[northface]

Nobody Has Commented On My Hard Work Above!!!

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
Sorry, we missed it.

Good job!!!

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a110/htrontrebor12/bell.jpg

[WolverineFan]

Northface..... Great job! No, really. Thanks and keep up the good work!

[DowntownBoy]

Nice!!

Wow... I am really quite shocked how Bellevue is having a huge boom!

[horatio_the_hermit]

Thank you northface

[LA Guy]

Hey Northface thanks for the great rendering. Do I dare say Bellevue might one day have the best skyline in the NW? Or is that just too much?

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
Mmmm it would be hard for it to beat Seattle

[horatio_the_hermit]

seattle sill always be the best. If were counting vancouver bc, then bellevue will never be lower thatn 3. Id say theres a good chance of a better looking skyline than portland even if portland is more dense and developed.

[LA Guy]

I have to say though that Bellevue is poised to do something really cool. If the area where Ashwood is continues to fill in and other projects take place--look out. I know it'll never beat Seattle but a little rivalry can't hurt. Do you know of any plans for the park DT extending to the lake? Someone told me a while back that was the long-range plan. If that were to happen then all bets are off.

[destroybananas]

^ I agree, it will only create better competition, and possibly better building design/height.

[northface]

thanks everyone! the large version looks 100 times better and almosat real! I surprised myself! lol.

[bgwah]

thanks everyone! the large version looks 100 times better and almosat real! I surprised myself! lol.

Post the big version. :(

[northface]

I dont know how^ it shrunk it when i uploaded it into photobucket. hmm

[zilfondel]

use imageshack

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
Yeah, upload it here, we wanna see teh big version:
http://www.imageshack.us/

[northface]

http://img285.imageshack.us/img285/679/bellevue6dr.th.png (http://img285.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bellevue6dr.png)

[northface]

i dunno how to work that stupid thing...

[SeattleHusky82]

http://img285.imageshack.us/img285/679/bellevue6dr.th.png (http://img285.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bellevue6dr.png)

What are the 3 red towers and the green tower to the right of lincoln square?

[northface]

washington square and kempers second devlopment on the safeway site with the 32 story tower...possibly the VIP

[James Bond Agent 007]

http://img285.imageshack.us/img285/679/bellevue6dr.png

[James Bond Agent 007]

I edited the opening post of the Bellevue thread in the City Compilations section. Look it over and see if I got everything right. :)

[James Bond Agent 007]

^^
I also just added northface's drawing with some text as the compilation thread's header. :D

[WolverineFan]

Bellevue as viewed from Vue Crest....

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/1286/vuecrest4po.th.jpg (http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vuecrest4po.jpg)

[horatio_the_hermit]

i was driving north on bellevue way and just across the street from the avalon meydenbauer site is a small builing being demolished. Does anyone know anything.

[Fulham]

^
That is Greg's Cycles new home. At least according to the guys at Casa D's (whos burritos blow away both taco time & taco bell--and chipotle grill etc...)

[James Bond Agent 007]

Back to the original thread topic . . .

http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060605/NEWS/606050314

Bothell set to get first true midrise development
By Clayton Park
Journal Business Editor

The developer of a proposed mixed-use complex in Bothell, just north of the University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia College campus, expects to break ground on the $125 million project this summer with a completion date set for the fall of 2008.

The project, which has the working title of "Bothell Gateway," is an eight-building development that will include a five-story, 60,000-square-foot office building, 80,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants, 400 condominiums and underground parking.

Developer Steve Cox of West Ridge Land Corp. said the Bothell Gateway development will be his company's first mixed-use project.

Until now, his Bothell-based company has primarily built multifamily residential projects.

Jeff Smith, a senior planner with the city, said the Gateway project will be Bothell's first true midrise development, "as opposed to your typical two- to three-story buildings" found elsewhere in the North Creek area.

Smith said Cox's proposed Bothell Gateway complex essentially matches what the city envisioned for the area when it was rezoned last summer to allow mixed-use development.

The city recently issued a determination of nonsignificance regarding the environmental impacts of Cox's proposed project, which is in a public comment period that expires June 14.

