Project Touted as “Greenest Commercial Building” Lives Up to Its Name

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

In green-heavy Seattle, it takes a lot to really stand out for sustainable design efforts. The new Federal Center South Building, developed by the General Services Administration for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has made headlines for its innovative use of environmentally friendly technologies. And now the Bullitt Foundation has cut out its own niche, with the first commercial building in the U.S. to receive Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Project Certification

The certification recognizes the Bullitt Center’s use of locally sourced wood from FSC-approved providers, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal. Before winning the title, the building underwent extensive onsite audits of its core and shell by Soil Association Woodwork. Other major green fixtures in the building include an entirely renewable-energy solar power system, a rainwater reuse system and a design that employs a maximized amount of natural light, decreasing the need for electric lighting.  

Built for $30 million near the corner of 15^th and Madison, the six-story, 50,000-square-foot structure aimed at becoming “the greenest commercial building in the world,” thus earning the project quite an amount of media coverage. This latest award seems to reinforce the developer’s initial ambitions. Designed to house the Bullitt Foundation’s six employees, the building’s tenant roster will also include a number of earth-conscious entities, the business journal noted.

Image courtesy of bullittcenter.org

Seattle’s New Skyscraper to Get SLS-Branded Boutique Hotel

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Daniels Real Estate and Stockbridge Capital Group are developing the city’s tallest skyscraper in two decades. Their massive $400 million project drew quite a bit of attention when first announced and is now set to get another run as it begins to fill its 43 floors with office and hospitality tenants.

The two companies handling the development process for the Phillipe Starck-designed high-rise recently announced that the SBE Entertainment-owned brand SLS will be opening its first Seattle location in the building.

The SLS Hotel Seattle will occupy floors two through 15 and offer guests 184 rooms from which to choose—all designed with its signature boutique style in mind. The hotel’s amenities will include 20,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa, a fitness facilities and 30,000 square feet of food and beverage outlets. Located at Fifth and Columbia in the city’s downtown area, the new skyscraper will begin construction during the fourth quarter of this year with a 2016 completion date in its sights.    

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Seattle’s hospitality market was among the frontrunners in the U.S., outpacing more established markets and recording increases in occupancy levels and nightly rates. Therefore, activity has ramped up in the sector, with brands such as SLS eager to get into the local market.

The skyscraper will also feature a generous offering of Class A office space, which in recent years has been the No. 1 driver of the Northwest’s real estate market. Massive office property sales in 2012, spurred on by a substantial growth in the number of available jobs in the area, have skyrocketed the city of Seattle to fourth position in office sales last year, trailing only the usual suspects of New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Amazon, Starbucks and Boeing have had a positive influence on the commercial real estate market, with further growth in sight.

For a more in-depth take on this Seattle story, click here.

Downtown Seattle Real Estate Market Set for Two New Deals

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Seattle’s commercial real estate market is hitting its cruising speed with a number of high-profile deals set to be closed by the end of the quarter. The Puget Sound Business Journal recently broke the news regarding two acquisitions that are set to be finalized soon. The buyer in both instances is Unico Properties, an entity looking to snap up two of the properties that make up the Harbor Urban portfolio, a joint venture created by Urban Properties in Los Angeles and AREA Property Partners, a New York-based real estate company.

Both located in downtown Seattle, the two properties were part of the Bullit family’s original Harbor Properties portfolio, a venture that was eventually sold to the aforementioned partnership that became Harbor Urban. The two properties in question are the Logan Building, a 10-story office building located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Union Street, and Pike Place Market, a retail property located near the waterfront of Elliot Bay at the base of a condo building and in the immediate vicinity of the Four Seasons Hotel.  

The Logan Building offers tenants 108,000 square feet of office space in the city’s downtown area. With a strong occupancy rate of around 93 percent, major names currently residing in the five-decade-old building include the Downtown Seattle Association, as well as retailers Butch Blum and Specialty’s Café & Bakery. The Pike Place public market includes retailers such as Cinnamon Works, Crepe de France, Hands of the World, Johnson Berry Farm, Marakesh Leather and The Great Wind-Up. The anchor tenant is Pike Brewing Co.

Image courtesy of harborportfolio.com

Schnitzer West Raises Funds Through Office Sale for Speculative Industrial, Office Development

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Schnitzer West has completed the sale of a number of office buildings in Bothell, The Puget Sound Business Journal recently wrote. They marked only the latest activity by the company in the South Puget Sound submarket. It is also reportedly gearing up to develop industrial properties in the area and is searching for good spots for office development.  

Schnitzer West sold seven office buildings to Eastside investor Stan Rosen as part of a portfolio traded for $25.8 million. The assets are located in Bothell, in the North Creek office campus. The deal was made for a 126,000-square-foot campus and Tech Center II, an office building totaling 31,000 square feet. The deals are reportedly fundraising for Schnitzer’s two major office developments in the greater Seattle area: Madison Centre and a Bellevue project.

Where industrial real estate is concerned, the company looks intent on developing property in South Puget Sound, following a pattern it has pursued with Valley Avenue Business Park in Puyallup. After Schnitzer West completed development on that 443,000-square-foot business park and had leasing in place for the facility, it sold it for $41.6 million.

With a proven business model and the industrial market improving in Pierce County, the company stands a chance of achieving a profitable investment on its development slate. Speculative development is popular in the South Puget Sound, according to the PSBJ, with as much as 2 million square feet of industrial space set to start construction in 2013.

Image courtesy of valleyavenue.com

Skanska USA Commercial Development’s First Seattle Effort Holds Groundbreaking

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Major construction firm Skanska recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the first project that the company’s USA Commercial Development team has handled in Seattle. Stone34 is a mixed-use facility that will offer office and retail space in a sustainable environment, one that keeps in line with the firm’s eco-friendly construction philosophy. Skanska USA Commercial Development also has a number of other projects lined up for the greater Seattle area, with the submarkets of South Lake Union and Bellevue currently targeted for a number of projects.

Stone34 was designed to become a door opener for the Burke-Gilman Trail, and will serve a diverse population for the area. It features ground-floor retail and four levels of office space totaling 129,000 square feet. In addition, 8,500 square feet of outdoor pedestrian space is included in the building plans. Features will also include wide sidewalks, group seating, plaza spaces and bike rails designed by landscape architect Swift & Co. The ground-floor spaces arranged by Skanska were an essential design feature for Stone34’s anchor tenant, Brooks Sports Inc.

One of the flagships for the city’s Deep Green Pilot Program, Skanska’s Stone34 is pre-certified LEED Platinum, and plans call for the structure to employ hydronic heating and cooling, stormwater capture and reuse, as well as designs that allow for an increase in day lighting and the lowering of summer heat loads. The building’s idea of connecting two different areas is striking the fancy of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. According to the chamber’s executive director, Jessica Vets, the entity is “thrilled that such a cutting-edge, green development is being built in this key location,” also mentioning the fact that “Stone34 will be a bridge connecting Fremont with Wallingford and shows how beneficial community connectivity is for all.”

The Seattle Deep Green Pilot Program calls for water and energy usage levels to be reduced by at least 75 percent of comparable buildings. With completion set for 2014, LMN Architects’ design will be ready for use starting next spring.

Rendering courtesy of skanska.com