February 5, 2024

Skanska and Fana prep office, apartment towers at Washington Square

Rendering by Compton Design Office [enlarge]

Looking northeast, Eighth is at right.

Not quite four years back, on the Washington Square block in downtown Bellevue, Fana Group paid nearly $26.9 million for a future development site on the corner of 106th Avenue Northeast.

The legacy address is 10620 N.E. Eighth St., immediately west of Skanska's The Eight office tower. The latter is nearing completion, with Pokemon rumored as its future anchor tenant.

Almost two years ago, with The Eight then early in its construction, Skanska acquired a neighboring parcel, north of Fana's corner, where a hotel had once been planned by West77 Partners and BV Holdings. (That project is now dead.) The price: about $18.8 million.

The two owners filed plans in December for a two-phase office and apartment project, north and south, for which the city of Bellevue recently said that a SEPA determination of non-significance is expected. A public meeting will be held on Feb. 20; the public comment period ends Feb. 15. The proposal began brewing last summer.

The city previously approved a prior master development plan for that west side of the Washington Square block; that was about four years back, before the two land sales, for about the same size. Compton Design Office prepared the new master plan for Fana and Skanska.

To the north, Phase I would be a nine-story office building, with about 129,000 square feet above grade, including retail and amenities. Floor plates would have around 16,000 square feet, with a side-core layout. Skanska would like to begin there in mid-2026.

Phase II, to the south, would begin later the same year. That would be a 27-story apartment building with about 400 units, all to be market-rate. Including the retail and amenities, Fana's tower would encompass about 351,000 square feet above grade.

Underground parking for the duo would have around 611 stalls. Combined retail, commercial and restaurant space would total around 9,000 to 10,000 square feet, in both buildings.

The two buildings would be separated by a central plaza. A new north-south driveway would lead to the garage, and connect with Northeast Ninth Place to the north. Add in the parking, with four and five underground levels, and the total project size would exceed 754,000 square feet.

During the coming march through permitting and design review, before construction could begin, Skanska will also need to secure approval from the state Department of Ecology for a cleanup plan to accompany the shoring and excavation of polluted soil.

The corner was once home to both a gas station and a dry cleaner. (It's now mostly surface parking.) Ecology says that some voluntary cleanup is already underway; that began prior to the two land sales. A determination of no further action (NFA) from Ecology is still pending.

The two parcels, presently distinct, span about 1.4 acres. Skanska is taking the lead on the venture. Fana, per its past history, generally sells after permits are secured, so the two projects could end up with one owner.

Skanska will evidently build both towers, per its usual custom. The team also includes TenW, traffic consultant; GCH, landscape architect; Coughlin Porter Lundeen, civil engineer; McCullough Hill, legal services; David Evans & Associates, surveyor; and DCI Engineers, structural.