Cox purchased four acres of the 9½-acre Bothell Gateway site from the developers of a previously proposed but ultimately shelved office project called Gateway Center.

Cox said his project bears no resemblance to that previously proposed project other than the name, which he said he might change.

In addition to building the mixed-use complex itself, Cox's company also has agreed to become the developer of a $2.5 million traffic improvement project that would realign a one-way road near the Bothell Gateway site to connect it with Beardslee Boulevard (also known as Northeast 195th Street). The road, 112th Avenue Northeast, would be turned into a two-way street. The newly created intersection would also get a traffic signal.

The Bothell Gateway site overlooks Interstate 405 and is located in the southwest quadrant of the I-405/Northeast 195th Street interchange.

Cox said the project's proximity to the UW Bothell/Cascadia College campus has helped create strong interest from a number of prospective retail tenants, including restaurateur John Howie, the owner/head chef of Bellevue's Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar.

"We're pretty excited about the opportunities on the table," Cox said.

[horatio_the_hermit]

^
Right on. On the note of Greg's Cycles and Casa Ds.
Where was Greg's Cycles old location.

[Rondo1]

Really? Gregg's Cycles is moving? Where exactly are we talking about? Is Gregg's just out of space or is that whole strip mall that its currently in going away?

[PDXPaul]

I like how Seattle has lots of little villages of urban development way out there. Density is not just for the city!

[MrVandelay]

Bellevue: Avalon Meydenbauer Construction Cam

http://www.inetarch.com/onsite/ip.asp?O=A&CL=29&S=243&CA=723

[Last Chance]

^Nice find. Thanks for sharing.

[Fulham]

^
Right on. On the note of Greg's Cycles and Casa Ds.
Where was Greg's Cycles old location.
Greg's is in the stripmall on the west side 106th between ne 2nd & main.

[Rondo1]

Greg's is in the stripmall on the west side 106th between ne 2nd & main.

OK I'll ask again....

Gregg's Cycles is moving? Where exactly are we talking about? Is Gregg's just out of space or is that whole strip mall that its currently in going away?

[Skian]

It looks like they moved some tower crane sections into the Avalon-Meydenbauer hole!

[horatio_the_hermit]

You beat me to it
I saw them putting it up like 10 minutes ago. Its white. heyoo.

[Skian]

I saw them moving them into the hole at 11:30, but I didnt get back to my computer till now!
By scanning through the webcam pictures, looks like the tower pieces went up around noon.

[MrVandelay]

That is some good news! I've been waiting for them to do that.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Whoa I gotta check it out when I walk by there in about an hour.

[MrVandelay]

looking out my living room window this morning, and the crane's position on the Avalon Meydenbauer lot, I don't know if the boom is going to be able to reach the far end of the lot. They might be needing to add a second crane? hmmm...

[morte100]

From what I understand, the little building that was demoed at 105 Bellevue Way NE is being replaced with a new 3 story building with 2 levels of retail. Sounds like Gregg's is the developer for the project, and that will be their new home.

[James Bond Agent 007]

That "crane" wasn't a real crane, it was just some thing to help dig the hole, or something like that.

They won't have a real crane there until the foundation is well underway.

[horatio_the_hermit]

hmm, i was thinking that. Too bad.

[James Bond Agent 007]

I got a closer look at it this afternoon. It's one of those things with a big ball at the end of a long chain they use to demolish buildings. I guess they're gonna use it on what's left of the motel.

In other Eastside construction news, the Eastside Catholic high school has finally broken ground. :D

[James Bond Agent 007]

Here's another article on that Bothell project:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003046921_bothell08e.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2006/06/07/2003046632.gif

Thursday, June 8, 2006
Urban-style project will bring taller buildings to Bothell
By Nathan Hurst
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

After decades of spreading out, suburban Bothell is about to go up.

A $125 million mixed-use project will bring the city's first mid-rise structures — plus 400 new condominiums, office, retail and restaurant space — to an area just north of the University of Washington, Bothell campus along Beardslee Boulevard near Interstate 405.

The project could be completed as early as fall 2008.

