June 5, 2020

For Belltown hotel-condo tower plan, it's out with co-working, in with co-living

Rendering by Ankrom Moisan [enlarge]

Co-living apartments are now planned for the fifth and sixth floors. Above that would be 216 hotel rooms and 200 condo units. Co-work space originally programmed on the lower floors has been dropped.

The landmarked Terminal Sales Annex, at 1931 Second Ave. in Belltown, has been vacant for many years.

The current owner's plan for a 42-story hotel/condominium tower has been in design review for nearly two years. Last summer's design review meeting proved successful, and city of Seattle records now contain some fresh hints of activity.

Ankrom Moisan is the architect of record for the tower, which will preserve and incorporate the facade of the landmarked, century-old building. (Two other small tear-down buildings will be removed from the corner, at Virginia Street.)

The design architect is Kengo Kuma of Tokyo. Berger Partnership is the landscape architect. Local firm Schwartz Co. is an owner's rep, as is international consultant Peak, part of Great Eagle Group — an arm of which, Pacific Eagle, acquired the corner in 2016 for $18 million.

Also new to the team are Rushing, MEP engineer; Coughlin Portner Lundeen, structural engineer; Navix, civil engineer; Edgett Williams Consulting Group, elevators; RDH Building Science, envelope; and Bush, Roed & Hitchings, surveyor.

No general contractor is indicated yet, and no application has been made for a demolition permit. The project is pursuing phased construction permits.

Peak's website calls the project Eaton, one of the hospitality brands associated with Hong Kong billionaire Lo Ka Shui. Daughter Katherine Lo runs the Eaton flag, with hotels in Hong Kong and Washington, D.C. Peak says the tower will have 173 hotel rooms, 200 condos, a wedding chapel and many amenities.

Ankrom Moisan's more recent numbers say there will be around 216 hotel rooms on floors seven through 15, apartments on the fifth and sixth floors (also labeled as co-living), and about 200 condos on floors 16 through 41. All those numbers are subject to change.

Automated, stacked parking for about 160 vehicles will go on three of five underground levels, to be accessed from the alley to the west. (Pacific Eagle also owns a 42-stall parking garage nearby.)

The other two underground levels will mostly be for back-of-house operations, plus around 350 bike stalls. A speakeasy with bar and small stage is also planned on the first level below grade.

The co-work space originally programmed on the lower floors has been dropped. (The coronavirus pandemic and social distancing have now cast that WeWork-style business model into doubt.) Levels two through four now house a gym, various amenities, a banquet hall, another bar, screening room, maker space and event space.

Ankrom Moisan now says there will be 13,295 square feet of commercial space on the lower floors.

The residential lobby will be on Virginia. Hotel guests will enter from Second to the lobby and adjoining bar/cafe.

The 42nd-floor amenity areas will be for residents only, including a west-facing 2,700-square-foot terrace.

The four penthouse units on the 41st floor run up to 2,381 square feet. One-bedroom condos start at around 730 square feet. The co-living units on the fifth and sixth floors average around 250 square feet, with a communal kitchen on the fifth floor. The bar on the sixth floor will include a terrace on top of the protruding Terminal Sales Annex, overlooking Second.

Total project size, including levels below grade, is listed at 568,500 square feet.