January 29, 2026

Big Interbay building could go the mass-timber route

Photo via Sterling Organization [enlarge]

The site today ...

As the DJC first reported last spring, Interbay's vacant former AAA/Staples property might see a bold new office and manufacturing building.

Clark Barnes is designing the large tech-oriented, seven-story proposal for 1523 15th Ave. W., just east of Smith Cove and its cruise ship terminals, and south of the Magnolia Bridge. Sterling Organization, of Florida, owns the roughly triangular 1.8-acre property.

Design review isn't required for such industrial projects in the Ballard Interbay Northend Manufacturing and Industrial Center (aka the BINMIC). Total project size, including structured parking, is estimated at around 417,878 square feet.

Rendering by Clark Barnes [enlarge]

... and what’s possibly to come? Clark Barnes is designing the large tech-oriented, seven-story proposal.

Notably, above the first two concrete levels, the building would employ Type IV-B mass timber. Clark Barnes has used such mass-timber methods for the Kerf apartments in Bellingham, and for unbuilt apartment proposals in Bellevue and on Capitol Hill.

Sterling is a privately held investor, without a track record in development. As of now, its Interbay team also includes Terrane as the surveyor. City filings from last month don't offer much more in the way of detail. There's no sign yet of a leasing or sales effort. Nor are there demo permits in process for the two old attached buildings. Those date to the 1970s.

The two structured parking levels would have 185 stalls, with the garage entry facing Elliott. (There would also be three truck stalls within the building.) A green roof is proposed.

Environmental remediation would have to accompany any future demolition. Sterling's site, once a tank farm, is on the state Department of Ecology's roster of polluted properties. There would need to be a new cleanup plan for Ecology to issue a determination of no further action (NFA).

The proposal entered city review with a declared value of over $104 million.