The planned complex, dubbed Bothell Gateway, is the first project in a long-range plan to bring urban-style development to the growing city, said Jeff Smith, senior planner for the city.

"Bothell used to be just some farm fields and some dairy barns, but it's changing," he said. "This is the first time we've really gotten into what I call more urban development — high suburban, low urban."

Steve Cox, whose West Ridge Land Corp. is majority owner and manager of the project, said Bothell Gateway will include 60,000 square feet of office space in a five-story tower, with condos housed in a similar-height building.

About 90,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space will surround pedestrian plazas and parklike space in the eight-building complex.

While the development is an example of the type of growth city planners are looking for, Bothell residents and leaders have yet to decide whether they want future growth to rise even further, said Smith.

Smith said Bothell's most liberal building height limits — around 100 feet — aren't located downtown. That area instead has deliberately retained a lower profile, unlike Bellevue, which has encouraged high-rise development in much of its downtown in recent decades.

Cox, a Bothell resident of seven years, said he believes the project will bring a needed public space for commerce and socializing to the city, particularly serving the needs of students at the nearby UW and Cascadia Community College campus. He said the location near the college was appealing because of the draw for retail and restaurant tenants.

Interest from potential tenants has been strong, he said, but declined to release names of possible merchants. The 9 ½-acre site's location near the Exit 24 interchange from I-405 was also appealing, Cox said. However, the project's developers will have to complete a $2.5 million road upgrade project on Beardslee Boulevard and 112th Avenue Northeast to provide access to the complex.

About $800,000 of that cost will come from public funding, he said.

Cox's company purchased part of the project's parcel from the developers of Gateway Center, a project that would have brought two office buildings to the area but folded in 2001, following funding troubles.

The new buildings and plazas will be pedestrian-focused, substantially different from developments in other suburban communities, said Phil McCullough, an architect who worked on the complex's design team at Seattle-based Hackworth Group Architecture/Planning.

"It's a really strong urban design," he said. "You can compare it to the really nice urban areas in Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond where the automobile isn't the focus. Bothell's a growing community and they need these kinds of spaces."

Cox said he sees the project as just a beginning in the city's transformation.

"I believe Bothell's been overlooked by the traditional mid- and large-scale developers," he said. "But I'm local, and this is what the city is looking for."

[MrVandelay]

I went for a walk down to Avalon Meydenbauer just to find out exactly whats going on down there, and from my observations, it appears that crane piece will be the tower crane for the project, they just may need to lay some foundation in place under it before they can errect the crane. Here is some photos I took tonight.

http://www.mytravellinks.com/skyscrapercity/post5/DSC03650a.jpg

http://www.mytravellinks.com/skyscrapercity/post5/DSC03649a.jpg

http://www.mytravellinks.com/skyscrapercity/post5/DSC03648a.jpg

[WolverineFan]

Excellent pictures! Keep them coming!:banana:

[MrVandelay]

Some of the items I gathered skimming through the lengthy Overlake Hospital Master Plan, is the extension of 10th street over I-405, and that there are a total of three structural construction phases. Phase 1, you may have seen under construction now along I-405, which btw I read is actually being designed to be 'extended' taller upto 200' if needed in the future, a Phase 2 which is a 4-5 story second mid-rise that curves along side 405, and then a phase 3.

You can check more out about it at the following link

http://www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/departments/Transportation/pdf/Appendices_032305.pdf

[SeattleHusky82]

Here's an article about the new Gregg's bicycle shop on bellevue way. The article mentions that the owner of the strip mall that gregg's is currently located in is putting the site up for sale, hopefully this will mean some major development there in the future.


Gregg's building new cycle shop: Store will be second largest in Northwest


By Clayton Park
Journal Business Editor


BELLEVUE — Gregg's Cycle will begin construction this week of a new store in downtown Bellevue that it says will become the second largest bicycle shop in the Pacific Northwest, behind only its flagship store in Seattle's Green Lake area.

The new 12,000-square-foot, three-level store, at 105 Bellevue Way Northeast, is scheduled to open in March of next year, and will be roughly twice the size of the store it will replace: the existing Gregg's Bellevue Cycle shop at Bellevue Plaza Shopping Center, located one block to the east.

