Clise is expected to put the properties back on the market once the financial markets improve.

More info: SeattlePI and Seattle Times

The Marselle Condominium, at 115 Aurora Ave, is the latest addition to the burgeoning area just north of downtown. The 7-story frame-constructed building will encompass 132 condominium homes ranging from 347 sq ft to 1,730 sq ft. Penthouse level homes will include a mezzanine level that opens to the roof top decks.

Every unit will come with parking and storage. Common building amenities include roof top decks with views of Lake Union & downtown, a billiard room, a resident lounge and a wellness center with cardio machines, weight training equipment and yoga space.

Given its location along Aurora, I asked about the noise reduction methods being used. According to the developer, the wood framing will have 1 1/2 inch gypcrete with 1/4 inch sound damping mat for all framed floors while ceilings and interior walls will have R11 sound insulation. Hard surface floors will be laid over a soundmat/pad.

I also inquired whether they had any concerns about developing condos in light of current market conditions as well as recent events with nearby projects.

Our company focuses on providing a quality product for a great value. We have already had a huge response from word-of-mouth contacts and believe our project will fill a much-needed void in the market of affordable city living (units beginning at around $415/SF). [Other developments] converting to apartments will only intensify the need for housing downtown in our price range.

Should Marselle be able to maintain the $415/sf starting price point, it’ll be attractively situated in the downtown-core new construction marketplace. For comparison, the highly touted Moda Condominium started at $500/sf which did not include parking for every unit.

Occupancy is slated for Summer 2009. The project is being developed by Marselle Partners who also built the Marc and Matae condominiums. Stay tuned for pre-sale information. In the meantime, the developer is compiling a pre-sale buyer list. Please contact the developer at:

Marselle Partners / Sierra Construction
(425) 487-5200

The 160-room hotel and 56-unit apartment will have separate lobby entrances, elevators and amenities, but will share a common wall. The building is being constructed to condominium quality, opening the door for a future conversion. The switch to apartments will keep 56 units out of the condo inventory for now. The project joins the Taylor 28 and Borealis Apartments, both under construction within a 2 block radius.

Stewart | Minor
The lack of loft living enthusiasts at Gallery hasn’t deterred the developers of the Stewart | Minor high-rise loft project in Denny Triangle. But, Stewart | Minor is somewhat unique. The concept is based on 600 sq ft cube units that’ll offer owners the opportunity to add a mezzanine/loft level, increasing livable space by nearly 50%. The homes feature 18′ ceiling heights that’ll provide ample head room on the mezzanine level, which buyers can add at the time of purchase or at a later date.

The idea behind these convertible homes is Move Up or Move Out. The most common reason people move is because they’ve outgrown their current space. When considering the cost of moving (selling costs, moving costs, time, etc) an average person might spend around $40,000. Stewart | Minor offers the option to finish the mezzanine level for about the same price. Though, to built-out the upper level fully (sleeping area, master bath and closet) may cost up to $100,000.

Unlike Gallery, Stewart | Minor is striving to offer a more affordable price point (starting at $400,000) and has been gaging interests and opinions through a series of design preview events. Construction is expected to begin late 2008/early 2009 with pre-sales beginning next Spring/Summer and occupancy in 2011.

1 Hotel & Residences
The Seattle Times report that New York-based Equinox Fitness will occupy 35,000 square feet of space at 1 Hotel & Residences. Equinox is an upscale fitness center known for its celebrity clientele. Monthly dues will likely start around $130, a premium compared to dues at nearby gyms. The gym, as well as the 5,000 square foot spa managed by Equinox, will occupy the 7th & 8th floors.

The old Teatro Zinzanni block between 5th & 6th Avenues and Battery & Bell has been sold to Embassy Development of Vancouver, BC. Though this isn’t exactly earth shattering news, it does express a commitment by Embassy to develop the site.

The proposed development, called Insignia Towers Condominium (website), is big – encompassing two 41-story condominium towers with 643 units. Construction on the first tower may break ground in 2012 is expected to begin next spring with a 2010 completion date. The second tower is expected to start around spring 2009. Each tower will have a lengthy construction timeline estimated to be approximately 29 months.

Interesting quote from the developer in the DJC from 2007: “Most of the condos will be two-bedroom or two-bedroom with dens. Prices in the first tower will start at $750 a square foot, and are intended to be affordable to downtown workers making a ‘decent wage.’ “

If Embassy does move forward with Insignia Towers it will be the first major condominium start in Seattle since 2007. Construction would not be completed for at least two-years (more likely three-years) so that bodes well for Seattle’s condo market, which now has a dearth of available condo inventory.

Per the developer, they hope to break ground by May of this year with pre-sales starting by 2013.

Stay tuned for more information!

1. Escala: 30-story upscale condominium. Developer: Lexas Companies.

2. Pagoda Tower: 40-story hotel/condo with 200 hotel rooms, 200 condos, part of a 1/2 block $900 million development. The 500′ project includes a 9-level hotel, a 30-level condominium and ground-floor retail space. Developer: Multi Capital / Hummingbird Advisors.

