[DJC]

djc home | top | special issues index
Construction and Equipment Spotlight
April 24, 1997

Big jobs - Private construction projects in Washington, 1997

By BEN MINNICK
Journal construction editor

"Cautious optimism" is usually about the most upbeat contractors get when giving their outlook for the upcoming construction season. But 1997 is no ordinary year. Hotels, stadiums, retail, health care, high tech, biotech, schools, apartments, warehouses -- everything but big-box retail -- seems to be booming. As one 20-year construction veteran said: "It's gone nuclear!"

We decided to tally up the biggest private construction jobs in the state either under construction or soon to start and found there are 11 projects on the list valued at $50 million and over. Six are retail and five are high-tech facilities or offices.

Included in the retail list are two projects in downtown Seattle: Pacific Place and the Nordstrom flagship store/corporate offices; two in Spokane: River Park Square and Spokane Valley Mall; and two on the Eastside: Redmond Town Center and redevelopment of downtown Woodinville.

High-tech projects are more scattered: the huge WaferTech complex in Camas; Matsushita's plant in Puyallup; the Augusta Campus for Microsoft in Redmond; Fred Hutchinson's biomedical research facility in Seattle; and Boeing's new headquarters building in Renton.

By far, the biggest project is the WaferTech complex. At over $300 million, it's not only the hands-down winner in construction value, it also leaves the competition in the dust with a $1.2 billion total price tag.

Return


djc home | top | special issues index

Copyright © 1997 Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.