Gregg's Cycle owner Stan Gregg said he is building a new store in Bellevue because the owners of Bellevue Plaza informed tenants a few years ago that they expected to put the 44-year-old shopping center up for sale either this year or next year when all its tenants' leases expire.

The Journal was unable to reach Tim Dore, a spokesman for the owners of Bellevue Plaza, for comment Monday. The 3.29-acre shopping center is located on the west side of 106th Avenue Northeast, between Main Street and Northeast Second Street.

Some of Bellevue Plaza's other tenants include Pogacha Restaurant, Tree of Life-Judaica & Books, Lifeway Christian Store, Parker Paint and Quiltworks Northwest.

Gregg's Cycle has had a store in Bellevue since 1983, and has been at Bellevue Plaza all but one of those years.

Gregg, the grandson of the founder of the family-run Gregg's Cycle business, acquired the quarter-acre site for his future Bellevue store in 2003 when he paid nearly $1.64 million to James and Julieann McElroy, according to county records.

A small, two-story office building that was built in 1978 was demolished last week to make room for the future Gregg's Bellevue Cycle store.

Gregg said the office building had been vacant for quite some time, but is perhaps best remembered by locals as the long-time site for Kinko's Copies and Bellevue Embroidery.

While Gregg paid more than $1.50 a square foot for the location for his future Bellevue store, he said "It was our lucky day" when he bought the property because "there's not that many small retailers that can find a site along Bellevue Way."

Gregg said his business, which includes Aurora Cycle in North Seattle, is on pace to set a record high for sales this year, which he attributes to "high gas prices" and the improving economy.

"We're thinking that Bellevue has the capacity to double its business" by having a larger store, Gregg said, adding that he could potentially increase the number of employees there to as many as 40 people, up from 25 today, if that forecast comes true.

Project architect Scot Carr of Weinstein Architects in Seattle said the first floor of the new store will include a 21-stall parking garage, an entry lobby and a storage area. The retail portion of the store will primarily be located on the top two floors of the building.

One unusual feature for the new store will be its massive 30-tall window front, which will consist of 42 panes, each displaying a separate bicycle available for sale inside.

Carr called the continually changing store-front window display a "curtain wall" that, to his knowledge, will be unlike anything ever seen, at least in this region.

Gregg's Cycle was founded in 1932 by Ray Vincent "RV" Gregg. Stan Gregg, who grew up in Kirkland where he still lives, teamed up with a cousin to buy the business in 1975 and later became sole owner. His employees include wife Judy, the company's corporate secretary, as well as two daughters and a son-in-law.

[Last Chance]

I read in the Eastside Business Monthly that construction has started on the 1200 Bellevue Way townhouses. There are 49 townhouses and they will be priced between $500K - $600K. Has anybody seen this site recently?

[MrVandelay]

I read in the Eastside Business Monthly that construction has started on the 1200 Bellevue Way townhouses. There are 49 townhouses and they will be priced between $500K - $600K. Has anybody seen this site recently?

Yes, they are starting to put up framing. Its been under construction for a while....If its the same project I'm thinking of that demolished the shrink wrap condo building.

[Last Chance]

^ I think that these were where the Ida Terrace senior housing was going to be.

[Skian]

They are the same. Ida Terrace was shelved (and shrink wrapped) after the tech bubble burst.

[Last Chance]

Sorry. Got my stuff mixed up. Thanks.

[horatio_the_hermit]

yes it is and it has. Should be a nice clump of rowhouses when its done.

[MrVandelay]

1200 Bellevue Way

http://www.dwellingcompany.com/images/1200_bellevue/1200_banner_rendering.gif

http://www.mytravellinks.com/skyscrapercity/post5/townhomes1.jpg

[bgwah]

Hmm... Will it have an underground parking garage? Interesting.

[MrVandelay]

Bellettini

http://gage2.he.net/~wgclark/upload/Bellettini.jpg

http://www.mytravellinks.com/skyscrapercity/post5/retire1.jpg

http://www.mytravellinks.com/skyscrapercity/post5/retire2.jpg

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
I've been wondering what that thing was gonna look like. Thanks for the find!

