Plans for the newest proposed mixed-use building in Town Center, the Hines development, have changed to encompass almost an entire block between 77th Avenue S.E., S.E. 29th Street and 78th Avenue S.E.
The Hines plan first came before the city’s design commission last November, but the developer has been able to add a half acre, 59-74 residential units, 5,325 square feet of commercial space and double the amount of parking stalls since acquiring the property at 2750 77th Ave. S.E. – home of Veloce Velo and Mud Bay.
Plans incorporating that parcel were presented to the design commission on Dec. 10.
“(In 2013), the project was put on hold while we attempted to acquire an adjacent land parcel,” Hines developer Evan Kaseguma wrote in a letter to the design commission. “Such parcel is now under contract, and we have modified our design based on the larger site.”
The Hines development will include ground floor commercial space with housing in the floors above, including studios and one and two-bedroom apartments.
According to updated plans, Mud Bay will still have a space in the new development. Terra Bella is looking at other available spaces on the Island, and Veloce Velo is also looking at other sites.
Hines, a high-profile developer, had already acquired the properties at 2864 77th Ave. S.E., 7710 S.E. 29th St. and 2885 78th Ave. S.E. Several Island businesses, including Tony Maroni’s, Seven Star and a State Farm office currently occupy those spaces.
To qualify for a fifth story, Hines proposed building a “significant public plaza” along 78th Avenue S.E.
The design commission review comes at a time when the city is re-evaluating its long-term plan for downtown, especially in regards to the public amenities that grant height and density bonuses.
Scott Greenberg, Development Services Group director, said it’s “too early to tell how the two [the Hines development and the Town Center visioning process] complement each other.”
“We only have preliminary plans — of both the development project and concepts for the future Town Center,” Greenberg said. “City staff is having conversations with the development team about incorporating public plaza and other elements in the design, but it’s premature to discuss any details.”
The visioning process is still in the initial stages, Phase one, which involved hiring a consultant, will be wrapping up soon. The consultant report will be discussed by the City Council at its planning session this weekend.
“We will be asking the Council for direction to proceed with phase two — the revising of the Town Center design guidelines,” Greenberg said. “Phase two will have a public process, which will be determined in a few weeks.”
City officials say they will work with developers to accomplish two goals: creating a vibrant and walkable Town Center and adding parking.
“We believe that this location will help bring energy and life to a critical Town Center intersection and will greatly enhance the pedestrian experience along 78th Ave S.E.,” Kaseguma wrote.
Hines developers have not submitted a formal application yet, but when they do, the proposal will be brought to the design commission for a detailed review during a future public meeting.
Hines, the international real estate firm that is proposing a development on Mercer Island, announced plans last year for a 40-story office tower in Denver, Colo. The property will be the first office building of this height built in nearly three decades.
Who is Hines?
Hines is a privately owned, international real estate firm founded in 1957 in Houston by Gerald Hines, a mechanical engineer with a degree from Purdue University.
The firm is the builder and manager of more than 272 million square feet of commercial and residential space (nearly 10 square miles) in more than 855 properties. In comparison, downtown Seattle has 43.7 million square feet of office space (just over 1.5 square miles) at the end of 2012. It employs 3,400.
Gerald Hines was included in Forbes magazine most wealthiest list in 2012 with a net worth of $1.7 billion.
Hines offices and projects are found in 18 countries and 115 cities around the globe. Its portfolio includes more than 1,317 properties that range from skyscrapers, corporate headquarters, mixed-use centers, industrial parks, medical facilities, and master-planned resort and residential communities. According to media reports and the firm’s website, Hines controls assets valued at approximately $28.2 billion.
The firm has worked with notable architects as Cesar Pelli, Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei and Philip Johnson. One of its more recent projects, 53W53 Street, is an 82 story, 750,000 square foot residential condominium tower next door to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Construction began late last year. The building, with views of Central Park, will include 36,000 square feet of new exhibition space for MoMA distributed over three floors.
On the Eastside, Hines developed the Expedia Building – a 20-story, 414,964-square-foot office tower in downtown Bellevue and was the first building on the West Coast to receive LEED Core & Shell pre-certification. Built in 2008, its tenants include Pokemon, Nortel Networks and Expedia. A 430,000 square foot building named Cedar Court in Redmond, is occupied by Microsoft.
The company’s holdings include five properties in downtown Seattle.
Correction: A previous version of the story implied that the Expedia building is one of Hines’ holdings in Seattle. Hines no longer owns the Expedia building. The firm developed it, but sold it in 2009.