BELLEVUE | Projects and Updates!

[benzz]

Originally Posted by InlandEmpire

The Avalon Meydenbauer Safeway project is coming along quickly too- the southern half of the apartment building is 4-5 floors out of the ground.

Yeah, what's the deal with that place? The 2nd street end is on its fourth floor, while the 4th street end isn't even at ground level yet....I assume this means a Phase One and Phase Two kind of thing...

[horatio_the_hermit]

Its taking them longer on the northern half as that sector has a completely different layout as it is the location of the new safeway.

[testdrive]

The crane for City Center is finally up and working. One more to add to the skyline

[velciane]

Anyone have any information on the NE 6th and 114th Ave site? They installed a small red tower crane a couple weeks back. Just curious on what this is.


[edit] I found information about this site on the permit website. A new 7 story Residence Inn by Marriott will be built there, apparently after being in limbo for over 20 years! See below:


Seattle Times Article Link
Marriott deal puts end to wetlands struggle

By Ashley Bach

Seattle Times Eastside bureau

A 19-year struggle to build a hotel near the Mercer Slough wetlands apparently is over, with groundbreaking on the seven-story building set for this summer.

Marriott bought the property Jan. 20 for $4.25 million and plans to build a 231-room Residence Inn there. The project still needs city building permits, but they are expected to be approved soon, city officials said.

Bellevue-based Fluke Capital Management, led by general partner David Fluke, first applied in 1987 to build a hotel at 605 114th Ave. S.E., on the southeast edge of downtown. Once the project was approved, Fluke planned to sell it to someone else to build — but the sale took nearly two decades.

Fluke needed to obtain permits from the state Department of Ecology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and local activist Geoff Bidwell opposed him every step of the way.

The land is split by Sturtevant Creek, a tributary of Mercer Slough, and the hotel footprint will include eight-tenths of an acre of wetlands.

The building would not be allowed under the city's current environmental regulations, but Fluke applied for the project before the city's first sensitive-areas ordinance was approved in 1987, said Carol Helland, the city's land-use director.

Bidwell said the hotel was not appropriate for the land, but after Fluke got his most important permit, from the Army Corps of Engineers, in 2003, Bidwell said he was ending his campaign against the project.

To compensate for building on wetlands, Fluke will plant 1.6 acres of plants to help wetlands nearby.

Fluke no longer has a stake in the project, but his long battle — which spread all the way up to a state appeals court — is over. "It's great to have it done," he said.

The hotel, with an attached three-story parking structure, will cover about 3.6 acres. The other 3.4 acres on the lot are wetlands and will remain undeveloped.
[edit]

[horatio_the_hermit]

So essentially were looking at a cookie cutter middle of the road hotel on previously undeveloped land. Hmmmmm. I have mixed emotions. I hope its well designed but i fear it will be no more than the same marriot you see in suburbs all around the country.

[northface]

everytime i drive with someone down I-405, they always say somthing along the lines of "Damn Bellevue is getting huge!" or..."Bellevue is becoming a city of its own"..."Bellevues skyline is bigger then most cities in the country!"

[mSeattle]

Originally Posted by northface

everytime i drive with someone down I-405, they always say somthing along the lines of "Damn Bellevue is getting huge!" or..."Bellevue is becoming a city of its own"..."Bellevues skyline is bigger then most cities in the country!"

That last one is a stretch, but Bellevue is getting bigger.

[northface]

well for city its size, you would think it was a much bigger city.

[mhays]

A city its size? It serves the whole metro.

[horatio_the_hermit]

does anyone know if the Vue Hanover crane is up yet? I was walking around downtown friday night and saw they had the cranes base installed. Sweet.

[Hans Gruber]

Bellevue's Skyline is bigger than Denver and Oakland's. Just to name a few major cities. It's as big as Phoenix as well. Taller than Portland Oregon as well. In 10 years it will be 2x as big.

[mhays]

Oakland yes, Denver no, Portland not quite. Denver's, while not very attractive in my opinion, is nearly Seattle-sized.

[testdrive]

I am home with a cold and probably have too much time on my hands but was looking at the proposed list and was wondering where exactly the 4 Bellevue Center building is supposed to be located and by "way off in the future" means.

