September 2, 2025

Near Wilburton Station, Alliance and Urbal propose 440 Bellevue units

Renderings by Urbal Architecture [enlarge]

Plans for the sloped site call for eight stories on Northeast Eighth Street, with more above.

In the Wilburton area of Bellevue, east of the freeway, two 1980s office buildings now appear doomed, along with two small apartment buildings next door.

Urbal Architecture and Alliance Residential filed a large new apartment plan in recent weeks, at 12000 N.E. Eighth St. , that could yield 440 units in two midrise buildings over a shared and partly underground garage.

The Broadstone East Wilburton proposal emerged in mid-August, about a month after a similar Urbal-Alliance apartment plan nearby, with a possible 278 units. (More on that below.) Whether they proceed with one or the other, or both, will gain clarity after more meetings with the city — and the possible land sales at the two sites.

On Eighth, the very irregular 2.3-acre site is directly east of the Zadart exotic car dealership on the corner of 120th Avenue Northeast. (There are also Porsche and Mercedes-Benz dealers on the same strip.) Eighth begins climbing uphill at that junction, and the intended site has a real slope to it. Urbal's plan would present eight stories on lower Eighth, and more above.

[enlarge]

The project would have three courtyards and a top-floor terrace, creating around 7,500 square feet of outdoor space.

Include the underground and structured parking for the two phased buildings, both rising up the slope, and you'd have 10 levels in all. Toss in the amenities and whatnot, and the total project size is around 610,000 square feet. Construction would be standard Type III-A wood over Type I-A concrete. Alliance typically builds its own projects. Phasing would likely be the lower west structure and garage first, followed by the east structure upslope.

Fazio & Associates is the landscape architect. The project includes three courtyards and a top-floor terrace (with adjoining clubroom), creating around 7,500 square feet of outdoor space for tenants.

The team also includes Navix Engineering, civil; A3 Acoustics; PanGeo, geotechnical engineer; TranspoGroup, traffic engineer; Republic Services, trash consultant; Langan Engineering, stormwater consultant; and Bush, Roed & Hitchings, surveyor.

The parking would have about 442 stalls. Wilburton Station, with its Whole Foods next door, is about a nine-minute walk to the west. Bike parking would have 90 stalls.

Units would range from studios to three-beds, with sizes running from about 450 to 1,260 square feet. Amenities include a large gym, co-work areas, package room, etc. About 88 units would likely be affordable under the city's multifamily property tax exemption program.

What about the four sellers? There appears to be no overlap among the owners, and the properties aren't publicly listed. What would be lost? The apartments, from the 1950s and '60s, have 24 units. The Class B office buildings are home to various small tenants.

If the land sells and the project proceeds, December of next year is the goal for starting. (Light rail should connect to Seattle by then.) The large project could then wrap by the summer of 2029. Broadstone East Wilburton is now in design review with the city.

Not yet in design review, but still alive in city permit records, is Broadstone North Wilburton. That's the 278-unit plan at 1400 116th Ave. N.E., which would potentially replace a pair of old Class B office buildings a little north of the station. That's northwest of Lake Bellevue, about a half mile from the Broadstone East site.