lofts announced that they retained the architectural firm of Weinstein A|U to revisit every detail of the project. Weinstein’s other noted Seattle projects include the Banner Building, Agnes Lofts and the Bernard.

Stadium Lofts will be hosting a focus group event later this Spring to unveil its new design concept. More info to come.