SLUcard: Take Two

It looks like someone beat Vulcan to the punch. NWsource, a Seattle Times jam, is distributing Neighborhood Deals Cards for various Seattle neighborhoods, including Eastlake / South Lake Union.

What kind of deals will the lucky cardholders receive?

Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub: 10% off your guest check

Southlake Grill: Enjoy one complimentary entrée when a second entrée of equal or greater value is purchased

Snowboard Connection: 10% off all skate shoes 10% off all complete longboards. 15% off all men's and women's streetwear. $25 1 Day surf rental (board, wetsuit, booties)

Slo Joe's Backyard BBQ: Lunch - Buy any BBQ sandwich & receive a free combo (small side & drink). Dinner - $5 off a three piece dinner combo (feeds 3) OR $10 off a family feast dinner combo (feeds 4)

Unfortunately, The Seattle Times Company is wise to those who might try to use the NWsource card AND the Vulcan Card to get South Lake Union goods for pennies on the dollar: "NWsource Neighborhood Deals may not be combined with any other promotional offer." Drat.

The Seattle Times Company

Neighborhood: Fairview

The Seattle Times Company is a 111-year-old locally owned, private and independent news and information company...
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Information provided by the South Lake Union Wiki

Vulcan Real Estate

Founder: Paul G. Allen
VP Real Estate: Ada Healey

Vulcan Real Estate directs all real estate activities for Vulcan Inc., a Paul G. Allen company...
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Information provided by the South Lake Union Wiki

Party Time in South Lake Union

There's no shortage of opportunities to get outside and enjoy the weather in South Lake Union this summer.

It all starts with the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival starting July 4th running through the 6th, where young and old flock for toy boat building, sailing model boats on the pond, boat rides and races, picnicking, clambering over boats big and small, festive food and music, and general joy.

On July 17th, Seattle Great City Initiative hosts the Summer Street Scene Party at SLU Discovery Center – a celebration with food, drink, music and a "street transformation".

August 5th, Cascade People's Center is throwing a block party in honor of National Night Out with live music and a barbecue. They are looking to gather school supplies for local children, so bring some (especially backpacks)!

Three days later, August 8th, Vulcan invites you to a full day of outdoor fun at the 4th annual South Lake Union Block Party. There will be music, a movie (Juno!), food, and even activities for your dog.

McKay Block: Early Design Guidance

Early design guidance begins tomorrow for 601 Westlake Ave N, the site of the McKay buildings and Vulcan's proposed 6-story office building.

nbbj

As reported two weeks ago, the design proposal (pdf) states that the interior showroom of the Pacific McKay Building and the terra cotta clad facades of the Pacific and Ford McKay Buildings will be removed and reconstructed approximately 70 feet to the north of their current locations as part of the full block project.

nbbj

The preferred alternative architect NBBJ is putting forward consists of two connected buildings around a public open space directly behind the relocated Pacific McKay Building. The green space will be separated from the two-way Mercer Street by a new screen wall "that recalls the former Pacific McKay garage facade".

The building will provide 225,000 sq ft of office space, below-grade parking, and be built to LEED Gold standards.

No final word on what use the Pacific and Ford McKay Buildings will take on, but it has been speculated that they will act as either the office lobby, retail, or restaurant space.

The review meeting will be held at 6:30pm in the Queen Anne Community Center.

Take Your Dog to Work Day

Friday is "Take Your Dog to Work Day", and Vulcan is celebrating by inviting the Seattle Humane Society’s “MaxMobile” pet adoption unit to the South Lake Union Discovery Center. MaxMobile will be filled with dogs, cats, guinea pigs and rabbits, all available for on-the-spot adoption.

Leading up to the event, pet food donations to benefit the Seattle Humane Society’s Pet Food Bank are being collected throughout this week at various locations around South Lake Union.

WHEN:

Friday, June 20 from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Pet food donations will be collected during the week leading up to the event, from June 16 to June 20.

WHERE:

South Lake Union Discovery Center

101 Westlake Avenue N. and Denny Way

Pet food donations will be accepted at locations around South Lake Union, including the Discovery Center, Scraps Dog Bakery, Urban Beast and Whole Foods Market at 2200.

