March 25, 2016

Vulcan plans 4 office buildings for Google on SLU ‘Lakefront Blocks'

Images courtesy Graphite Design Group [enlarge]

[enlarge]

Google will occupy four new office buildings with 607,000 square feet that Vulcan is planning to build on two blocks along Mercer Street, between Terry and Fairview in South Lake Union.

The six-story buildings will be built in phases, starting in 2017. Completion is set for 2019.

In addition to the office space for Google, Vulcan said it will construct two residential towers with a total of 151 apartments. The towers will be eight or nine stories above the six-story office podiums at the southeast corner of Valley and Boren, and the northeast corner of Terry and Mercer.

Graphite Design Group is the architect. Runberg Architecture Group is consulting on the residential portion.

GLY Construction will be the general contractor. Hewitt is the landscape architect, and Coughlin Porter Lundeen is the structural and civil engineer.

Vulcan will separately develop 14,000 square feet of ground floor retail for restaurants and shops. A total of 812 parking spaces will be below grade.

A pedestrian-friendly through-block woonerf is planned between Terry and Boren.

Google's Seattle site lead, Clyde McQueen, said, “We've loved being in the Fremont neighborhood but will need a bit more breathing room.”

Google now occupies about 140,000 square feet in Fremont, according to Colliers International Senior Vice President Dan Dahl. That is less than a quarter of the space it will take in South Lake Union.

Leases for the South Lake Union buildings range from 14 to 16 years.

Google representatives declined further comment.

Vulcan has been working for years on this site, known as the Lakefront Blocks. The property includes a third block between Westlake and Terry that will have a 16-story, 220-unit apartment tower and a six-story office building with 146,000 square feet.

Vulcan Real Estate Investment Strategy Director Lori Mason Curran said that block is not part of the Google deal and is still available. Vulcan will wait for an office tenant before building on that block.