November 19, 2015

Lake Union Partners pays $5M for Eitel Building, plans hotel

Courtesy Lake Union Partners [enlarge]

Lake Union Partners said it has purchased the 111-year-old Eitel Building at 1501 Second Ave. for $5.35 million and plans to turn it into a hotel.

Renovation of the seven-story, 45,000-square-foot historic building could begin next spring or summer. Lake Union Partners said in a press release the hotel is expected to open in early 2018.

The building will have a ground-floor restaurant and bar. Columbia Hospitality will operate the hotel.

Weinstein A+U and Root Culture Lab are designing the renovation. Root Culture Lab is a Seattle creative agency that says it focuses on brand strategy, environmental design and events. Coughlin Porter Lundeen is the structural and civil engineer.

Dane Murphy of Windermere Commercial represented the seller, Dick Nimmer, and Dan Swanson of Kidder Mathews represented Lake Union Partners. William Doty van Siclen designed the structure in 1904 as a six-story medical office building with a ground-floor pharmacy. A seventh story was added in 1906.

With the exception of ground floor retail, the building has been vacant since the 1970s, according to the press release.

Several developers have attempted to purchase the building over the years.

Lake Union Partners is no stranger to complex renovation projects. It is finishing work on The Standard — a 125-year-old building at First Avenue and Spring Street — and turn it into creative office space.

Lake Union Partners has two apartment complexes under construction in the Central District, with a third now in the permitting process. It also recently built apartment complexes on Capitol Hill and in the Roosevelt neighborhood.