3. Heron Tower (5th & Stewart): 46-story 5-star hotel/condo with 190 hotel rooms and 175 condos, part of a 1/2 block $900 million development. Construction is slated to start either 2nd Qtr of 2008 or 2009. Developer: Multi Capital / Hummingbird Advisors. Architect: Ismael Leyva Architects of New York.

Multi Capital is the financial backer for the 45-story Trump Tower Philadelphia project currently under construction.

Heron Tower Rendering:

The project has new renderings from those posted below. Click here to see the latest renderings.

Renderings courtesy of Ismael Leyva Architects.

4. 2105 6th Ave: Two 24-story apartment towers with 600 units. Construction is expected to start in early 2009 with a late 2010 completion date. Developer: Pine Street Group. Architect: GGLO.

An Early Design Review meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, October 30th at 5:30 PM at Seattle City Hall in Room L280 the Bertha Landes Room.

5. 7th at Westlake: 45-story office/condo tower with 365 units on the upper floors. Developer: Clise Properties.

6. The Martin: 23-story condo tower with 172 units. On hold. Developer: Vulcan.

There’s another project proposed at the corner of 3rd & Virginia (where the directional arrow points to in the above map) for a 43-story apartment/hotel tower with 430 apt units and 40 hotel rooms. Originally expected to be completed in 2009, it may be delayed as there was a recent land use application for one of the parcels to be used as parking for up to two-years.

Time will tell if there will be sufficient buyer demand for over a 1,000 upper-end units in the Midtown district, especially considering the 1000s more being developed or proposed in the Retail, Denny Triangle, 2nd Ave/Market , Denny Way and SLU districts.

Four of these are located within blocks of each other near Denny Way & Aurora Avenue. Of the four, two are expected to be apartments with the other two being condominiums.

Hyatt Place Hotel & Condominium (600 Denny)

Update 2/08: This project will be developed as a hotel/apartment complex consisting of two buildings. One building will be a 56-unit apartment (6th & Denny Apartments) and the other will be the Hyatt Place Hotel.

Located to the West of Starbucks at the old Greg’s Japanese Auto site is the 9-story 160-room Hyatt Place Hotel that will also include 56 condominium homes. The project is being developed by Kauri.

Image courtesy of Johnson Braund Design Group.

Borealis Apartments

Borealis (website) is well underway at Denny & Aurora. This green built Vulcan project will feature 53 apartment units, 50 of which will be priced for residents earning 80% of median income. The building was designed by Runberg Architecture.

100 Taylor Ave N & 567 John Street

This nearly 3/4 block project (West side and behind Bank of America) is called Taylor 28 and will feature two 6-story buildings that’ll comprise nearly 200 apartment homes including 5 live/work units and retail space. The site is being developed for Bre Properties.

115 Aurora Avenue

Located behind Starbucks, this 7-story mixed-use project will include 130 residential homes including 5 live/work units. Several comments have referred to this project as condos. The project is being developed in part by Sierra Construction.

ICON Tower (6th & Wall)
Also planned is ICON Tower which will be located directly South of the Hyatt Place Hotel project. The 29-story tower will feature 224 condominium homes. Construction is expected to begin early 2008.

Other Denny Way Projects:

East towards I-5, other residential projects currently under construction on Denny Way include Enso, Rollin Street Flats and the Mirabella.

West towards Elliott Bay, projects currently under construction include Trio, The Bernard and Expo62.

On the horizon are residential projects proposed for the Denny Center lot (Denny & Fairview), Denny & Yale and Denny & Stewart. Most of proposed upcoming projects will fall under the new zoning guidelines which will allow up to 400 feet tall structures.

An early design guidance meeting has been scheduled for September 25th at 5:30 PM at Seattle City Hall, room L280.

Lexas Companies is currently developing the upscale Escala condominium project at 4th & Virginia. The architect for the project is Thoryk Architecture who designed Escala.

A 400 foot tower would be massive in that area of Denny Triangle which is primarily composed of low and mid-rise buildings. Though, it will go a long way towards revitalizing the district with new housing, business and retail opportunities.

“Making the structural and parking systems work effectively and finding ways to add saleable area to the project to offset the extra costs were the most challenging aspects,” said Blaine Weber, who leads his firm’s Urban Projects/High-Rise Team, which is designing 12 high-rise towers in Seattle.

Dan Foltz, principal of Weber+Thompson explained that the project could not, for instance, rely on a traditional shear-core structural solution. In lieu of a shear core, an outrigger structural system provides lateral resistance while avoiding a perimeter moment frame. In addition, some mechanical parking helps offset the inefficiencies of the site.

ICON will have punched decks between the various juxtaposed forms, and pre-cast concrete architectural frame features will break the mass of each facade into more slender vertical and smaller-scaled elements, Foltz explained. The top of ICON will have a generous roof-top garden deck as well as a sculptural, iconic element that will allude to the Space Needle. This halo, which will be lit at night, is intended to be a beacon.

ICON will feature 224 283 “homespaces” ranging in size from 570 to 1,400 sq ft. The average “homespace” will be about 900 sq ft. No word yet on pricing or pre-sales, but we’ll do a review once marketing begins and information about home designs are made available.

Renderings courtesy of Weber + Thompson