June 22, 2022

LMC opens Ovation, with 548 First Hill units on Town Hall block

Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge]

Looking northeast across the freeway, Ovation was developed on parking lots owned by First Presbyterian Church, at right, which is also likely bound for redevelopment.

Four years after the land sale, construction began in December of 2018 on the Town Hall block for LMC's two-tower luxury apartment project Ovation.

Now using the new address of 702 Spring St., the 548 units have begun leasing in the east and west towers. The 32-story project received its temporary certificate of occupancy last month. Perkins Will designed Ovation, with JTM Construction as the general contractor.

In a statement, LMC's Brad Reisinger called Ovation “perhaps our most stunning community yet.” In separate remarks at a NAIOP breakfast last week, he said the building average rent would be around $4,000. Units range from studios to three-bedrooms. Some of the large two-story penthouses could go for over $10,000, he said; and over $20,000 has been rumored.

But, having availed itself of the city's multifamily tax exemption program (MFTE), “This means a much-needed 110 homes will be set aside for middle income earners.” Those rents are to be affordable to households earning 65% to 90% of area median income. Thus a 491-square-foot studio might go for around $1,500.

The actual leasing website doesn't offer any dollar figures. Right now, up to eight weeks of free rent is being offered to help expedite the leasing. Reisinger said last week that full occupancy was anticipated by late next year. MFTE provisions sunset after a dozen years.

The long, long list of amenities includes app-controlled door locks, lighting, thermostats, and window shades; roof decks, barbecue stations, fitness center, co-working spaces, movie room and multiple lounges; pet spa and covered pet run; wine cellars, Haier refrigerators quartz countertops, etc.

Ovation includes eight levels of underground parking with 436 stalls, plus bike rooms. About 6,000 square feet of retail/commercial space; that includes what had been programmed as a restaurant in the west tower. That space faces a 9,000-square-foot public plaza — also shared with Town Hall.

LMC's equity partner in the project is QuadReal Property Group; that's an arm of British Columbia Investment Management, a pension fund manager. (BCIM acquired the parking lots, covering three quarters of the block, in 2014 for $9 million.)

The Ovation team also included Coughlin Porter Lundeen, civil engineer; DCI, structural engineer; MacDonald-Miller, MEP; PFS Studio, landscape architect; Glumac, energy consultant; and Pangeo, geotechnical engineer.

Meanwhile, parent company Lennar announced last year that it would spin off its multifamily division, LMC, and return to its roots as a single-family homebuilder. Reisinger says that LMC will get a new name following the split, likely later this year.