January 15, 2019

Here's the early design for Selig's new waterfront tower

Renderings by Perkins + Will [enlarge]

The 15-story building will have ground-floor retail topped by a mix of office space and 106 apartments, with a roof deck.

[enlarge]

The preferred design is called “erode,” and evokes the look of driftwood and rocks found by the seashore.

The Commuter Building block, with its attached pedestrian bridge to the ferry terminal, is bound for redevelopment.

Martin Selig Real Estate paid $44 million last year for the property. The proposed new Windermere Building, now using the address of 75 Marion St., is being designed by Perkins + Will in collaboration with Jim Olson, of Olson Kundig Architecture.

The project will have its first design review at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22 at City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave., Room L2-80.

The basic program is for a 15-story mixed-use tower. It will have about 202,000 square feet of offices on levels two through four, and six through nine.

About 106 apartments are planned for level five, and levels 10-15. There will be a roof deck with expansive views of Elliott Bay, and a rooftop amenity area.

There will also be some 21,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and commercial space. Three levels of underground parking will have about 278 stalls.

Total project size, including the parking, is estimated at 504,000 square feet. The anticipated timeline is to start construction in early 2020, after the viaduct is removed, with completion in early 2022.

Demolition plans for the block indicate it'll be used for construction staging for Kiewit's viaduct and waterfront work.

The preferred design scheme is called “erode,” taking its cues from the wind- and sand-scoured driftwood and rocks one finds by the seashore.

Residential balconies will be irregularly placed. Perkins + Will says, “The exterior skin will optimize views, and every residential unit will have access to a private balcony.”

A 7,000-square-foot fifth-floor terrace on the north side could be used by both office tenants and residents.

Parking will be accessed from Western Avenue. Entries for both the office and residential tenants will face Alaskan Way.

When the Jacobi family sold the block last year, it was announced that the new building would be named for the real estate brokerage founded in 1972 by John Jacobi. Selig also announced that Lease Crutcher Lewis would be the general contractor, and KPFF the lead engineer.

Pedestrian bridge

The Marion Street pedestrian bridge is the separate responsibility of SDOT and WSDOT. After viaduct demolition and during the waterfront rebuild, there will be a temporary bridge before the $18 million new bridge returns to its current alignment.

Unlike the current patchwork bridge, built from the 1950s to 1970s, the replacement won't be partly supported by the Commuter Building, which is bound for demolition.

The preliminary design by HDR and Rosales + Partners shows freestanding Y-shaped columns supporting the bridge, with a gap of a few feet between it and the Windermere Building.

The tentative schedule for bridge construction is mid-2021 through mid-2023.

Depending on when the century-old Commuter Building is demolished, its Forge Lounge will close, too. Its entrance is on the pedestrian bridge, and it has traditionally been the last watering hole for ferry-bound commuters.

The new Windermere Building won't have any such elevated amenities for passersby.