The Seattle Condo Blog | Seattle Condos and Lofts

Hjarta, Phase 2

Pryde + Johnson has filed a land use application the 2nd phase of its Hjarta development in Ballard. The phase 2 building will be on the backside of the existing building and will front NW 56th Street. I’ll update further when more information is available. View the land use bulletin

Trace North & Trace Lofts

Trace North sold another 5 units in the past three weeks and is now down to its final 3 units for sale. www.tracelofts.com

• #418: One-bedroom, 804 square feet offered at $354,950
• #519: Open one-bedroom, 614 square feet offered at $274,950
• #502: Open one-bedroom, 610 square feet offered at $264,950

Plus, there’s a resale unit that’s listed at $199,950. Due to MLS restrictions I can’t tell you about it, but you can view more info about the resale and the other 3 units here.

Trace Lofts is down to its last unit, #407, which is a 703 square foot open one-bedroom facing south with its own deck. It is currently listed at $324,950 – View listing

Harborside Condominium

Slightly outside and a ferry ride away from Seattle is the Harborside Condominium in Bremerton. The Harborside is located on the waterfront just a couple of blocks from the ferry terminal. The two building development has a number of great units available with prices that are 40-50% below their 2007 prices when the project was completed.

Prices start at $255,000 for one-bedroom homes (from 913 square feet), from $309,000 and up for large two-bedrooms and $759,000 for a 2,642 square foot three-bedroom penthouse suite.

www.harborsidecondominiums.com

Joseph Arnold Lofts

For those keeping track of the Joseph Arnold Lofts apartment project in Belltown, the design review board meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 10th at 5:30 pm at Seattle City Hall. The Joseph Arnold Lofts will be adjacent to two condo buildings – The Klee and Bellora. View land use bulletin

Olive 8 & Escala

Sales seem to be tapering off for both downtown Seattle condo buildings. Since March 1st (over the past 8 weeks) there were 6 new purchases (contracts accepted) between them, 2 at Olive 8 and 4 at Escala. Three of those were over $1 million.
www.Olive8.com   |    View Olive 8 units for sale
www.somethingischangingatescala.com   |    View Escala units for sale

Queen’s Court

After Matrix took over the Queen’s Court condo development last September sales have been brisk with 12 homes sold so far, leaving just 2 homes remaining. Both are 509 square foot studios priced at $149,950 and $154,950. Queen’s Court is a 2007 conversion located near the Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne.

For this week’s condo digest I’m doing something a little different – highlighting the Facebook pages of current condo developments that are for sale. All of these pages were created and are maintained by the marketing/sales teams so they can get out of date when a development changes marketing firms. Though, for the most part they’re up to date with project and pricing updates, photos and neighborhood happenings.

In my opinion, the best are (1) the Verdeaux page with its great resident interaction, (2) the homeowner testimonials on Marselle page and (3) Trace Lofts/North’s fantastic Capitol Hill community updates.

1111 E Pike (withering away) – Condos on Capitol Hill.

7800 Plaza (current) – Condos on Mercer Island, now 50% sold.

Bellevue Towers (current) – Condos in downtown Bellevue.

Celine Place (current) – Townhomes in North Seattle.

Danielle (current) – Condos in Ballard.

Decatur (never got going) – Condos on First Hill.

Harvard & Highland (starting to fade) – Condos on Capitol Hill.

Marselle (current) – Condos near the Seattle Center.

Olive 8 (withering away) – Condos in downton Seattle. However, Hyatt at Olive 8 page is going strong.

One Main Street (current) – Condos in downtown Bellevue.

Point Edwards (current) – Condos in Edmonds.

Pontedera (current) – Condos in Seattle.

Sylvan Ridge (current) – Townhomes in West Seattle.

Trace Lofts & Trace North (current) – Condos and lofts on Capitol Hill.

Verdeaux (current) – Condos in Bothell.

And, you can find The Seattle Condo Blog on Facebook, too!   By the way, I tend to post more on our Facebook page than I do on the blog, so consider “liking” us to get more condo updates, news articles and community information.

Trace North and Trace Loft recently adjusted prices rather significantly on the remaining developer units. The Trace North adjustments ranged from $10,000 to $75,000 while Trace Lofts reductions ranged from $30,000 to $150,000 on a two-bedroom unit.

Sample Trace North reductions

#407, Studio – 474 sq ft
Reduced $10,000 to $229,905

#515, One-bedroom – 646 sq ft
Reduced $35,000 to $334,950

#403, One-bedroom – 804 sq ft
Reduced $25,000 to $339,950

#618, One-bedroom – 804 sq ft
Reduced $45,000 to $454,950

#503, One-bedroom – 803 sq ft
Reduced $75,000 to $409,950

Trace Lofts, only four remain

#407, One-bedroom – 703 sq ft
Reduced $30,000 to $369,950

#406, One-bedroom – 789 sq ft
Reduced $50,000 to $399,950

#506, One-bedroom – 787 sq ft
Reduced $95,000 to $499,950

#403, Two-bedroom – 1,154 sq ft
Reduced $150,000 to $699,950

A second design review board meeting has been scheduled for the apartment development project at 1222 E. Madison, which is adjacent to Trace Lofts and Trace North. The proposed project is a 6-story 104-unit residential building with ground level retail.

The meeting is scheduled for July 1, 2009 at 6:30 PM at the Montlake Library (2401 24th Ave E).