[Hans Gruber]

Denver doesn't have a building over 50 floors unless they built one in the last 5 years. Portland's skyline is pathetic. It looks like Ron Burgundy's 70's Seattle.

Let's just agree that in 5 years, Bellevue will look quite a bit different and much more expansive. I counted the buildings 20 floors or more in Bellevue, -10-12 right now. This number is not exact but one could count the PSE buildings because they are on a hill.

I've been watching the Bellevue Towers project every day. Bellevue Towers is projecting 1 floor per week on each tower. Right now the north tower is 4 floors above ground level. The buildings should be topped off by Jan. 2008.

In 10 years it would be safe to say that the Seattle Metro area will have two downtowns, Seattle and Bellevue. You could say it now but in 10 years there should be 3x the number of buildings as today.

Denver's downtown is nowhere close to Seattle's skyline. If you look at Seattle from a helocopter shot in between Queen Anne and the space needle, Seattle looks massive and long. We just need a couple 50+ story buildings away from the Columbia Tower to really make it look massive.

People in Vancouver B.C. think that Vancouver is a bigger city than Seattle. Not building wise but in population. That's a big stretch considering Vancover has yet to build one true freeway.

[Hans Gruber]

Is there any plans to throw up a tall building on 108th across from Bellevue Center 1? There's room for one or two builings where the Las Margarita's and several other businesses stand right behind the Galleria?

Also, that church on 108th and NE 8th needs to go. I can't think of a better property for eminent domain than that church.

[horatio_the_hermit]

Originally Posted by testdrive

I am home with a cold and probably have too much time on my hands but was looking at the proposed list and was wondering where exactly the 4 Bellevue Center building is supposed to be located and by "way off in the future" means.

Originally Posted by Hans Gruber

Is there any plans to throw up a tall building on 108th across from Bellevue Center 1? There's room for one or two builings where the Las Margarita's and several other businesses stand right behind the Galleria?

Also, that church on 108th and NE 8th needs to go. I can't think of a better property for eminent domain than that church.

In response to the first question, Four Bellevue Center was supposedto be built on the underhills/barnes and noble lot. It is referred to as 'way' in the future because it has become a stale proposal and will not likely be built unless somehow revived by another developer.

And in response to the 2nd question, there have been no proposals in the office core recently. The las margaritas site as well as the church site are safe for now.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by Hans Gruber

Denver doesn't have a building over 50 floors unless they built one in the last 5 years. Portland's skyline is pathetic. It looks like Ron Burgundy's 70's Seattle.

Let's just agree that in 5 years, Bellevue will look quite a bit different and much more expansive. I counted the buildings 20 floors or more in Bellevue, -10-12 right now. This number is not exact but one could count the PSE buildings because they are on a hill.

I've been watching the Bellevue Towers project every day. Bellevue Towers is projecting 1 floor per week on each tower. Right now the north tower is 4 floors above ground level. The buildings should be topped off by Jan. 2008.

In 10 years it would be safe to say that the Seattle Metro area will have two downtowns, Seattle and Bellevue. You could say it now but in 10 years there should be 3x the number of buildings as today.

Denver's downtown is nowhere close to Seattle's skyline. If you look at Seattle from a helocopter shot in between Queen Anne and the space needle, Seattle looks massive and long. We just need a couple 50+ story buildings away from the Columbia Tower to really make it look massive.

People in Vancouver B.C. think that Vancouver is a bigger city than Seattle. Not building wise but in population. That's a big stretch considering Vancover has yet to build one true freeway.

Denver has buildings of 56, 54, and 52, all from the early 80s I think. I agree that it doesn't have the density, height, or architectural interest ours does. Much of the difference is "infill" stuff and the fact we're on hills.

Vancouver should be congratulated for its lack of freeways, and often is. Among people I know there (friends and relatives), as well as on this board, Seattle is generally seen as bigger and richer but less dense, which is true.

[horatio_the_hermit]

Theres a reason urban planners from all over the world flock to vancouver to study.

[kanc2001]

Bellevue is the Buckhead of seattle

[mSeattle]

I don't think Bellevue's skyline is bigger than Oaklands. It might be getting taller than Oaklands but there aren't as many buildings in the Bell vs those in the Oak. Also, Oakland is a city on a fuller scale (industrial etc.). This is not to take anything away from the growing Bellevue skyline which I have longed for.