The Seattle Condo Blog | Seattle Condos and Lofts

Saw this excerpt about the Candela Hotel & Residences project in the Seattle Time’s article on a new downtown apartment tower:

Urban Visions’ 35-story tower at Second Avenue and Pike Street, has been redesigned as an apartment project, in part to increase the likelihood of obtaining financing. Urban Visions’ original plan was for a luxury hotel and condos

Apparently, I’m a little behind the times…UrbanVisions switched the use from condo/hotel to apartments back in December 2009 as announced on their blog.

That’s four, once prominent, condo/hotel developments left as a footnote in history (AVA, 1 Hotel, Heron/Pagoda, Candela).

Though not a condo/hotel, me thinks the Insignia Tower project is pretty much a goner as well. A few weeks ago all of the Insignia signage had been painted over and now part of the lot has been opened up as a parking lot. They’ve not responded to any of my inquiries either.

Urban Visions unveiled the newest design for its Candela Hotel & Residences development at 2nd Ave & Pike Street in downtown. Since its first incarnation the 35-story (440′) project has slimmed down in scale to 98 condominium units and 130 hotel rooms. The residential units will front the corner of 2nd & Pike with the hotel set back. Unlike other hotel/condo projects which separate the condo from hotel, Candela will feature condo units and hotel rooms on the same floor.

The Seattle PI reported this morning that Urban Visions’ 2nd & Pike project will be known as the Candela Hotel & Residences. The 2nd & Pike project will be the first property for the Seattle-based Candela Hotels.

According to Candela, the 36-story project will aim for LEED Gold certification featuring 150 hotel rooms and 90 condominium homes. The hotel & residential project is expected to be a high-end luxury destination second only to the Four Seasons.

Read more about the Candela’s philosophy & concept from the project’s: press release & FAQ.

SCL’s related article – 2nd & Pike update.

Recently, the Daily Journal of Commerce reported on new developments at the 2nd & Pike project. The developer, Urban Visions, announced that they are within a year of starting construction on the 36-story hotel/condo project. The proposal includes a 150 room 5-star hotel and 150 ultra luxury condominium homes.

2nd & Pike is likely to be Seattle’s second priciest condominium property with homes starting around $1,200 per square foot, second only to the Four Seasons’ $2,000 per square foot price tag in th Seattle area.

On a side note, Urban Visions had planned on developing the Liberty Building parcel (on Pike between 1st & 2nd) as condominiums as well, though they’ve since decided on high-end apartments.

Related post: Twisted at 2nd & Pike

Related Post: 2nd & Pike Update

Interesting concept from the new architect for 2nd & Pike. My guess, the angled upper levels will provide more SW and NW view units, though it’s hard to discern direction based on these early mock-ups. Unfortunately, the street & lower-level portion are less than impressive. Click here to view the image.

The developer of 2nd & Pike, Urban Visions, is proposing a 40-story tower featuring a 5-star hotel with 200 guest rooms, 150 condominium homes and 10,000 sq ft of retail space.