The Seattle Condo Blog | Seattle Condos and Lofts

Vulcan hosted a hard hat tour of Rollin Street Flats today, which provided a first glimpse of the project. Overall, the build quality and finishes met expectations, definitely an upgrade over Veer Lofts.

Based on the model unit at the Discovery Center and marketing materials I was anticipating the homes would be a bit more refined with large open layouts. With the exception of the two-bedrooms, the layouts were not too dissimilar from other recently completed condo developments. To me, the layout as well as the sterility of the exposed concrete walls and ceilings were quite reminiscent of Mosler Lofts. The decks seemed a bit too narrow, probably wide enough for potted plants and a bistro set, but not much else. The “shotgun” units on the alley side don’t seem receive a lot of ambient daylight, mostly due to the depth of the units, something to keep in mind if you like bright and airy living spaces.

Rollin Street’s common areas are impressive. On the lower level there’s fitness center and a full-sized basketball court that also serves as a volleyball and badminton court (Update: BB court is not regulation, it’s 24 x 80 ft with hoops on both ends). The second floor houses a huge community room and a large landscaped terrace that incorporates a fireplace feature and BBQ area. A second outside terrace is located on the penthouse level. One unique design feature that Vulcan included are the elevator lobbies on each level with floor-to-ceiling windows providing Westerly views. Upon arriving home and exiting the elevator the first thing you’ll see is the Space Needle.

One feature I wasn’t aware of is that every home at Rollin is air-conditioned, pretty sweet. Dues run about 52 cents per square foot, which on first glance seems high. But, it covers nearly everything except electricity, so it’s quite reasonable.

Currently, Rollin Street is approximately 35% sold. They aren’t offering any incentives at this time (Vulcan is probably the one developer who can weather the downturn). Interestingly, they are using the low sales rate as an inducement. The development won’t be turned over to the association until it’s 75% sold, therefore, owners will not have to pay HOA dues in the interim (Vulcan covers in the meantime). So, they say, if you buy today you likely won’t have to pay any HOA dues for another 9 months. A nice way of saying they aren’t expecting to reach the 75% sold rate until well into 2009. And, no, they are not considering converting to apartments.

No word yet on the commercial/retail tenants slated for the building, other than for a high-end home furnishing store.

Unfortunately, Vulcan is the only developer to prohibit photography so no photos to share.

The Seattle DPD is hosting a South Lake Union Urban Form Scoping meeting to provide information about the South Lake Union Urban Form Study and EIS process and to take public comment on the rezone alternatives that the City will study in the EIS and to identify areas of potential impact that should be studied. More info.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
South Lake Union Armory
Naval Reserve Building at Lake Union Park
860 Terry Ave. N
*This venue is accessible, please contact us for special accommodations

Veer Lofts (www.veerlofts.com), Vulcan’s first South Lake Union condominium/loft project to complete (technically the 2200 is not in SLU) received its temporary certificate of occupancy recently, and first move-in is expected shortly.

With Veer, Vulcan seeks to emulate a trendy industrial loft feel with open spaces accented with heavy timber beams, concrete and metal. The six-story building contains 99 homes with three distinct home plans – flats, lofts with a flexible space and two-level full lofts.

Prior to the TCO, our only glimpse of Veer was through the rather limited kitchen vignette at the SLU Discovery Center. And, honestly that single vignette provided an underwhelming impression of Veer, especially when compared to Vulcan’s other under-construction projects – Enso & Rollin Street.

I had the opportunity to tour Veer this week and I must say that it exceeded my expectations; partly because the finish materials are higher quality than originally sampled. And, also because the interior layouts exhibit an efficient use of space. Though, there were a couple of odd quirks. The in-unit exposed sprinkler pipes were not symmetrically installed. There may be a building code reason for this, but visually it was distracting. And, in the common stairwells, the sprinkler pipes hang below the ceiling decreasing overhead clearance, which is only an issue if you’re hauling large items up and down the stairs. At least in two flexi-lofts units I toured, the access point to the loft area was hindered by the ceiling beams that effectively decreased the height of the opening. I’d be hard press to visualize the flexi-loft space as anything other than storage. But, that’s fine. There’s more than ample living space on the main level.

Inside, the light colored concrete floors on the main level and over-sized windows provided more than ample ambient light. In the flats, a 3/4 height kitchen wall allows light to pass through to the sleeping alcove. The top-level full-loft homes are impressive with its soaring 16′ ceiling height, multiple decks and territorial city views. Curiously though, to access the private outdoor space (top-floor units) you’ll need to step out through a window opening, which is smaller than shown in renderings.

