Photo: Seattle TimesThe Seattle Times recently reported that Schnitzer's 818 Stewart was half-leased six months before completion, indicating that Seattle's office market is still going strong — and branching out north towards South Lake Union. Schnitzer is so keen on office, in fact, that it scrapped its plans for a condo at the site next door to 818 Stewart, opting for another office building instead. The article mentions several other projects nearing completion in the area, including:
• Touchstone's 520,000-square-foot West 8th project, at Eighth Avenue and Westlake Avenue.But it turns out Seattle isn't completely immune to the global credit market downturn. News came out today that the Clise family was pulling its 13 acres in the Denny Triangle area off the market.
• Schnitzer West's 660,000-square-foot 1918 Eighth building, on the same block as 818 Stewart.
• Vulcan's 2201 Westlake project, which will combine 300,000 square feet of office space with 135 condos.
The property received 15 offers after 60 tours, according to Clise, and was in negotiations to sell the company to investors in Dubai, but the family decided to hold off until conditions in the credit markets improve.
When the family originally announced it was selling its holdings, they envisioned "a thriving world-class development on par with New York's Rockefeller Center or London's Canary Wharf" and the land and its development likely would exceed $7 billion in public and private investment."
Instead, for the next few years Denny Triangle will remain an urban wasteland, or as some might call it, the butthole of Seattle.
Office may still be in demand, but this will significantly limit downtown's northern migration.