CHS Capitol Hill Seattle had a good write up of the last design review board meeting held back on June 3rd.

Early design version:

Location, E. Madison at 13th Avenue:

The project is has been proposed by Wallace Properties (507 Northgate & Taylor 28) and designed by Baylis Architects.

Images: Courtesy of Baylis Architects

A few local condo projects are now claiming a place on the social networking site, Facebook. With more than 175 million users, Facebook provides another venue to tout new condo projects as well as to bring new owners and future neighbors together.

Marketer/Developer created Facebook pages/groups:
- Brix
- Veer Lofts
- Enso
- Rollin Street
- Trace
- Maison Jiselle

Buyer/Owner created Facebook pages/groups:
- Veer Lofts owners group
- Rollin Street buyers (profile page, “friends” accepted once purchase is verified)

Besides Facebook, a few condo community blogsites have also been popular for owners, residents and condo aficionados alike – Cosmo Seattle, Fast Times at 2200, The Grandview and Mosler Lofts (restricted).

UPDATE: This unit has sold and is no longer available.

View other Trace Lofts units available for sale

Hip and urban open one-bedroom loft in the heart of the eclectic Pike/Pine neighborhood. Trace Lofts #308 is the first resale available at the recently converted 1919 building.

This inviting home features large South facing windows creating a light-filled, warm interior that’s accented with exposed brick walls, timber ceiling & reclaimed Douglas Fir floors. The richly appointed modern kitchen features mahogany-stained oak cabinets & Inca Basalt tiled countertops and is equipped with GE Profile stainless steel appliances including a gas range.

The home’s industrial loft character includes high ceilings with exposed duct work and piping. Trace Lofts is in the center of the revitalized Pike/Pine triangle and is close to everything – entertainment, nightlife, shops, cafes and bistros.

Offered at: $315,000
Unit info:  615 sq ft, includes extra storage and assigned parking
Pet friendly: Yes
MLS#: 28185785

This property is listed with TSCB’s Ben Kakimoto & Barb Andersen.

Trace Lofts (website) report they are down to their final 5 units. Four of the units are on the 4th level with the remaining unit on the 5th level. Prices range from $485,000 for a 703 sq ft loft to $850,000 for a 1,154 sq ft loft.

Next door at Trace North, construction is expected to be completed by June. About 30 of the 100 units have sold and the developer just released another 20 units. Current prices at Trace North range from $230,000 for a 474 sq ft studio to $525,000 for a 952 sq ft two-bedroom home.

Trace’s New Neighbors

1210 11th Avenue
Union & Madison LLC has proposed a 5-story 91-unit complex on the triangular block SW of Trace Lofts. The building is designed by Runberg Architecture Group whose other projects include The Crawford on Capitol Hill and the Selano in Lower Queen Anne.

1111 East Pike
Designed by Tom Kundig of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, 1111 East Pike is just west of Trace North on E. Pike Street. The proposed 6-story project will feature 27 condominium homes. See also.

1 Hotel & Residences – Downtown
1 Hotel & Residences broke ground this past week. The $200 million project states they are more than 50% reserved on condo homes and oversubscribed on city suites (hotel / condo units).

AVA Condos – Downtown
AVA Condos will begin scheduling private preview events in July for interested buyers. At 445 feet, AVA will be Seattle’s tallest residential tower.

aZul Flats – Fremont
aZul Flats is offering a $7,500 buyer bonus on 2 bed / 2 bath homes for a limited time.

Fini Condos – Phinney Ridge
Fini announced that interested buyers still have time to select their color scheme. The color scheme selection deadline is July 1st.

CityView – Leshi
CityView reduced prices on select homes and are still offering paid HOA dues for a year and a $5,000 buyer bonus.

The Parc – Belltown
Parc is 85% sold and approaching completion. Homeowners will be able to start moving in later this Summer. Units are still available starting from the mid-$300,000s.

Escala – Midtown
Escala reports they passed the $50 million sales mark during the 1st month of sales.

Trace Lofts – Capitol Hill
Trace reports they have sold over 60% of their homes and have released 10 additional units. The buyer’s lounge is now open in the Gun Club 4-9 PM on weeknights and 10 am – 6 pm on weekends.

For additional information or questions about condo or loft projects, please contact us.

With competition fierce many projects are offering buyers sweet incentives. Here are a few:

CityView Leschi – $5,000 buyer bonus PLUS 1-year paid homeowner dues.

Queen Anne High School - $10,000 buyer bonus for homes sold in May.

Both require buyers facilitate loans through the preferred lender for the buyer bonuses.

Trace Lofts Buyer’s Lounge is now open. The hours are Mon-Fri from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM and Sat-Sun from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The lounge is located at 1408 12th Avenue and parking is available at 1410 10th Avenue (2 blocks West of Trace Lofts).

22 West Lee reports they are 50% sold, excellent for a high-end condo project. They will be hosting a Broker’s Open on Tuesday, May 22 from 11 AM to 2 PM.

And, finally, the Seattle Condo Expo is this weekend at the Westin Seattle.

Trace Lofts will be holding an informational forum for those interested in learning more about the project. There will be a short presentation followed by a Q&A session with the project team (developer, ek Group, architect, interior designer and the creator of the Gun Club.

When: Wednesday, March 28th
Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Where: Fisher Plaza East Lobby (140 4th Ave N)