Veer Lofts has a number of units available offering an excellent array of home options, primarily flexi and full-lofts. There is only one flat still available, unit #207 that’s being offered at $404,950. This is a 751 square foot unit with windows on three sides offering views of downtown and Lake Union.

The flexi-lofts, located on the 4th and 5th floors, range in size from approximately 600 to 740 square feet and are being offered between the upper-$300,000s and upper-$400,000s. One note about the flexi’s, the stated square footage does not include the loft space, which would add an additional 250 to 350 square feet. The full-lofts, located on the 1st and 6th (top) floor, range in size from approximately 807 to 1,073 square feet. The 1st floor homes start from the upper-$400,000s while the top floor homes begin in the mid-$500,000s.

An on-site sales office and staged model homes will open to the public beginning Thursday, October 9th. The sales office hours are 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

View available Veer Loft units for sale.

Veer Lofts Versus …

Three other recently completed new construction developments provide homes with similar layouts to Veer. These include Madison Lofts, Gallery and Mosler Lofts. Here’s my impression on how they compare to Veer.

Madison Lofts
Madison Lofts is a much smaller building with only 20 loft homes compared to the much larger 99-unit Veer. All of Madison Lofts’ homes are multi-level full-lofts with 16′ ceiling height, on-par with Veer’s full-lofts. Homes at Madison Lofts essentially start from the upper-$400,000s, though two larger units with expansive outdoor space begin at just under $1 million.

With a few exceptions, the interior layout and square footage between the two projects are quite similar. But, Madison Lofts scores more points for better construction (concrete/steel vs. wood frame), a more polished interior with better quality finishes and more usable, larger exterior spaces. Veer gains points for its central location, in the middle of the yet to be fully realized SLU district and close to downtown. Madison Lofts, on the other hand, is tucked way next to the arboretum, a good 15-20 minutes from downtown.

Gallery Townhomes
The Gallery condominium in Belltown is in the final stages of completion with residents already moving-in. At one point Gallery offered “SkyLofts”, two-level loft units on the upper floors, but eventually replaced those with single-level flats. Fortunately, for those interested in loft living, Gallery did retain its ground floor loft-styled townhomes. Though, these are aimed towards a different demographic and are larger, ranging in size from 1,000 to 1,195 square feet. They’re also priced quite a bit higher, between $622,000 and $740,300.

Gallery is a concrete and steel building located within the established Belltown neighborhood, so it has an edge over Veer in that respect. With its refined interiors, it lacks the urban industrial character of Veer and Mosler. Gallery offers a greater variety of home options which will appeal to a more diverse homeowner base as well.

Mosler Lofts
The concrete and steel constructed Mosler Lofts, also located in Belltown, offers similar ground floor loft-style townhome units. Mosler has a more industrial aesthetic compared to Veer, with exposed concrete walls and ceilings and exposed HVAC ducts, but does have higher quality finishes and more common amenities.

Presently, only one of the five loft-townhomes is available. It’s a 962 square foot home offered at $579,000, which competes directly with Veer’s top-floor lofts. Although, Mosler has a superior build quality, more amenities and located in an established area, on price, a top-level Veer unit is a compelling option. Veer’s top-floor lofts offer city or lake views, private decks and a greater sense of security.

Veer Lofts is located in Seattle’s most aggressive urban renewal and reinvention projects, South Lake Union. Led by Paul Allen’s vision, SLU is actually an amalgamation of numerous entities that represent diverse interests – educational and research institutions, market-rate and low-income residential development as well as commercial/office developments. Local companies setting-up shop in SLU include Group Health, UW Medicine, Rosetta, Tommy Bahama, Amazon, Microsoft, Weber Thompson and NBBJ. Additionally, Microsoft is expected to be the principal tenant of the 2201 Westlake office building (Enso).

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sztisWcWtrg]

Rollin Street Flats is an upscale condominium in South Lake Union. Links: Our review and Rollin Street website

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Enso is a luxury condominium in the South Lake Union district. Links: Our review and Enso website

South Lake Union and the Seattle Humane Society will be celebrating the 10th annual Take Your Dog To Work Day on Friday, June 20th at the SLU Discovery Center (corner of Westlake & Denny).

The Seattle Humane Society’s mobile adoption center, the MaxMobile (pictured), will be at the Discovery Center from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. If you’ve been contemplating adopting a dog, cat or rabbit, then drop on by.

