June 4, 2026

Demo looms in Bellevue, with possible summer start for Onni's high-rise trio

Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge]

The site last weekend. The former theater is fenced; the old Barnes & Noble isn’t.

It's been about seven years since Canadian developer Onni Group paid $116 million for the 4-acre property at 606 106th Ave. N.E. in downtown Bellevue. Its planned three-tower 606 Bellevue project could exceed 3.4 million square feet.

Those 600-foot-high towers are to combine apartments, hotel rooms, retail and offices. Demand for the latter, of course, is far different today than it was when Onni made its pre-pandemic buy. On the other hand: light rail.

A new demo permit arrived in January for Dickson Demolition to raze the two empty structures, both developed in the 1960s by the Danz family's Sterling Realty Organization. First is the former Belle Lanes Bowl, later a Barnes & Noble, with its graceful arched wooden trusses. Second is the John Danz Theatre, which originally had 1,500 seats! It was later home to Doxa Church and, more recently, 116 Church. The latter's website says it has now moved to Bothell.

The DJC visits the site every few weeks. The north former bowling lane building had until recently been occupied by Discount Direct Furniture/Mattresses; it also recently decamped, following a big sale.

Rendering via IBI Group [enlarge]

Three 600-foot-tall towers could have over 3 million square feet.

Most of the property is now ringed with construction fencing, and Dickson's excavators are parked outside.

At a May breakfast gathering hosted by the Bellevue Downtown Association, the program said that 606 Bellevue was “breaking ground soon.” One of the speakers was Onni's Brendan Lawrence, who told the DJC this week that the demo should begin shortly, with excavation hoped to follow in July.

Onni typically builds its own projects. The architect is IBI Group, a fellow Canadian firm. Just over a year ago, Wells Fargo agreed to provide a $53.5 million loan to Onni. That would help get the job started, at least. All three high-rise towers would take years to build, and many more millions to fund. Phasing seems likely. The parking pit would be huge, with some 2,455 stalls on six underground levels.

Above, numbers are in flux for 606 Bellevue. City permits haven't kept up with recent Bellevue Downtown Association remarks and other market whispers. Apartments in the east and west towers could range from 1,049 to 1,300 in number. The hotel has definitely moved to the north tower, with the rooms supposedly increasing from 257 to possibly 400. (Those would likely operate under Onni's in-house Level brand.) The north tower was once slated to have 843,414 square feet offices, but adding hotels rooms would reduce that figure.

Onni didn't clarify matters before deadline.