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The Seattle Times reported today that Smith Tower’s owner, Walton Street Capital, has amended plans to convert the venerable landmark. The new proposal calls for converting the top 12 floors to condominiums with one unit per floor, roughly about 2,000 square feet each.
Read the full article at the SeattleTimes.com:
Smith Tower condos: Only the top 12 floors
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.
The Seattle PI reports the Smith Tower is one step closer to conversion having cleared one hurdle, passing a conditional city approval. The project will need to also receive approval from the Pioneer Square Preservation Board.
Interestingly, per the article, the developer is not fully committed to converting the Smith Tower.
Related SCL posts:
Smith Tower Condos?
Smith Tower Review Meeting
On the agenda for the March 7th Pioneer Square Preservation Board meeting will be a review of the plan to convert Smith Tower into condos. The proposal calls for reclassification of the building to allow for retail on the ground floor and 150 condo units above.
Where: Seattle City Hall, 600 4th Ave - Boards & Commissions Room #L280
When: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Related:
- Preservation Board Agenda (PDF)
- Seattle PI article
- SCL’s initial post
The Seattle Times is reporting the new owners of Seattle’s venerable Smith Tower has designs on converting it to condos.
Chicago-based Walton Street Capital filed papers with the city Wednesday to begin what could be a months-long process of getting approval to redo the tower as housing.
Some people seem to think it may be a reasonable proposition:
Matthew Gardner, principal in the Seattle-based land-use economics firm Gardner Johnson, said Smith Tower’s conversion “could be incredible.”
“The building itself is iconic, so it does make sense to go down this road.”
Gardner also said the switch would benefit Pioneer Square by bringing more residents into the neighborhood.
Smith Tower has struggled a bit to attract and retain business tenants as more modern office towers emerged in recent decades.
“The building itself was never ideally suited to a modern, commercial office-type tenant,” said Kevin Daniels, president of Nitze-Stagen, a private commercial-property investment firm.
There are some obstacles, mainly its historic landmark status. However, there is precedent in Seattle for converting landmark buildings to condos. It’ll be interesting to see how this idea progresses. Under the real estate principle of highest and best use, conversion may be the most optimal use for the building. And, living in an iconic building may be very attractive to potential buyers.
