By Ruth Bayang
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The International District (ID) is the new hot spot for real estate development.
Today, there are nearly a dozen real estate projects in the ID, in various stages of development — bringing in the next several years, new commercial space, and market rate and affordable housing.
For the first time in a decade, condominiums, starting at under $400,000, will be available to purchase.The look and feel of retail spaces will also change.
Here’s a look at some of the planned and ongoing developments.
SpringHill Suites building
SpringHill Suites
The mixed-use project is a 16-story development with seven levels of hotel at the lower levels, eight levels of apartments above the hotel, and one level of condominiums on the top level. There will be retail space on the ground level, and four levels of underground parking.
Principal Architect Hui Tian of Studio19 Architects
Developer: Hotel Concepts, a local hotel developer which owns and operates more than two dozen hotels in Puget Sound area.
Project cost and timeline: $70 million. Construction is projected to begin in spring 2019 and finish in spring 2021.
No. and type of units: 158 hotel rooms, 120 market-rate apartments, five owner-occupied units.
How will the community benefit from this project? With ground level retail spaces, a 24-hour secured hotel, the development will bring more business to the neighborhood, enhance the safety of the area, create more jobs, and revitalize the neighborhood.
Bush Garden (Photo by George Liu)
Bush Garden Homes (temporary name)
Developer: Vibrant Cities, LLC.
Bush Garden has a long history in the Chinatown/International District and the developer would like to consider naming the building “Bush Garden Homes,” after consulting with owners of the Bush Garden Restaurant.
Developer James Wong
Project cost and timeline: Currently, there is not a specific start date. The developer wants to connect with community leaders and residents, to receive their input and hear their concerns to get a better idea of start and finish dates.
Project cost: Because the developer wants to connect with the community first, the total cost may vary depending on the unit and retail spaces, and design and materials for the building.
No. of units: Too early to estimate.
Type of units: It will be a combination of affordable units that support lower income families and market-rate apartments.
How will the community benefit from this project? Vibrant Cities told the Northwest Asian Weekly it is their goal to activate this under-used corner by bringing together residents, culturally appropriate micro retail businesses, and community activities.
Thai Binh Apartments
913 South Jackson Street
Louisa Hotel
669 South King Street
The renovation of this historic building will provide 84 new workforce apartments, 10 commercial spaces, and 24 below grade parking spaces. Construction is under way and Louisa is scheduled to open by summer 2019.
Bob Tiscareno (left) and Kim Demarest of Tiscareno Associates P.S. Architecture + Urban Design
Acme Property (project is not yet named)
Developer: Intracorp.
In collaboration with community groups and stakeholders, including the Friends of Little Saigon and the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda), a contemporary design was developed for a seven-story apartment building on the Seattle Streetcar line, with a pedestrian market retail passage connecting Jackson and King Streets.
No. and type of units: 320 market-rate and affordable rental units.
How will the community benefit from this project? The pedestrian market passage (approximately 10,000 square feet of small to medium sized retail spaces) will become home to a wide array of Asian inspired vendors and shop owners. The design team of Tiscareno Architects, Nakano Associates, and Object & Space Design looked to Vietnamese cues when developing the buildings “Wood, Weave, and Greenery” inspiration.
From left: Allison Chan, Evan Chan, Pradeepta Upadhyay, Rie Shintani, Leslie Morishita, Valerie Neng and Aldis Chan.
Uncle Bob’s Place
Developer: InterIm with assistance from Edge Developers, and in partnership with the Chan family, who currently owns and operates the Four Seas property.
Project cost and timeline: $35 million (preliminary). Anticipated construction time: July 2019 – January 2021.
No. of construction jobs: 275 (estimated) jobs directly working on the project site. This does not include offsite positions such as manufacturing, which could generate hundreds more jobs.
Pradeepta Upadhyay (left) and Tom Im
No. and type of units: 104 low-income/affordable units, plus ground floor commercial space.
How will the community benefit from this project? This project will allow 104 households of modest means and limited English speaking immigrants and refugees, to live in the heart of the Chinatown-International District (CID), to participate in CID community life, patronize neighborhood businesses, and access culturally appropriate goods and services.
The Chan family, who will own the ground floor commercial space, is committed to stewarding commercial uses that will contribute to the social and cultural life of the neighborhood.
InterIm plans to honor and further Uncle Bob Santos’ legacy and envisions it as a future community hub, where community organizing and activism will live on.
Dean Jones (left) of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, and Richard Jee of Dali Company
Koda Condominiums
17 stories. A seventh floor amenity level will have a fitness center, yoga studio, library, conference room and Zen garden as well as a 17th floor KODA Club lounge, media room, catering kitchen, private dining room and access to the rooftop terrace with BBQs, fire pits and views.
Koda’s interior
Developer: Taiwan-based Da Li Development, LLC.
Project cost and timeline: $100 million (preliminary). Groundbreaking is projected for summer 2018, with occupancy scheduled for mid-2020.
No. of units: 203 plus two retail spaces for a programmed cafe and destination restaurant and a live-work residence.
Type of units: All market rate but developer participated in Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) so there will be contributions to affordable housing off site. Units start below $400,000.
How will the community benefit from this project? It’s an urban renaissance introducing hundreds of new stakeholders to the community, contributing to the local economy, paying taxes, enjoying life without the burden of an automobile — the first home ownership option in the area in decade.
Asian Plaza Redevelopment
1032 South Jackson Street
Plymouth Housing Group
501 Rainier Avenue South
Gary Oppenheimer (left) and John Cheng from Yesler Terrace
Yesler Terrace 5.3 and 5.4
Developer: Seattle Tenth, LLC.
Project timeline: Construction will start in 2019 and finish in 2021.
No. of construction jobs: 500 people will work on the site over the course of the job.
No. and type of units: 544 units. 26.5 percent of the units will be affordable, 73.5 percent will be market rate,
How will the community benefit from this project? More density will create additional opportunity for existing businesses. More eyes on the street will help safety issues.
Ruth can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.