The Seattle Times reports that Heron/Pagoda Towers developer Multi Capital Group has lost part of the property through foreclosure.

A developer who had proposed a $900-million, twin-tower development across Fifth Avenue from the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle has lost part of the property to foreclosure.

New York lender G4 Capital Partners took title to about half the site of the proposed Heron and Pagoda towers this week, according to county records. G4 had loaned an affiliate of New York developer Multi Capital Group $13.7 million to buy the property, but the affiliate defaulted.

Ashworth Cottages

A Pryde+Johnson development in the Green Lake neighborhood had sold only 2 of its 20 homes in the two years before the bank took over the development a few months ago. Since returning to market three weeks ago with steep discounts they’re now down to their last four units.

Even though they’re nearly closed out, Ashworth Cottage’s latest sales team is hosting its official Grand Opening on Saturday, November 14th with lattes from 11-1pm and hotdogs from 2-4pm. www.liveashworth.com

European Tower

GIS International is bucking the trend and moving forward with pre-sales at its one-home per floor European Tower development. They’ve reduced prices significantly and re-launched their website. www.europeantower.com

Marselle Condominium

Marselle reports that they’ve sold 20 units last month and 13 owners have already moved into their new digs. Half of the homes are priced under $300,000. www.marsellecondos.com

About half the site of the proposed Heron and Pagoda towers will be sold to the highest bidder in June unless the developer pays off a past-due loan on the property, according to a notice filed with King County.

New York developer Multi Capital Group filed permit applications for two 550-foot towers with 1.2 million square feet of condos, retail, hotel and office space. But the project was postponed indefinitely last year, one of many victims of the faltering economy and credit crunch.

Now G4 Capital Partners, a New York lender, says a Multi Capital affiliate has defaulted on $13.7 million it borrowed in 2007 to help buy three of the five parcels that make up the project site.

Unless the debt is paid, those properties, which total about 0.37 acre, will be sold at auction in Bellevue on June 19, according to a public notice filed on G4’s behalf last month.

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.”

Schuster’s current plans for the site is a “green” condo project which is zoned to 125′ for residential buildings. No time frame has been provided.

Insignia Towers
The DJC also reported that construction of the Insignia Towers project at 5th between Bell & Battery has been postponed, possibly until 2009. Insignia’s developer, Embassy Development, attributed the sluggish market for their decision.

Escala
As was widely reported earlier this week, Escala announced they’re increasing the prices of their remaining inventory. While the overall adjustment reflects a net increase, sources indicate that they also reduced prices on some of the units the east side of the building.

Looking West towards Heron & Pagoda Towers.

Night rendering of the project.

Heron and Pagoda will be connected via the 11-story base that’ll include a soring atrium, pool & spa, retail & hotel amenities.

The 50-ft high V-shaped roof encompasses an open air arboretum, roof garden and covered recreational space.

View to the North with the Heron in the center, Escala to the left and the Westin on the right.

See also: SeattlePI article

Renderings courtesy of Ismael Leyva Architects.

Between the Westin & Escala (foreground)

Note: A 2nd design guidance meeting has been scheduled for this project on February 12th at 7:00 PM at Seattle City Hall.

It seems Seattle will be awash with double vision in the coming years. Besides the Heron/Pagoda project, at least four other twin-tower projects have been proposed in the downtown area — Insignia Towers, 1200 Stewart, 2nd & Virginia and the Pike Street Group’s project at 6th & Lenora.

SeattlePI article: Hotel-condo project to face Westin

Renderings courtesy of Ismael Leyva Architects.

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.

Just saw a bulletin for a new 46-story hotel/residential project at the corner of 5th Avenue & Stewart which is currently a parking lot (next to the Escala presentation center). The proposal calls for 175 hotel units and 190 residential units which I presume will be condos. A 2nd early design meeting has been set for Tuesday, June 12 at 7:00 PM at Seattle City Hall.

The Mortgage Porter

I’ve been reading Rhonda Porter’s blog posts for a while now, mostly on Rain City Guide. Though, she has her own fantastic blog – The Mortgage Porter – that includes weekly rate updates, well-written articles on the mortgage process, info on different types of loan products and financial planning advice.

Now, I don’t have a business relationship with Rhonda, nevertheless, she has a great knack for writing and provides a wealth of useful, unbiased information for home buyers. It’s well worth the look.

Memorial Day

Enjoy the weekend and happy condo shopping. I’m heading out-of-town, camping in the Cascades. I’ll probably be cold and miserable (something like 50 degrees), but we all need a little break from urban living.