October 3, 2014

Selig has big plans for Ballard, Belltown

Courtesy Perkins + Will [enlarge]

Martin Selig Real Estate got design approval for 100 apartments in a 12-story building near Olympic Sculpture Park.

Martin Selig has developed some of Seattle's signature buildings, and now he is looking to get in on the latest real estate boom.

Martin Selig Real Estate is gearing up to do new projects in Ballard and Belltown, and restarting plans for another in Belltown that was stalled by the recession.

These are in addition to two Selig projects already in the pipeline: 100 apartments near Olympic Sculpture Park and an office building in the Uptown area of Queen Anne, one of the developer's favorite spots.

At Third and Lenora in Belltown, Selig wants to build a 31-story, mixed-use tower with office space, housing and ground-floor retail. Documents show 158 residential units, 291,000-square-feet of office and retail, and 250 parking spaces, but that information is preliminary and could change.

At Third and Battery, the company has dusted off plans for a three-story, 85,000-square-foot office building with ground-floor retail on a site that is now a parking lot. Records show Selig started to develop the project before the recession, but shelved it because of the economy.

In Ballard at https://goo.gl/maps/18N4U" target="_blank">15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street, Martin Selig Real Estate is planning an office building with about 200,000 square feet.

Jordan Selig of Martin Selig Real Estate said the company has never done a project in Ballard before. Thousands of new apartments have opened in the neighborhood over the last few years, but there is little office space there. She noted that the commute from Ballard to downtown can be rough.

“No one likes to sit in traffic, and we want to give those people who live in Ballard a place to work that is closer to home,” she said.

Martin Selig said his decision to start new projects now is motivated by two things: the local economy looks good and the recession is behind us.

The company's portfolio of about 4 million square feet is 98 percent leased.

Jordan Selig said several tenants in their buildings are looking to expand, so new buildings could make good landing spots for growing companies.

The developer got design approval in September for the apartment complex adjacent to Olympic Sculpture Park at 3031 Western Ave. That 12-story building will have 100 units.

In July, the DJC reported on the Uptown project that Selig is planning. The six-story, 153,000-square-foot office building will be at 220 W. Harrison St. The project recently had its first design review meeting.

Perkins + Will is designing all of Selig's new buildings. Lease Crutcher Lewis is the general contractor, and KPFF Consulting engineers is structural engineer.

Construction is likely to begin first on the smaller building at Third and Battery because it was planned before the recession.

Martin Selig said the Third and Harrison office project could be up next, followed by the Sculpture Park apartments, 15th and Market project, and the Third and Lenora mixed-use project after that — though he emphasized that could change.

The projects total more than 1 million square feet and are all set to open in 2016 and 2017.