[pablo]

Mmm...where exactly is the belletini being built?

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
Across the street (106th?) from the doll museum.

[MrVandelay]

Tower Crane goes up on Avalon Meydenbauer

http://www.inetarch.com/onsite/ip.asp?O=A&CL=29&S=243&CA=723
http://www.inetarch.com/onsite/imageDB/Avalon/Mey/Automatica/S_Mey_Automatica_2006_06_23_09_00_06.jpg

[bgwah]

How many housing units are under constuction in Bellevue? How many are there already?

What is downtown Bellevue's land area? The Downtown Bellevue Association says 350 acres but I would've thought it was a little bigger, but I don't really know.

[bgwah]

The Cleveland in Redmond

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/6964/dsc21378co.jpg

I'll try to get a picture some other time, lol.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Another small project in downtown Redmond:

Group Health plans new Redmond facility
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - 9:49 AM PDT Friday

Group Health Cooperative will move into a new, $36 million facility in downtown Redmond in two years.

The five-story, 31,000-square-foot building will be located at 159 Place N.E. and Redmond Way, replacing Group Health's 32-year-old facility on 152nd Avenue in Redmond.

According to Group Health, the new medical center will have 18 doctors who will provide service to 14,000 patients; eventually, the center will employ up to 100 medical staffers.

The center will be part of a complex that will include retail stores, a hotel and housing developed by Legacy Partners.

Also on the Eastside, in April Group Health broke ground on a $125 million outpatient center in Bellevue that's set to open in 2008.

[bgwah]

^That sounds like a big project, actually...

I'm having trouble picturing it's location, though.

[bgwah]

More detailed article from the King County Journal
http://kingcountyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060630/NEWS/606300317


Group Health to build new center in Redmond


By Chris Winters
Journal Reporter


Group Health Cooperative has signed a development agreement to purchase land for a new medical center in downtown Redmond.

It intends to build a five-story building on a six-acre parcel located on Redmond Way and 159th Place Northeast, next to Luke McRedmond Park and within walking distance of the Sammamish River and Redmond Town Center.

The new Redmond Medical Center will have 18 physicians and 95-100 total staff, and will provide family medicine, pediatrics and general internal medicine to nearly 14,000 patients.

The center will not have any inpatient care or emergency room services, said Jill Ostrem, Group Health's vice president of Eastside development.

Group Health is only just beginning the process of finding a buyer for its Eastside Hospital campus, Ostrem said.

Group Health currently inhabits the 32-year-old Eastside Hospital campus, in Redmond's Overlake neighborhood near the main Microsoft campus.

The nonprofit hospital has been in the process of moving most primary care facilities to Bellevue, where they will be located as part of Overlake Hospital Medical Center's expanded campus.

The total cost to construct the new building will be about $36 million, Ostrem said. It is scheduled to open in 2008.

Group Health will occupy the first two floors, occupying 31,000 square feet, and lease out the upper stories.

The parcel is owned by Legacy Partners, a real estate development firm. It's one of several in the area close to downtown that has been looked at for redevelopment.

The current tenants, Legacy vice president Kerry Nicholson said, include "a closed up Shari's Restaurant ... and an older business park that's reached the end of its economic life."

"It's kind of a gateway location so the city's kind of excited about it," Nicholson said.

In addition to Group Health's building, the parcel will be home to a 125-room Sierra Suites hotel, to be developed by a group called LodgeWorks, a 175-unit condominium complex, and a 135-unit apartment complex, Nicholson said.

[MrVandelay]

Second Crane goes up at Avalon Meydenbauer

http://www.mytravellinks.com/skyscrapercity/post5/DSC03762a.jpg

[WolverineFan]

1020 Tower, as of Saturday, July 8th.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/RandyLucas425/DSC00445.jpg

[WolverineFan]

Downtown Bellevue, from Vue Crest.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/RandyLucas425/DSC00448.jpg

[WolverineFan]

The Braven project. Saturday, July 8th.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/RandyLucas425/DSC00460.jpg

[mhays]

Bravern. It has an "r".