P.S. The dog in the photo above has been decapitated (don't worry, it's the one made out of metal). Who would do such a thing?

South Lake Union wins Sustainable Cities Award

Vulcan was selected as one of nine global winners of the inaugural Sustainable Cities Awards for their part in the redevelopment of South Lake Union. The awards, sponsored by the Urban Land Institute and the Financial Times, were announced today in conjunction with a conference on the subject in London.

The Sustainable Cities Awards honor global examples of ongoing programs that exhibit new ideas and perspectives for best practices in sustainable land use. The nine winners – representing both the public and private sectors – were selected from a field of 86 entries submitted from 15 countries.

“Because urban, pedestrian-friendly development is a key contributor to creating livable communities and combating climate change, Vulcan is doing its part to foster a transit-oriented, mixed-use neighborhood in South Lake Union,” said Ada M. Healey, vice president of real estate at Vulcan. “We’re honored to have our work recognized as a model for others around the globe to learn and adopt sustainability best practices.”

A cornerstone of Vulcan’s South Lake Union redevelopment efforts is to foster an entire neighborhood that embraces sustainability on all fronts – from buildings and parks to public transportation and green streetscapes. Vulcan is working with the City of Seattle to create one of the first certified green neighborhoods in the nation in South Lake Union, which has been accepted into the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Neighborhood Development (ND) pilot program. The LEED ND program promotes the location and design of neighborhoods that reduce reliance on cars, provide convenient access to jobs and services by walking or public transit, and promote more efficient energy and water use.

Three out of the nine award winners were from Seattle with the Cascade Land Conservancy and Kennedy Associates also taking home a prize. Seattle itself was a finalist, credited for having the most LEED-certified buildings in the country.

Click here to hear more about the winners.

Vulcan Unveils Plans for Lake Union Auto Showrooms

Vulcan went before the Landmark Preservation Board on Friday to present their plans for moving the Ford and Pacific McKay Buildings.

At this preliminary stage, Vulcan is pushing to dismantle the buildings and store certain historic elements for later use in a six-story office building.

The buildings' terra cotta facades would be restored as would the Pacific showroom's interior—complete with vaulted ceiling, tile fountain, and twin staircases—to be used as either the building's lobby, or retail or restaurant space.

See the Seattle Times for more.

SLUcard

Vulcan Real Estate has the most wide-ranging marketing machine I've ever seen for a real estate company. Then again, it's not every developer that owns enough property to hit critical mass in a particular neighborhood.

What are they up to now?

Vulcan Real Estate is producing customer loyalty cards that offer discounts and other business promotions to card holders.

Who gets the card? Condominium owners, apartment dwellers and employees at businesses located in Vulcan Real Estate properties. Estimated to be over 7,500 cards.

They're not out quite yet. Stay tuned for more.

Second Phase of UW Medicine Complex Opens

I'm a bit tardy, but Tuesday Vulcan unveiled Phase II of UW Medicine's research center. Here's the press release for you science buffs:

Vulcan Inc. and UW Medicine today announced the completion of the second phase of UW Medicine’s research hub in Seattle’s fast-growing South Lake Union neighborhood.

Located on the south and west block at 815 Mercer Street surrounded by 8th Avenue North, Republican Street, 9th Avenue North and Mercer Street, the second phase includes a 170,000-square-foot laboratory building as well as an 86,000-square-foot office building. The project brings nearly 950 UW Medicine scientists and employees to the new buildings.

“The completion of this second phase of UW Medicine's new lab building allows us to consolidate some critically important research activities in a new state-of-the-art facility," said Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO of UW Medicine, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine. “This type of collaborative research environment presents tremendous opportunities for scientists across multiple disciplines.”

“South Lake Union is home to a growing number of world-class institutions that are leading breakthrough discoveries to improve global health,” said Ada M. Healey, vice president of real estate for Vulcan. “UW Medicine’s presence in South Lake Union further contributes to this vibrant research community and builds upon the collaborative efforts of these scientific leaders in the neighborhood.”

