[NYguy]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...sls-hotel.html

Seattle’s Tallest Tower in Two Decades to House SLS Hotel





By Nadja Brandt & Hui-yong Yu
Feb 13, 2013

A Seattle office tower that’s planned to be the city’s tallest new building in two decades will include a luxury SLS hotel, the boutique brand’s first location in the area as property demand strengthens. SBE Entertainment Group LLC, which owns the SLS brand, will run the 184-room hotel on the tower’s second through 15th floors, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sam Nazarian said. The Los Angeles-based company also operates Hyde nightclubs and the Katsuya and Cleo restaurant brands.

Construction will start on the $400 million downtown building by Oct. 1 and completion is scheduled for mid-2016, said Kevin Daniels, president of Seattle-based Daniels Real Estate, which is developing the 43-story tower with Stockbridge Capital Group of San Francisco. The partners and Nazarian are betting on continued growth in Seattle’s office and hospitality markets, which outperformed the rest of the U.S. last year.

“Certain U.S. cities are benefiting greatly from the economic superpower called China -- the money that is flowing into homes and businesses here through Chinese nationals is amazing,” Daniels said in a telephone interview. “Add to that the economic and job growth at all the major employers in this area, like Amazon, Nordstrom, Starbucks and Boeing, and you have a city that is firing on all cylinders.”

The size of the new office tower and its location at the southern end of the city’s downtown, an area dominated by smaller firms, may make it challenging for the developers to fill the space. The building may also face competition from the Columbia Center across the street, according to Bruce Vasseur, chief financial officer at Seattle-based O’Connor Consulting Group LLC. Columbia Center is the tallest building in Seattle at 76 stories.....Daniels and Stockbridge obtained permits for the Seattle property in 2008, Daniels said. Upon completion, the new building would be the tallest since the 56-story Two Union Square was finished in 1989, said Alan Justad, head of community engagement for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.