Harbor Steps Finds Downtown Living Is Hot

BY BENJAMIN MINNICK
Construction editor

The first phase of the Harbor Steps apartment development helped connect downtown Seattle to the waterfront with its expansive staircase park. Now, with the second phase coming on line, the project is expected to take on a new role -- to help transform downtown into a 24-hour community.

Denny Onslow, vice president of operations for Harbor Properties Inc., the developer of Harbor Steps, said there is renewed interest in living downtown, especially in apartments.

"We believe that the residential market in Seattle is strong," he said, pointing out the first phase of Harbor Steps, with 169 units in a 17-story building fronting Western Avenue, is 98 percent occupied.

Tom Cain, president of the apartment brokerage firm Cain and Scott, agreed. He said the downtown apartment market is very tight and developers are looking for sites to build more.

"As little as five years ago, there was a concern about downtown Seattle," said Steven Fina, Harbor's project administrator, referring in part to the closure of Frederick & Nelson.

Harbor Property's Denny Onslow, left, and Steven Fina stand in the courtyard between the two towers of Harbor Steps. One of two skybridges connecting the buildings spans the alley. Photo by Benjamin Minnick

Things have changed since then, with Nordstrom taking over the old F&N building and a slew of new retailers and restaurants in town -- including NikeTown, Planet Hollywood and GameWorks, to name a few.

Onslow said to accommodate a larger downtown population, more shops are staying open later and new restaurants and residential are fueling each other. He said his wife used to go shopping at Bellevue Square, but now goes downtown because her "comfort zone" has improved.

"(Now) you park your car and make a night of it," Fina said. "Seattle's becoming more sophisticated.

"The appeal of living downtown is the combination of residential, retail and office -- it's the live, work and play," Fina said. "If any of those three fails, all will suffer."

Cain said the increased demand for apartments downtown is partially because rush hour commuters have had enough of the long and frustrating drive between home and work.

The second phase of Harbor Steps, which will be finished by contractor SDL McCarthy next July, should help alleviate some of the pent-up demand for downtown apartments. It will include a 25-story tower with 285 apartment units, an assortment of retailers, a restaurant and a 20-unit boutique hotel called The Inn at Harbor Steps.

Onslow said they learned a few things from the tenants living in Phase I and are applying that knowledge to Phase II. Some of the improvements include bigger rooms (average size of Phase I is 760 square feet versus 840 square feet in Phase II), more variety in room layouts and added amenities.

Fina said Phase II has about 30 different layouts, including studio, one-bedroom, one-bedroom with den, townhouse, penthouse, lowrise penthouse, two-bedroom and two-bedroom with den units. Rents will range from $650 for a 520-square-foot studio to $4,000 for a 1,800-square-foot penthouse.

Fina said one tenant wanted a penthouse-sized unit, but was nervous about living 25 stories in the sky. The solution -- lowrise penthouse units were created on levels two, three and four of Phase II. Instead of towering skyline views, they overlook the steps park.

A popular feature taken from Phase I will be the continued use of some units for corporate housing. Phase I features 35 corporate housing units. Fina said companies like Microsoft or Boeing that bring in workers from out of town are typical renters of corporate units. Usually, new hires stay in the apartment until they find a permanent home. Fina said as many as 35 more are planned for Phase II.

Even Onslow himself lived in Phase I for five months while his home was being remodeled.

Along First Avenue, Phase II will have a streetscape full of new retail shops. Anchoring the northern corner will be a new Wolfgang Puck restaurant. It will feature 165 seats and another 20 outdoors in the courtyard that separates the two buildings. Fina said they couldn't have signed Wolfgang Puck a few years ago because downtown Seattle was not the hot attraction it is now.

Other retailers will include Scandia Jewelers and Three Furies, an interior and home furnishings store. Onslow said he is looking for a flower shop to operate in the First Avenue entrance -- one that will "spill out onto the sidewalk, creating a pedestrian-friendly feel."

"People activate the streets," Onslow said.

The boutique hotel, which Onslow calls an "urban inn," will share the entrance lobby with the flower shop and apartments. It will be operated by Four Sisters Inns, which Harbor founder and chairman Stimson Bullitt discovered during a visit to San Francisco.

Onslow said Four Sisters operates 10 urban and country inns in California and one in Colorado. Guests at Harbor Steps will be able to use the same amenities as apartment dwellers, including a jetted lap pool, weight room, sport court, health club, two Jacuzzis, a library, meeting rooms and common areas and plazas. Room rates will probably be $125 to $135 a night.

Tenants living in Phase I are getting the first opportunity to move into the second phase. So far, Fina said 30 units have been taken in the new building. Harbor will officially kick off a pre-lease campaign for Phase II on March 6.

Phases I and II will be separated by a public corridor running north-south that was designed to look like a European alley. The two buildings will be connected by two skybridges. The alley will be lined with 12,000 square feet of interactive-type businesses and services, such as an start-up company that plans to build and sell clocks. Tenants looking at moving into the alley include a public relations firm and other professional companies.

Harbor Properties may not stop with Phase II. Plans include future phases that would add 200-300 apartments north of and adjacent to the steps. Both the Oceanic and Erikson buildings, which Harbor owns, would be demolished to make way for construction. The European-style pedestrian corridor would be continued northward through the block to connect to Pike Place Market.

Onslow said development of those parcels depends on the success of Phase II and the outlook for downtown apartments in general. If Harbor decides to proceed, the parcel where the Erikson Building stands would likely be developed first. Onslow said they will have a good idea of Phase II's success in early 1998.

In the mean time, Harbor has a few other irons in the fire. Construction could begin in May on a $9 million, 98-unit apartment building in Belltown at 2400 Western Ave.

About $1 million is being invested in renovated elevators, corridors and storefronts at the 1411 Fourth Avenue Building for a new Biagio leather goods shop and a flagship Tully's store where Brooks Brothers once was. That project is expected to start April 1 and will feature a remodeled streetscape along Fourth and Union.

Even Harbor's resort property, Steven's Pass, may get a new day lodge in 1999 at a cost of $4 million to $5 million. Onslow said it is possible that Harbor may look at developing a small inn or bed-and-breakfast there, but admitted it is a long-shot at this stage.

Finally, Onslow said Harbor may possibly expand to other resort properties in the Pacific Northwest in the future. "We just looking right now," he said.

Before that happens, Harbor will continue to help fulfill Stimson Bullitt's vision for Seattle: get people to live downtown to create a revitalized and energized core.