To help foster greater synergies and collaboration among researchers, several UW Medicine research groups are co-locating for the first time in the Phase II laboratory building, many of which represent new UW centers for life sciences research excellence. These research groups include the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, the Center for Lung Biology, the Diabetes & Obesity Center of Excellence, and a proposed Mitochondria and Metabolism Center run by the Department of Anesthesiology.

Each of the centers will benefit greatly from being in a single location, allowing researchers in each center to work better together and to collaborate more easily with colleagues in neighboring centers. The Diabetes and Obesity Center, for instance, will bring together scientists from several departments and disciplines under one roof to study the mechanisms of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disorders, and tackle the complex question of how those conditions may affect vascular disease. Those researchers will, in turn, also be able to collaborate with colleagues in the new Mitochondria and Metabolism Center or the Center for Cardiovascular Biology in the adjacent UW Medicine Phase I building.

Similarly, the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine labs in the Phase II building will unite regenerative medicine researchers from the main UW campus with their colleagues already in the Phase I building, and will give the UW community new facilities for advanced molecular and cellular imaging, high-throughput genetic and pharmaceutical screening, and culturing of human embryonic and adult stem cells.

“UW Medicine’s expansion in South Lake Union is a great step forward for our region,” said Jack Faris, president of the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association. “It will help launch new companies, create new jobs, and contribute to better health for people across Washington and around the world.”

UW Medicine already has a presence in South Lake Union – the first phase of UW’s research hub is located on the north end of the block along Mercer Street, which opened in January 2005 to nearly 300 UW researchers and employees. The UW also has a presence at the Rosen Building on Republican Street and Terry Avenue North and at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance at 825 Eastlake Avenue East.

These facilities currently house about 400 researchers focused on cutting-edge research in microbiology, biomarkers, biologic imaging, cancer vaccines, heart regeneration, inflammation and proteomics. This research activity will be extended, particularly in the area of regenerative medicine, which grows and organizes UW Medicine’s strength in developmental biology, therapeutic delivery systems, neurobiology, genetics and aging linking them more closely with specific diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, diabetes, hearing loss, strokes, heart regeneration, liver diseases, bone and joint regeneration and repair.

UW Medicine also has an option for a third phase in the South Lake Union area that totals up to 365,000 square feet of biomedical research laboratories and office facilities on the adjacent west block bordered by Mercer Street, Republican Street, Dexter Avenue and 8^th Avenue. Master planning for the Phase III site will begin this summer. UW Medicine’s new research hub in South Lake Union could total about 800,000 square feet upon completion of all phases.

The UW Medicine Phase II building is designed as a sustainable, eco-friendly facility that provides a healthier environment for employees. The buildings are designed to earn the equivalent of LEED certification due to its many sustainable, high-performance features including the use of “chilled beams” as a highly efficient radiant cooling system that reduces energy costs, lighting control systems and significant natural day-lighting in laboratory areas, exterior sun shades to limit solar gain and reduce energy use, commuter showers and bike storage lockers, and low VOC materials to optimize indoor air quality.

The UW Medicine Phase II project team includes:

• Developer: Vulcan Inc.
• Architect: Perkins+Will
• General Contractor: Sellen Construction
• Structural Engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
  
• Electrical & Mechanical Engineer: Affiliated Engineers NW
• Civil Engineer: Coughlin Porter Lundeen
• Landscape Architect: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol

Vulcan's Rent-to-Own

Vulcan has released details behind its buyer incentive program that we got a whiff of a couple of weeks ago.

They've decided to focus on harvesting residents of Alley 24 and Alcyone – both Vulcan-owned apartments – with a credit against closing costs towards a purchase of a Vulcan condo at either Veer, Rollin Street or Enso.

The way it's set to work is renters will accrue a credit toward the purchase of a Vulcan condo at a rate that's equal to 1 month's rent every 6 months.

So if you're paying $1,500 a month on a 1-year lease you'll receive a $3,000 credit. If you're a long-time resident, or your rent is outrageous, the credit is capped at $10,000.

In a separate perk, Vulcan will be rolling out a $5,000 buyer incentive to employees of South Lake Union companies. This deal is already available to Amazon employees.

