Commercial Real Estate
The affordable-housing conundrum
Few would argue there isnt a need for more affordable housing in Seattle, where costs are soaring, but there’s considerable debate over how best to make that happen. The discussion will heat up at the end of May when a Seattle City Council advisory committee releases its recommendations for making more housing affordable to families…
The Race for Office Space
Its nice to be popular. Companies headquartered outside Washington are beating a path to Seattle in a rush to open satellite offices here. To Googles large campuses in Kirkland and Seattles Fremont neighborhood you can add Elon Musks recent announcement that he could hire up to 1,000 people for a local office of SpaceX. Facebook…
Doing More with Less
One thing driving consolidation in the building industry is the push for lower costs and increased productivity. New technology is part of that equation. For example, building information modeling (BIM) software has replaced the traditional two-dimensional paper blueprint drawing with a digital three-dimensional model that can be shared online. Likewise, three-dimensional printers are making it…
Building an M&A boom
National construction firms are acquiring local companies to tap into Seattles building boom. As they do so, theyre setting off a wave of consolidation in the states $30 billion construction industry, encompassing associated businesses in architecture, engineering, development and building supplies. People want to be in Seattle because its a hot market with legs to…
On Reflection: A New Rainier Square
Seattle-based Wright Runstad & Co. has applied for a master use permit to redevelop a key property in the heart of downtown Seattle, seeking approval for an unusual curved tower that will become the citys second-tallest building. Starting later this year, Wright Runstad plans to demolish the moribund Rainier Square shopping mall and start construction…
Chinese Homebuyers Are Moving into Seattle
Quick quiz: Whats the most expensive housing market in North America? If you answered Beverly Hills, San Francisco or Manhattan, thank you for playing. Its actually Vancouver, British Columbia, where the median income is a relatively modest $71,000 Canadian and plain-Jane, single-family houses in good neighborhoods sell for more than $1 million. In recent years,…
On Reflection: Brooks’ Running Start
Brooks Sports, the running-shoe company owned by Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway, has moved from suburban Bothell into the new Stone34 building in Seattles Fremont/Wallingford neighborhood. Its new headquarters, which has a view of Lake Union and the downtown Seattle skyline beyond, also features the companys first-ever retail store. Century-old Brooks is only the latest company…
New Rainier Square Tower Could Re-invigorate Downtown
Seattle-based Wright Runstad & Co. has applied for a master use permit to redevelop a key property in the heart of downtown Seattle, seeking city approval for an unusual curved tower that will one day be the second tallest building in the city. Starting late next year, Wright Runstad plans to demolish the Rainier Square…
Will the city seriously consider rent control?
Richard has lived in Seattle for 32 years. In 2001, he moved into a small, one-bedroom apartment on Capitol Hill, where rent was $650 a month. In 2013, new building owners made some general improvements and then began raising rents. Richards bill jumped to $1,000. Then $1,200. During the course of the next 18 months,…
Down on the Farm?
Strong and rising prices. Lots of buyers chasing a thin supply of properties. Sounds a lot like the current condition of the Seattle residential real estate market. Which it is. But its also an accurate description of the market for agricultural property east of the mountains. A graph in the most recent land values report…
Room Boom: Mane Attraction
The former Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Avenue in downtown Seattle sold in June for more than $130 million, a hefty amount netted by seller Lowe Enterprises of Los Angeles shortly after it departed Red Lions franchise group. Lowe, which bought the property from Red Lion three years ago for $71 million, extensively remodeled it…
Room Boom: Hotels Are Hot in Seattle
Nothing says loving like a few more hotel rooms. Investors and developers are betting heavily on the hotel business in and around Seattle a robust indication of the faith they have in the regions future. Rising room rates and strong bookings have brought a series of record-setting hotel sales recently, while dozens of new hotels…
The New Face of Development
Like South Lake Union champion Paul Allen, Kari Magill has the noteworthy ability to transform an entire neighborhood through substantial redevelopment. The third generation of her family to head Issaquah-based Rowley Properties, Magill has huge influence over the future of Issaquah. Her real estate management and development company owns and manages 67 buildings representing almost…