[MrVandelay]

Nice photos WolverineFan, Thanks for posting!

[WolverineFan]

The Avalon project....

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/RandyLucas425/DSC00526.jpg

[WolverineFan]

The Hines project....

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/RandyLucas425/DSC00518.jpg

[WolverineFan]

The Westin....

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/RandyLucas425/DSC00525.jpg

[bgwah]

Nice pics :yes:

[James Bond Agent 007]

Hooray for holes in the ground! :banana:

BTW if anyone wants to take some interesting pics of the Bellevue skyline, go to the Mercer Island community center, there's a hill next to it you can go up to, and the Bellevue skyline kinda peeks up above the trees and the water. There's also some other awesome views from there.

However the Bellevue skyline will be better from there after they finish a few more of the skyscrapers.

[horatio_the_hermit]

This doesnt have to do at all with development but may be of interest to those who follow dt bellevue.
Does anyone know what kind of shady activity goes on on the 24th floor of the bellevue hyatt.
I stumbled onto that floor and found about 4 maids of different ethnicities and a ramshackle security desk with a man looking at anime who immediately jumped up to ask what i was doing. all the maids looked puzzled and peeked to see what was going on. I gave a story about my dad and immediately got back in the elevator. Shady.

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
Hmmmm . . .

Maybe call a newspaper reporter and have them do an investigation?

Or at least call the cops?

[horatio_the_hermit]

well, i wasnt exactly supposed to be there

[Skian]

I think that is the floor with their VIP suites. maybe nobody was booked up their and the staff was using it to hide from the guests............

[horatio_the_hermit]

with high security

[Skian]

BTW, I went by the Hanover site (108th & NE 10th) and they had installed the base section of a tower crane and was pouring the concrete footing today.

[horatio_the_hermit]

^^^

were referring to that as the 1020 tower site as right across the street, there is a project called VUE hanover tower.
But sweet news. We should then be seeing cranes for bellevue towers AND 1020 up this week.

[needsalife]

hooray for cranes! The one at bellevue towers will be rising above the ground any day now

[Last Chance]

BTW if anyone wants to take some interesting pics of the Bellevue skyline, go to the Mercer Island community center, there's a hill next to it you can go up to, and the Bellevue skyline kinda peeks up above the trees and the water. There's also some other awesome views from there.

Then there's a partial view of the Bellevue skyline from outside the Roanoke Inn. Well, the view isn't the best, but there are other things there that you can't get at the community center ( :cheers: ). As long as you're on the island, might as well stop in.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Does anyone know what they're gonna do with the Micheal's Toyota site now that they've moved to Eastgate?

I pass by that twice everyday and have been wondering. It's a pretty big site so it looks like maybe they could do something interesting - though I have a feeling that just another dealership will probably take up residence there.

[Jay_Z]

In a previous post, someone asked where the Bellevue dirt was going ... did anyone know? I might check this out with Bravern getting dug out now.

That's a lot of fill (from Avalon Project, Hanover, Bravern, Towers)! I know someone was hoping that it was filling in Factoria :)

[horatio_the_hermit]

Ouch.
i need some fill to bury my head in.

[James Bond Agent 007]

In a previous post, someone asked where the Bellevue dirt was going ... did anyone know? I might check this out with Bravern getting dug out now.

That's a lot of fill (from Avalon Project, Hanover, Bravern, Towers)! I know someone was hoping that it was filling in Factoria :)
LOL, I was wondering that too.

I'm sure there's gotta be some road projects somewhere that need some dirt.

[Skian]

Maybe some of the dirt is being dumped in the new Totem Lake HOV interchange......
I see truck after truck dumping there all day long (as I sit in traffic).

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
They also needed a good deal of dirt for the new access ramps to the Eastgate park & ride. Probably some went there.

And speaking of the Eastgate park & ride, yesterday they started clearing the vacant lot next to it to build a new hotel.

