February 11, 2016

Hudson Pacific preparing to start Pioneer Square office building

Courtesy NBBJ [enlarge]

In addition to office space, the building will include 10,530 square feet of retail.

Hudson Pacific Properties plans to break ground within the next 60 days on an eight-story office building at 450 Alaskan Way S. in Pioneer Square.

Hudson Pacific President and CEO Victor Coleman said the firm plans to start the 165,000-square-foot office project without any office preleases. He said interest from potential tenants gives Hudson Pacific the confidence to begin on a speculative basis.

The first step is to knock down an existing parking garage on the site. That could be finished in June, and then it would take another 14 months to construct the office building, Coleman said.

NBBJ is the architect on the project, GLY Construction is the general contractor and Coughlin Porter Lundeen is the structural engineer. David Abbott and Laura Ford of Colliers International are the office brokers.

The site was included in Hudson Pacific's purchase of Merrill Place — now called 411 First and the home of Hudson Pacific's Seattle office — for $57.7 million in 2014. The 450 Alaskan project is Hudson Pacific's first new development in Seattle. The firm typically prefers to buy and renovate existing buildings, but Hudson Pacific saw untapped potential in the 450 Alaskan site on the southwest corner of the property.

Coleman said Hudson Pacific doesn't have a standard renovation package and takes into account specific features and attributes of each building. At 411 First, the columns were stripped down to the wood and preserved. Other historic elements like brick walls adorn Hudson Pacific's office. The building lobby, however, has a more modern aesthetic.

Coleman said the design for 450 Alaskan has changed over time. At the beginning it had a lot more glass, but conversations with the Pioneer Square Preservation Board led to the use of more wood and brick. The project also has 10,530 square feet of retail space.

Hudson Pacific entered the Seattle market in 2013 when it bought the 505 First Avenue/83 King Street complex, Metropolitan Park North and Northview Corporate Center in Lynnwood for $367.5 million.

Hudson Pacific focuses most of its efforts on Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, which Coleman called the three hottest markets on the West Coast. All of them having growing companies and a desirable quality of living for young people. Seattle is the most development-friendly of the three, Coleman said.

Pioneer Square is Hudson Pacific's favorite neighborhood in Seattle. When Hudson Pacific made its first purchases in Pioneer Square a couple years ago, there was plenty of interest, but no one knew how well the neighborhood would fare. But now, Coleman said, “the secret is kind of out.” He said Pioneer Square compares very well with the Chelsea neighborhood in New York or South of Market in San Francisco.

Coleman added that Hudson Pacific is looking to buy more properties, specifically in Pioneer Square.

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Hudson Pacific had considered making this a housing project. )