September 14, 2016

Selig finishes Belltown building on Third: a ‘gem in a haystack'

Photo from Lease Crutcher Lewis [enlarge]

Antioch University is taking nearly half of the Third & Battery Building.

Martin Selig Real Estate is wrapping up construction on the Third & Battery Building in Belltown and one thing about it stands out: it's only three stories tall.

Martin Selig said he could have gone higher with apartments, but he doesn't develop them. He said this is the height limit for an office building in the area.

Selig said the building, at 2400 Third Ave., “shines among all other buildings, like a gem in a haystack.”

The 68,429-square-foot structure also sounds like a gem of an investment: it's fully leased.

Lease Crutcher Lewis, Selig's general contractor, is finishing 30,000 square feet of space on the second and third floors for Antioch University. Selig said classes will start there in December.

Sound Community Bank is leasing the 15,000-square-foot first floor for its headquarters, and Zymeworks Biopharmaceuticals is leasing about 11,000 square feet on the third floor.

All tenant spaces will be complete by year end. Selig said the bank will open in January and Zymeworks in February.

There are 63 parking stalls below grade, and a rooftop terrace measuring 45-by-30 feet with an adjacent green roof.

Below-grade construction came within about a foot of the Battery Street tunnel walls so the team had to install steel raker beams to brace the tunnel until the new foundation was complete.

Selig has owned the site for about 25 years and operated a parking lot there. He also owns the adjacent 4th & Battery Building.

The design team was Perkins+Will, architect; KPFF, civil/structural engineer; Key Mechanical, mechanical design-build; McKinstry, fire protection design-build; and Stantec, electrical. Major subcontractors were Harris Rebar, Lundahl Ironworks Co., Corona Steel, Malcolm Drilling Co., McClone Construction, MidMountain Contractors, Nelson Electric, R&D Masonry, Sessler and Snyder.

Selig said Perkins+Will has designed six buildings for his firm and Lease Crutcher Lewis has built 10. That same team, along with KPFF, is constructing a nearly 500,000-square-foot office building for Selig at Third and Lenora. Selig said the building is fully leased to a single tenant, but he declined to give the name.

Another office building that team is working on for Selig is in Ballard at 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street. Selig said the 225,000-square-foot building is 70 percent leased to four tenants that he declined to name.

A third office building by the team is under way at Third and Harrison, on lower Queen Anne. Selig said three Carnival Cruise Line companies — Holland America Lines, Seabourn and Princess Cruises — will move there in December.