[horatio_the_hermit]

I DONT GET IT. Why the hell would anyone stay in eastgate.
I would have stayed in Kanes motel because it was kitchy, but silver cloud and whatever is being build, Lame.
I think all efforts to revitalize easgate will fail unless we decide to take the resident friendly aspect out of it and make it Bellevues New Auto Row. Keep a little retail for car shoppers to enjoy but dont try to make it a nice urban village, it will fail.
Lets take the dealerships from auto row and move them to eastgate (like michaels) then, on the auto lots, build skyscrapers. sounds like a hell of a plan.

Oh, and easgate does serve another puropse worth keeping, its where we keep our office parks.

[Rondo1]

I DONT GET IT. Why the hell would anyone stay in eastgate.
I would have stayed in Kanes motel because it was kitchy, but silver cloud and whatever is being build, Lame.
I think all efforts to revitalize easgate will fail unless we decide to take the resident friendly aspect out of it and make it Bellevues New Auto Row. Keep a little retail for car shoppers to enjoy but dont try to make it a nice urban village, it will fail.
Lets take the dealerships from auto row and move them to eastgate (like michaels) then, on the auto lots, build skyscrapers. sounds like a hell of a plan.

Oh, and easgate does serve another puropse worth keeping, its where we keep our office parks.

I think you're wrong. Eastgate is merely a strip of land nestled in between very large housing developments. So the necessary "village" traffic is already in place. What will happen is continued updates to both Factoria and Eastgate area to not only further supply the housing in this area, but to also feed the ever-growing businesses in the area. For example, the buildings that the hotel is going in front of is Expedia corporate office where more than 1100 of the total 6000 people reside (btw Expedia, Inc. includes Hotel.com, Hotwire.com, TripAdvisor.com, etc.). Further east is Verizon Wireless Corporate, a number of Boeing buildings, and dont forget that T-Mobile corporate is in Factoria. There is a ton of business travel hotel space needed in the area so its a smart move. Easy access to freeway to catch the drive-by travellers need and then the required business travel folks for these corporate companies all within 1 mile. In fact, we keep joking about Factoria, but has anyone read up on what they're doing there? It is changing in a major way. Some of that we're seeing already with the gutted former Gottschalks store. I've yet to hear if thats going to turn into JC Penney's but it would be a great anchor for Factoria. In addition the SW corner of the mall lot will be redeveloped with multi-unit housing as the start to convert Factoria into the same type of multi-use center as they are doing with Northgate (but obviously on a smaller scale). More stores will have outward facing storefronts, and garages are planned as additional retail and housing is added. Whether this is the right move to that area may be a question, but do believe that the Factoria/Eastgate area is in an ideal situation both geographically (due to freeway access, etc.) and economically with an already established population. The key is the right mix of the two. You'll find more businesses along the strip of i-90 between Factoria and Eastgate, but the village aspect will continue to increase on both ends where the people that live in these villages spend their dollars on a daily basis. Just my .02 worth. :-)

BTW, I actually came to this site today to find out what the heck was being built out in front of Expedia - I JUST KNEW you guys would know! haha.:D

[James Bond Agent 007]

I was actually hoping they'd build another office bldg there, the offices there aren't too bad-looking for office park-type thingy's, whereas suburban hotels are usually pretty boring-looking.

But who knows, maybe this one'll look OK. *shrugs*

[northface]

they began construction on issaquahs 9 or 12 story tower in the development called talus. The crane is up and its pretty good sized!

[Skian]

I saw that crane last week.
I was hoping they were going to use it to build a big screen to hide Talus from the rest of the world...........

[MrVandelay]

The construction site at Microsoft (just off 148th) had its crane go up Wed. Too bad the giant 4 story Giza pyramid of Dirt was taken down last week. Us at work had a bet that it was actually to be the final burial tomb for Steve Ballmer. :haha:

[Fulham]

Pity it isnt the final tomb for all of M$. They do keep contributing to suburban sprawl...

[MrVandelay]

Pity it isnt the final tomb for all of M$. They do keep contributing to suburban sprawl...

It was just a silly joke for us working there... not intended to be a punch at the company or those who run it. I love working for Msft!!! :)