March 15, 2021

Major Pioneer Square redevelopment planned

Rendering by BuildingWork [enlarge] [gallery]

In this view, looking west, the additions and terraces are shown above the existing Korn and Walker buildings.

Unico Properties, Lake Union Partners and architect BuildingWork are planning to renovate and add to what's now known as the Korn Walker Block. That's a half block in Pioneer Square, anchored by the Korn Building at 119 Yesler Way, on the corner of Occidental Avenue South.

The Pioneer Square Preservation Board will review those plans again on Wednesday, in a virtual meeting the public can also view by web link. Most of the buildings were originally developed circa 1890, soon after the Great Seattle Fire.

The general outline is the same as last summer's review, now with more polish and detail. With various new additions, setbacks, new seismic bracing and one demolition/replacement (the Casco Antiguo building), the project will yield about 70,000 square feet of offices. At grade, there will be about 18,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.

In effect, the eight now separate buildings will become one, with most office floor plates having about 22,000 square feet — plus about 5,800 square feet for the fifth-floor penthouse level. The combined Korn Walker Block will top out at four and five stories, including the penthouse and terraces.

No general contractor is indicated yet. The team also includes Coughlin Porter Lundeen, structural engineer; KPFF, civil; and Goldsmith Land Development Services, surveyor.

Much of the complex is empty, save for the Saveway market and a temporary office for Walsh Construction — which is building the nearby Chief Seattle Club supportive housing project. No start date has been announced for the Korn Walker project; nor is clear if work would begin without any tenant(s) signed. Brokers, if any, are unknown.

Much of the basement space — once home to Trinity Nightclub and Pioneer Square Theater — will be reclaimed for bike parking (with 92 stalls), exhibit space and for the Merchants Cafe, which will apparently return after construction to its longtime home on Yesler. The cafe claims 1890 as its founding date; the Airbnb operation above will not return.

Restoration is planned for all the original masonry, much of which was damaged by the 1949 earthquake that also cause some of the south buildings, on South Washington Street, to loose their upper floors. In particular, the Korn Building will have its ornate, crown-like cornice restored over Yesler.

Improvements to the alley, to the west, will include some outdoor dining space similar to what Casco Antiguo had before the pandemic. Rooftop solar panels are indicated, and the project will target LEED Gold certification. It also aims to be a zero carbon development. The budget hasn't been disclosed; Federal Historic Tax Credits will be employed.

Unico owns the half block via its Boutique Office Portfolio fund. There are similar renovation plans in Pioneer Square for its Grand Central Block and the Washington Park Building — with all or most of the same team members also working on those.