The Seattle Condo Blog | Seattle Condos and Lofts

The Olive 8 condominium (website) and Hyatt hotel project is progressing full steam ahead with construction now exceeding 22 floors. The project is 80% sold with occupancy of lower level homes slated for January 2009 while the Hyatt at Olive 8 is expected to open this coming December. A model home within the building will be available some time this fall.

With that said, however, recent events and the state of the condo market are on the minds of developers. R.C. Hedreen, Olive 8′s developer, is ensuring that buyers in Seattle’s tallest residential tower receive the lowest price possible as the market continues to fluctuate by offering a price guarantee to new buyers. Should the same floor-plan within Olive 8‘s remaining inventory sells for less than the current price prior to closing, the buyers who contracted for a higher price home will benefit at closing with the equivalent discount to their price.

Acccording to David Thyer, president of R.C. Hedreen, the Olive 8 homes are attracting a great deal of attention and interest, but “We recognize the housing market hesitancy and feel that this guarantee will help shore the confidence of those who are on-the-fence. Buying now offers the best selection and the assurance that they are getting a great value.”

Just West of Seattle City Hall is the proposed Civic Square project that’ll encompass an entire city block between 3rd and 4th Avenues and Cherry and James Streets.

Civic Square will feature an open plaza with an amphitheater, water features, retail space, a Metro/Light Rail station and a 40-story office & residential tower. The curved lower 22-levels will house office space and the upper 17-levels will be condominium homes. From the latest renderings, the design reminds me a little of Smith Tower with a skinny tower atop of a wider base.

Civic Square Plaza

The project is aiming for LEED Platinum certification and will incorporate sustainable features such as using a concrete subterranean garage as a big heat sink that could serve as a radiator for the entire building, photovoltaics cells, graywater filtration and harvesting rainwater for irrigation and to generate electricity via microturbines.

Read the full story

Gallery Belltown
Buyers speak with their pocketbooks. And, apparently buyers spoke loudly at Belltown’s Gallery Condominium project. When the Gallery project first came online it was touting its SkyLofts concept, true two-level loft homes with 18′ ceiling heights located on the upper floors that offered spectacular city and sound views. But, it seems buyers just weren’t ponying up the big bucks for these units and most of them are now history, replaced with 600 sq ft one-bedroom flats.

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.

Last week the 1 Hotel & Residences project held a private soiree for the launching of the “1″ brand. While I wasn’t there, urbnlivn.com’s Matt was. Here’s his impression of the 1 Hotel project.

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.

Downtown Seattle’s 2nd Avenue has been receiving quite a bit of attention lately with several condominium, apartment and office towers under construction or planned. The most notable of these include the 1521 Condominium, 1 Hotel & Residences, 2nd & Pike (hotel & condo) and the Liberty Building (office & apartment) developments.

Now, add three more potential projects to the list. On the horizon are 1915 2nd, 1931 2nd and 2015 2nd.

• The 1915 2nd project is a 24-story 171-unit condominium being developed by Intracorp.
• The 1931 2nd proposal is a 40-story hotel and residential tower with 135 hotel rooms and 182 residential units.
• And, proposed for the 2015 2nd parcel is a 40-story 240 unit residential condominium tower.

Read the full story

“ZEN living in the ZING of downtown” – AVA Condominium

AVA Condominium (website) began early VIP preview and reservation events in mid-September. Presently, all of AVA’s six scheduled preview events are fully booked. For information on future events, please register on the AVA website. Homes may be reserved during the preview events with a $10,000 refundable deposit.

AVA is Seattle’s latest luxury condominium project featuring a 190-room hotel and 200+ condominium homes which are being offered from the $400,000s to $5 million. In addition to traditional condominium homes, AVA also features ten unique two-level townhomes.

Amenities and features include:

• Sleek glass and steel design
• Outdoor heated swimming pool
• SkyLounge
• Fitness Center and Spa
• A signature restaurant
• Business center with secretarial services
• Meeting and conference rooms
• Separate hotel and residential lobbies
• Residential entrances on two sides of the building, including a port cochere
• Close to downtown’s retail & theatre districts

Read the full story

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

The proposal to convert Seattle’s venerable Smith Tower to condominiums is one step closer. The Seattle PI is reporting that the Pioneer Square Preservation Board has unanimously voted to approve the condo conversion proposal. However, it will still need approval from the city’s Landmark Preservation Board.

Read the full Seattle PI article.

Bite of Seattle & Expo 62

The Bite of Seattle kicks off today at the Seattle Center and will run through Sunday, July 22nd. The Bite features food samples from 50 local restaurants along with music & comedy entertainment.

The folks at Expo 62 invite bite-goers to drop by the Expo 62 sales center for a peek at the new project adjacent to the Seattle Center.

Aloha Plates is serving up Huli Huli Chicken, a Hawaii islander’s favorite. This former Honoluluan might just brave the rain for this tasty chicken dish.

Pike Place Market

The Pike Place Market continues its Centennial Year celebration this weekend with the Berry Bash. The festivities include Berry Shortcake samples, a pie baking contest which is interestingly followed by a pie eating contest, a chef demo, square dancing and a fish tossing game.

Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale

The sale which Seattleites anticipate all year long starts today. Nordstrom was founded in downtown Seattle 106 years ago.