Additionally, a week-long pet food drive benefiting the Humane Society’s Pet Food Bank is currently underway at locations throughout SLU. You can also make pet food donations at the Discovery Center. Dry cat food is the most requested item at the food bank.

I’ll be hosting an open house at The Portal Over Lake Union on Sunday, May 18th from 1 – 4 pm. The Portal is located at 655 Crockett Street, access is from Dexter Avenue.

Unit #A102 is one of only a handful of live/work lofts available within the complex, perfectly suitable for office or artisan studio space. The unit is a spacious 1,214 square feet of open living space with 12′ ceilings. Other home features include:

• Master suite with walk-in closet, built-ins and a huge 5-piece master bath
• Open living/kitchen space with oversized windows
• Separate loft area with an adjoining closet. The space is completely customizable – use it as an office, studio, 2nd bedroom or media room – whatever fits your need.
• 2nd full bathroom
• Stone countertops, stainless steel appliances, gas fireplace
• Bamboo, carpet and tile flooring
• Private deck, in unit w/d, parking & extra storage
• Pet friendly

The Portal was constructed in 2004 consisting of 76 condominium homes in two buildings overlooking Lake Union. Though the buildings back to Aurora, the homes are on the East-side with the common hallway buffering the homes from Aurora. Amenities include a courtyard off the community club room and an expansive roof top deck. Access to the Portal is via Dexter Avenue.

The National Sales and Marketing Council announced its 2008 “The Nationals” Gold Award winners this past Wednesday in 59 categories. The awards honor new-home sales and marketing homebuilders, developers, associates, and consultants. From among the 1,400 entries, Seattle winners were represented by Escala and Veer Lofts (Vulcan):

• Best Buyer Retention Program – Escala
• Best Sales or Information Center – Vulcan’s Discovery Center at SLU
• Best Attached Home Plan, High-Rise – Escala
• Best Attached Community of the Year – Veer Lofts

Other awards include:

• Best Website – Escala
• Best Logo – Veer Lofts

New Denny Way Tenant

Walgreens announced they will open a store within the historic Bank of America building (Seattle First National) at 6th and Denny Way. Walgreens will renovate the interior but will retain the exterior and drive-thru. The store is expected to open this Summer and will be flanked by the new Taylor 28 Apartments, Hyatt Place Hotel and Icon Tower developments.

On a side note, the crane for 115 Aurora condo project, located two blocks from the Bank of America building, went up on Tuesday.

New Retailers at SLU

Vulcan announced several new retailers in the SLU district. At 2200, Tutta Bella will officially open its doors on November 5th. Though pie cravers can dine at the restaurant during its soft opening this week. Tutta Bella is the area’s first pizzaria certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana in Naples, Italy.

Joining Tutta Bella at 2200 are Clover House and Opal. Clover House offers an assortment of home accessories, houseplants, pottery, jewelry, bath & body products, stationery & cards and candles. Opal will offer a unique, one-of-a-kind selection of the finest fashions from Juicy Couture, True Religion, Michael Stars, William Rast, Velvet, Trina Turk, Iisli and Vince, among many others. Opal plans to open in December.

GolfTEC and Velocity Art & Design will occupy space at Alley24. GolfTEC offers instruction in golfing techniques, conditioning and equipment. Velocity features an elegant and curated collection of modern home furnishings and accessories from around the world.

Major Complex Planned at SLU / Westlake

Thanks to Rob at the CDS Blog for the update on CarrAmerica’s SLU area development, called Westlake Steps. I briefly mentioned it last February but there was very little information at that time. It looks like they are progressing on this project with construction expected to being in 2010.

Centered around the Casey Family Foundation building, Westlake Steps will comprise five 6-story mixed-use buildings that will add 850,000 square feet of office, retail and residential space. A public stairway/plaza will lead from Dexter Ave to Westlake Ave and will be flanked with retail space. CarrAmerica purchased the 4.5 acre Casey Family site two years ago.

Related articles of interest:
Denny Way Developments
Icon Tower

Both the Seattle PI and Seattle Times are reporting that Microsoft will be making an announcement tomorrow about expanding to the South Lake Union district in Seattle. And, both say, to fill an immediate need, Microsoft may lease space in the Westlake/Terry Building, which houses the new corporate headquarters for Group Health.

Rumor also has it that another major Seattle-based technology (retail) company may take up significant office space in South Lake Union area.

Over a million square feet of office space in SLU could potentially be home to the region’s thriving technology firms. This is excellent news for Vulcan’s SLU condo projects and for the massive redevelopment of the area.