It is official- Amazon.com is moving its headquarters to South Lake Union.  The new headquarters will include up to 11 new buildings within the 6-block span along Terry and Boren Ave. between Mercer and John St. The new office space is set for completion in 2010 with full occupancy in 2011 and will total up to 1.6 million square feet!

Following South Lake Union’s trend in sustainable development practices, Amazon.com’s new headquarters will be targeting LEED certification as sustainable, eco-friendly facilities. For those of you who need a refresher, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a national industry measurement tool created by the U.S. Green Building Council used to define the industry’s most environmentally-conscious projects.

“Amazon.com is one of those great Seattle success stories and I’m pleased the company has decided to stay right here in its hometown,” said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. “The move also highlights the great things happening in South Lake Union, where we are seeing new jobs, homes and parks transforming this area into a dynamic and diverse neighborhood in the heart of our city. My goal is make Seattle a great place to live and work. This move does both by bringing thousands of jobs to the South Lake Union area — with room to grow — and helping to build new affordable homes in our Center City.”

Click here to read the press release and my previous post on zoning challenges.

To add to my 2nd Avenue post yesterday, Kauri Investments just sold the historic Alaska Building to Henry Liebman’s American Life for $38.7M just 2 years after purchasing the building for $8.5M! 

The original plans were to convert the property into a mixed-use residential project with 100 apartment units (built to condo standards) on the upper floors, have 4 floors of office space and retail at street level.  The hopes were to convert the residential units to condos but under regulatory guidelines for the federal tax credits used to pay for the restoration, financial penalties would be applied if the conversion occurred within five years of the purchase date. 

The change in heart has caused a bit of commotion!   Now it looks like Liebman (owner of more than 40 acres in SODO) will be converting the Alaska Building into a 236-unit Marriott Hotel with 29 residential units. 

The Alaska Building was built in 1904 on the southeast corner of 2nd Ave & Cherry St and was once the tallest building in Seattle- 15 floors!  Click here to read VintageSeattle.org’s historic profile. 

Last Wednesday, a City Council panel approved Vulcan’s plans to build three 12-story buildings within 6 blocks along Terry and Boren Avenues.  The project will bring at least 4,000 more jobs to the neighborhood and is expected to be the new headquarters for Amazon.com.

In exchange for the zoning change, the panel determined that Vulcan will pay over $6M for affordable housing and public benefits, build environmentally friendly buildings with green landscaping and support commuters who get to work by bus, bicycle or car pool.

“South Lake Union isn’t the redheaded stepchild anymore. It’s not warehouses and broken trolley lines going nowhere. It’s beautiful, and it seems like changing the rules in light of that … seems like common sense.” - Ron Sandahl, Artistic Director of the Open Circle Theater

Click here to read more

Yesterday when I was walking back from my daily Whole Foods trip, I noticed the new West 8th signs on the corner of 8th Avenue and Westlake.  This project hasn’t been as controversial but will definitely block some views at the Cosmopolitan, which sits less than a block away. 

West 8th will be completed in March 2009 and will accommodate over 500,000 SF of Class A office space among 28 stories. 

Building amenities include a midlevel roof-top deck, secure 24-hour tenant access, onsite daycare facilities, bike storage, full service restaurant and coffee bar, fitness center with locker rooms as well as 7 levels of parking for tenants and visitors.

If you take a look at the rendering, the building looks as if it will fit right in!  The way the retail level will be positioned and utilized, West 8th will be a milestone in connecting downtown to South Lake Union. 

The Team-
Leasing: Tina Pappas, Egis Real Estate Services, 206-404-6700
Developer: Touchstone Corporation
Architects: Callison Architecture, Inc.
Contractor: Lease Crutcher Lewis

A couple months back, I visited the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington (…of all places) and noticed that there were tons of new Office Condos being built…I thought- what a great concept for both business owners and investors wanting to get into the commercial market without having to purchase an entire building. 

Last week, NuWireInvestor did a piece on the new niche market and it seems that Office Condos are popping up everywhere- Phoenix, New York City, Miami, Austin and Seattle.  Click here to read more!

(Seattle rarity: Office condo, SeattlePI 2/06- Click here to read more)

According to the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, OPUS Northwest will begin construction on a 9 story, Class A+ office building next month at 701 Madison St.  There will be approximately 201,000 square feet available for lease and occupancy is targeted for summer 2008.  (7th & Madison Website)

OPUS Northwest just completed First Hill’s M Street Apartments and are currently developing 1521 2nd Ave.

The 41-story office building (901 5th Ave) and 5th & Madison Condominiums were purchase by Kennedy Wilson Inc today for $300M. 

Everyone seems to be covering the story but the Puget Sound Business Journal and Commercial Property News reported that the price includes the completion of 5th & Madison (126-unit condominium project, $660,000 average sales price, occupancy fall 2007) and the $35M redevelopment of the office building (LEED Silver status, new lobby, common areas etc) that is already in progress. 

They also mentioned that 84 condominiums have been sold in 5th and Madison and 59% of 901 5th Ave is currently leased. 

Yesterday, Ron Sims signed an agreement selling Qwest Field’s north parking lot to Nitze-Stagen & Co and Opus Corp. for $10.1 million.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the agreement mandates that the project (just shy of 4 acres) will include at least 400 condominiums and apartments in which 100 will be dedicated to affordable housing.

Get rid of the waste-of-a-space parking lot and clean up Pioneer Square!  

PSBJ Article
Seattle Times Article (2005)
Seattle Times Article (2006)
(photo: Dean Rutz)