Will these targeted perks be enough to jump-start Vulcan's sales in a stalling downtown condo market? Or will widespread price reductions end up being necessary?

Wheels for Abandoned South Lake Union Auto Showrooms

Pacific McKay Building. Photo: Seattle Times

The old Ford and Lincoln dealerships on Westlake and Mercer are going to get some new wheels, just not how you think.

The Ford McKay Building and Pacific McKay Building, designated historic landmarks, will find themselves in new surroundings as they stand in the way of the Mercer fix (which just got a $43M down payment) and Vulcan's plans for a six-story office building on the block.

SDOT and Vulcan are both committed to preserving the historic buildings, but it's still unclear whether the entire buildings will be moved intact or only the facade will be preserved ala the C.B. Van Horst Building.

Vulcan will present their plans to the Landmark Preservation Board June 13 and will go before the Queen Anne-Magnolia Design Review Board with their redevelopment plans July 2.

Seattle Times has more.

Vulcan to Sweeten the Deal with Buyer Perks

If you've been paying attention to the Redfin South Lake Union listings feed in the right column, you'd have noticed that Vulcan's condos are dominating the results, as they've released several units to the MLS in the past weeks.

It seems that fear the housing downturn will hit Seattle is keeping buyers on the fence, and Vulcan and other developers are now in a contest against one another to come up with the most enticing perks. From the Puget Sound Business Journal:

In the coming weeks, Vulcan will roll out incentives aimed at buyers living and working in South Lake Union, where it has three condo developments under construction.

While its incentive plan is still in the works, one of its perks will be to pay a chunk of the closing costs for buyers who are currently renting at a Vulcan property and want to buy in the neighborhood, said Lori Mason Curran, real estate market research manager for Vulcan, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen's real estate investment company.

"There has definitely been a slowdown in condo sales at all projects in Seattle," said Mason Curran, who declined to release Vulcan's pre-sale figures.

Vulcan's move is a reflection of the slowdown in the housing market across the Puget Sound region that's given prospective condo owners the upper hand. Developers of condos, fighting stagnant sales, are offering more perks than ever to potential buyers -- including cars, vacation packages and, in one case, Vespa scooters.

"We have a substantial amount of buyers out there, but they are all on the fence," said Matthew Gardner, whose consulting firm Gardner Johnson works with Vulcan.

"The last thing anyone wants to do is buy in a market that is declining."

What would get you in the mood to buy? An old fashioned haircut, or something a little more unique? Stay tuned to see what ends up going in the grab bag.

Amazon.com Headquarters Quid Pro Quo

New look at Phase IV of Amazon.com headquarters

Some are looking to Vulcan to give something back to the community in exchange for the zoning departure made to bag Amazon.com, but instead all they're getting is something that looks like a hospital wing, says SLOG.

“They are asking for all the development candy and not much is going into public benefits,” says Lloyd Douglas, president of the Cascade Neighborhood Association and member of the SLUFAN board. “I don’t know if [only] Class A luxury office buildings are a public benefit,” he says.

Building design aside, what do you think the Amazon.com campus should do to give back? Public art? Green space? What say you?

P.S. You can make out the 93-yr old Terry Avenue building in the photo above, and how Callison Architecture plans on incorporating it into the design.

Vulcan Opens New Affordable Housing Development

Vulcan's Borealis Apartments

Vulcan's Borealis Apartments are now complete and ready for move-in. At the corner of Denny and the entrance to Aurora, this building will see more people in cars pass by in a day than the S.L.U.T. carries in a year¹.

The 33,000 sq. ft., six-story Built Green building includes 53 apartments with rents affordable to those making 80 percent of median income, and is a great example of the sort of workforce housing downtown Seattle needs more of. Here's a few excerpts from Vulcan's press release:

“Projects such as Borealis are an important part of the City’s strategy to create more housing that is affordable to all income levels in South Lake Union and throughout Seattle,” said Adrienne Quinn, director of the City of Seattle Office of Housing. “These types of workforce housing projects help provide homes for Seattle workers who may not qualify for the city’s subsidy programs but still have difficulty finding affordable, market-rate housing in the city.”

