February 6, 2019

Jensen Fey designs renovation to turn Redmond Macy's store into mixed-use

Rendering by Jensen Fey Architecture [enlarge]

Windows will be added on the first and second floors. The two-level, 110,000-square-foot space is connected by central escalators.

With the holidays past, Redmond Town Center Macy's, at 7400 166th Ave. N.E., is now in clearance sale mode.

The store will close at the end of March. What comes next for the 16-year-old, two-story former Bon Marche building?

This Thursday's meeting of the Redmond Design Review Board will likely approve a renovation plan by Jensen Fey Architecture. It will add new windows to the first and second floors, along with some cosmetic alterations to the exterior. No general contractor is listed.

The plan states, “The proposed use of the building is to create a mixed-use structure for both retail and business occupancies at a future phase in development.” The ground floor could house retail and business tenants, and the second floor will be designated for business use.

That will yield about 110,000 square feet on two levels, which are connected by central escalators.

The city says, “The interior tenant improvements are not known at this time, since the applicant has not identified the tenants.”

Last summer, when Microsoft was rumored to be a potential tenant, Broderick's Grant Yerke and Matt Schreck were listing the space. Broderick's year-end report said it's still on the market, and noted that it was one of only two currently vacant — or soon to be vacant — buildings on the Eastside to offer over 100,000 square feet.

Broderick says the space will be available on April 1. A triple-net lease for the whole building would run about $3.6 million per year.

The retail at Redmond Town Center is owned by DRA Advisors of New York and local firm JSH Properties Inc., which also manages the property. The new 160-room Archer Hotel will open there soon, and the 286-unit Talisman apartments should open late this year.

There's no indication on the Jensen Fey plan that there must be any ground-floor retail in the reconfigured Macy's building; that's merely an option. Combining offices and retail isn't unheard of, particularly if the office tenant sells some consumer goods — as is the case for tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon or even Apple.

Microsoft already leases four office buildings at Redmond Town Center, which sold last year as part of a $268 million, six-building deal to Invesco. At the same time, Microsoft is overhauling and expanding its nearby main campus.

That project broke ground last month. After a five- to seven-year phased program of demolition, renovation and new construction, Microsoft will end up with about 9.2 million square feet, with a capacity for another 8,000 workers. Whether it's seeking short-term office space during the interim hasn't been announced.