September 20, 2021

With $25M land buy, Fairfield ready to build 484 Totem Lake units

Rendering by Carrier Johnson + Culture [enlarge]

The unnamed new development is walkable to the Village at Totem lake, where Fairfield has also been active.

As planned, Fairfield Residential has purchased a nearly 5-acre development site at 12045 Slater Ave. N.E. in the Totem Lake area of Kirkland. With architect Carrier Johnson + Culture, the developer is planning a three-building, 484-unit apartment project. King County recorded the over $25.2 million deal last week. All the necessary permits look to be in place.

The seller was Alco Totem Lake LLC, associated with the Rosen family, which acquired the land in 2018 for $10 million, then held it during the permit process. Fairfield also used an LLC in the deal, which was worth about $121 per square foot.

On the sloping site, the buildings will rise seven stories above Slater. To be accessed from the lower north side of the unnamed project, mostly structured parking will have about 800 stalls.

Units will run from studios to two-bedrooms, ranging in size from about 481 to 1,075 square feet. About 48 units will be affordable, per city requirements.

About 18,000 of retail/commercial space is programmed in the west building, at the corner of120th Avenue Northeast. Total project size, including the parking, roof deck and terraces, is about 776,000 square feet.

Contour Engineering of Gig Harbor is the civil engineer. Anil Verma Assoc., of Los Angeles, is the landscape architect. Fairfield typically acts as its own general contractor. No start date has been announced. The company has a demolition permit for some old industrial buildings.

The site is a short walk west to the Village at Totem Lake, where Fairfield recently opened its North and Aspect apartments, with about 650 units.