As an environmentally friendly development, Borealis Apartments is designed to qualify for three-star Built Green certification from the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, and is also participating in Seattle City Light’s Built Smart program. Sustainable features include low-flow fixtures, Energy Star appliances, low VOC finishes, increased natural daylight, green screens and bike storage lockers.

Borealis is located three blocks away from the Seattle Streetcar line, Whole Foods Market and across the street from Denny Park, which is undergoing a renovation this year that will include a new children’s play area and other improvements. The location also provides views of the Space Needle and downtown skyline from many of the apartments.

This project fulfills a commitment Vulcan made to the city of Seattle to build 50 units of workforce housing as part of a land purchase Vulcan made from the city in 2001. Runberg Architecture Group is the architect and W.G. Clark Construction is the general contractor for Borealis Apartments.

¹Completely made this up, based on no statistics whatsoever.

South Lake Union Discovery Center chosen as one of the Top 10 Green Projects of 2008

Photo: Lara Swimmer Photography

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) chose the South Lake Union Discovery Center by Miller/Hull as one of the nation's top 10 examples of "sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment" for 2008—as Building Green says, this is kind of a big deal.

From the press release:

A primary program element for this particular center, alongside numerous other environmental goals, was to create a building and core that could provide adaptable exhibit space, capable of being reconfigured and reused for the presentation of multiple residential neighborhoods throughout the South Lake Union Region over a lengthy period of time. In addition to creating flexible interior space, the building itself was designed to be demountable, separating at three integrated joints to break into four separate modules capable of being transported along surface streets.

Juror Jason McLennan said, “I really like the notion of saying, ‘This building type was supposed to be temporary, and we are going to reject that in favor of disassembly.’ This is sustainable at the elemental level.”

Click on for a complete profile on the project.

Post-occupancy Study of Green Features in Multifamily Projects

GGLO, the architects behind South Lake Union's Alcyone and Capitol Hill's Broadway Crossing, and several other notable projects in the Northwest, completed a post-occupancy study on some of its green multifamily projects. Here's what they found:

The post-occupancy study confirmed sustainable buildings come at an almost negligible cost increase over conventional buildings, and result in measurable utility savings. Of the three buildings in our study designed to LEED standards, the cost increases ranged [from only] 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the total hard and soft construction costs. Financial incentives available from a variety of sources cut cost increases in half and the yearly savings on utility bills averaged another 1 percent. After one year of occupancy, the green design features actually begin earning the project money. (Emph. added)

If knowing that buildings account for nearly 40% of green house gas emissions isn't enough to convince developers to convert, the numbers should. Especially considering tenants will pay more for green, vacancy rates are lower, and the property value gets a boost. See the rest of the article on GGLO's study and more studies from the city.

Vulcan has even gone as far as making green its preeminent marketing tool in promoting South Lake Union. If you've trudged down Mercer Street, you've likely seen their WhatsGreen.com signage. If you go to the website, you'll find a map of everything green in SLU, and see that South Lake Union is trying to become one of the first certified green neighborhoods in the United States by participating in the LEED-ND pilot. Looks like the smart folks at Vulcan ran the numbers.

The Sleeper Has Awoken: Rich Reel to Start Developing

Everyone knows about Paul Allen and Vulcan, and most have heard about the Clise family's holdings in the Denny Triangle area, but few may recall Rich Reel and his stake in South Lake Union.

That is, unless, you can remember back to when the Commons were on the ballot. The last time we heard from Rich Reel, he was campaigning for the park so that he could develop around it—see this article from the May 16, 1996 edition of the Seattle Times (good read for nostalgia's sake):

Rich Reel, a South Lake Union property owner, is well aware of that as he campaigns for the ballot measure. He helped form the Westlake Business Coalition, a group of 50 property and business owners that has been donating time and services on behalf of the $50 million property-tax levy.

One of his properties fronts the west boundary of the proposed park and would probably be developed into apartments or condominiums within the next five years if the Commons is approved.

"Certainly I have a self-interest. I can't deny it," Reel said of his role in the Commons. "But I care very much about the neighborhood."

