Last week, The Escala was awarded three Gold National Awards, eight Silver National Awards, 12 Regional Awards and two Individual & Council Awards at the 27th annual awards ceremony sponsored by The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Click here to read MORE.

Congrats to the team- Sonya Wetzstein, Marni Granston, Jennifer Virnoche and Stephen Dartnell!

If you are thinking about purchasing at the Escala, this coming month is your last chance to customize the home interiors! Selections will be starting on January 20th and will continue through mid-February…

Also, there are a lot of specials going on right now. Just to name a couple…

- I previewed Trio last week with a client and they have been running weekly specials (“Home of the Week”) every Friday dropping prices more than $30k for select units. If you are interested in this building, I recommend contacting sales manager, Jackie Daum for more information.

- The Parc also has several floorplans available and the developer is offering to cover homeowner’s dues for up to 2 years on select floorplans (the units facing WAMU & Avenue One).

With all the availability and specials out there, you may increase your chances of getting a better break if you have your agent draft up a purchase and sale. It was strongly hinted that the developers are open to reviewing all offers…hey, it never hurts to ask!

- Moving on…200 West Highland has updated their website and revealed all 25 floorplans ranging from 1,500 SF-2,800 SF with prices starting at $1.23M to just under $4M. Completion is scheduled for this fall and their showroom is located at 2025 1st Ave #420.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Recently homeowners on the southside of the Cristalla and eastside of One Pacific Tower have expressed some concern about the proposed project on the north and south corner of 2nd and Virginia. I was able to take a peak at the design review proposal and although views (and daylight!) definitely will be impacted by the project, I think that rebuilding the 2nd Ave strip is a must for such a prime location.

The “twin” towers, designed by Weber+Thompson and developed by Justen Company, LLC will join the Cristalla, 1915 Second Ave and 1521 Second Ave to create “a five-building assemblage that will reshape the skyline behind the market district.”

South Tower
1931 2nd Ave
38 floors total- 10 floors hotel/lobby (117 rooms) & 28 floors residential (185 condominiums)

North Tower
2015 2nd Ave
39 floors total- 6 floors lobby/retail & 33 floors residential (234 condominiums)

1915 2nd Ave
24 floors total- Street level retail & 175 condominiums developed by Intracorp

Other projects just blocks away are One Residences (2nd & Pine), Escala (4th & Virginia), The Alex (1st and Bell) and a 43 story apartment building on 3rd & Virginia.

This Saturday and Sunday, don’t forget to drop by the 2007 Seattle Urban Condo Tour at Fisher Plaza! The two day event is FREE and will give you the opportunity to tour 20 of the newest condo projects in Seattle.

There will also be seminars that will cover topics on securing financing, adding value to your condo, agent secrets and what our cityscape/economy will look like in 2011.

Some of the properties that are participating:

For more information, visit the official website!

Here are some of the articles that came out last Saturday in the Downtown Living section of the Seattle Times/Seattle PI:

• AVA – (website)
• The Gallery – (website)
• Escala – (website)
• 1 Hotel & Residences – (website)
• Mosler Lofts – (website)

Recently while working with a client purchasing at the Escala, I ran into some questions about preferred lenders in general and it looks like the Seattle Times did a little blurb on the topic today.

Although preferred lenders often offer incentives like a credit towards the buyer’s closing costs, it is always best to get a second opinion from an outside source as there could be other financing options that would better suit your needs.

If you are seeking advice or another opinion, let me know and I can put you in touch with someone who can assist you!

I visited the Escala presentation center about a week ago and I have to say that I was extremely impressed with the project. The floorplans are very spacious and useable (1bd starting at over 1,000 sq. ft.), there are a million different finish level packages and upgrades to choose from and the private elevator corridors are simply brilliant.

I have always been a fan of 4th Ave and this particular location is going to be hard to beat. Most people think that the ideal location would be near the waterfront, but I say- why not be in the middle of it all? Restaurants, shopping, entertainment and more…at most two blocks away (and already established)!

The most unique concept is Club Cielo. Club Cielo is going to be the newest members-only club in Seattle and will feature private dining rooms, a world-class restaurant, events center, health club with two resistance pools and treatment rooms for spa services, a private theater, outdoor garden terrace and last but not least- a subterranean wine cave where members can host parties or store personal wine collections. Club Cielo will occupy the entire 2nd floor and memberships will be included in the homeowner dues (for $.79 per sq. ft). Click here to read more.

If you want more information about pricing/floorplans, I was given tons of information so please feel free to email me.

The Escala launched their website yesterday with lots of new features. They have added a floor plan search, an interactive neighborhood map, a live web cam of the construction site, details of interior finishes and a really cool virtual reality tour- check it out!

The presentation center is set to open May 19th but the sales representatives are currently offering preview appointments.

I will have more information and personal opinions next week after my appointment. To be honest, I have considered purchasing in the building – I’ll keep you posted.