Reel's efforts may not have seemed to have paid off at first, but more than a decade later South Lake Union is once again getting more than its fair share of attention—not because of any measure on the ballot—but largely because of this guy and this woman:

___

With the redevelopment of South Lake Union, led by Vulcan, Rich Reel has seen the value of his holdings sky-rocket. And now he's planning to act, reports the DJC($).

Rich's company Reel Management is teaming up with major players Nitze-Stagen (Starbucks Center) and Seneca Group (Seattle Central Library, WaMu Center) for a project on 9th and Republican which would make it neighbors with Veer Lofts, possibly blocking its views of Lake Union.

The site is 14,400 sq. ft. and zoned for construction of up to 85 feet (for now), and the company hasn't decided whether to go commercial, residential or mixed-use. The project is 3 to 5 years out, and its feasibility will depend on the state of the economy.

DJC says Reel and partners also own six other properties in South Lake Union, which include:

• A property at Ninth Avenue and John Street overlooking Denny Park
• Two properties on Dexter Avenue North, one across from KING Broadcasting and one across from the Holiday Inn Express Hotel
• A property at the northwest corner of Harrison Street and Fairview Avenue North.

Reel said he plans a residential high-rise on the Ninth/John property and has no immediate plans for the other three.

“I'd be happy to say I appreciate all that Paul Allen has done for the neighborhood,” said Reel. That almost goes without saying, Rich.

South Lake Union Up-zone

The city is taking donations to pay for a $300,000 environmental impact study that is standing in the way of a South Lake Union up-zone. As SeattleScape notes, SLU was designated an urban center in 2004, but much of the area is still zoned for lower-density development. The money to fund the required study can come from public or private sources.

I can think of a few developers that may have a vested interest in getting this pushed through. Principal among them is Vulcan, who negotiated a two-block up-zone back in December to nab Amazon.com as a tenant.

What's Old is New Again: Amazon.com HQ

After receiving some flak here and here last week, the architects of Amazon.com's new headquarters told the Times what their inspiration was for the new set of buildings, saying "[the design] is really a modern interpretation of the warehouse". I like where their heart is at, I just hope it gets fleshed out a bit more as the design review process wears on.


The Seattle Times piece also details Callison and Vulcan's plans for preserving the 93 yr. old Terry Avenue Building that sits on the proposed Amazon.com campus. The Terry Ave. building will fare much better than the C.B. Van Horst building which also sits on the site, as Vulcan plans to convert the warehouse into shops and restaurants. The warehouse's garage doors would make great storefronts and Vulcan could go a number of directions with the second floor lofts.

Photo: Seattle Times

The article also points out that Vulcan will have two more chances to show its historical preservation chops on two more designated landmarks — the Pacific McKay and Ford McKay auto showrooms at Westlake and Mercer, and the Supply Laundry Building on Pontius and Republican.

Scraps is Doing Just Fine

Photo: Seattle Post Intelligencer

Not every tenant in 2200, or South Lake Union for that matter, is falling on hard times. Co-owner of Scraps: Dog Bakery, Healthy Grub and Cool Gear, Dave Figueroa is all smiles in a recent Seattle P-I report. Though I can't possibly imagine ever spending $200 on a crystal-encrusted collar for Chloe—those people and their pampered pets do exist. Dave says he's been keeping busy and doesn't know how he'll handle all the business once the trio of new Vulcan condos open up, a good problem to have I'd say.

Will SLU's Industrial Soul Disappear?

Photo: John Methot

VintageSeattle.org has a piece about the historic C.B. Van Vorst Building being *nearly* demolished. There was talk from Schnitzer West about renovating the building for use as a conference center for biotech companies, but it seems that now only the facade will be saved and incorporated into the design of one of several buildings to be occupied by Amazon. VintageSeattle.org had a negative take on the development, but I think it's a decent nod to the neighborhood's industrial past, much like Alley 24's brick lofts.

Upon a recent visit to Portland, I noticed several commonalities between the Pearl District and South Lake Union, which is probably no coincidence given developers Schnitzer and Vulcan's Portland connections. South Lake Union would do well to follow the Pearl District's model of urban renewal.