Probably the best looking project within the last 10 years. Shame. Well, hopefully whatever goes up will be just as stunning. Here's to wishful thinking.
Urban Visions' new Second Avenue high-rise will have eye to the sky
This is the street-level view of the early design of Urban Visions' 888 2nd high-rise proposed for a full block in downtown Seattle. A central atrium will run most of the length of the 60-story project, allowing people to look up at the sky through the middle of the building.
Quote:
Under the new preliminary design of a mixed-use skyscraper in downtown Seattle, people will be able to walk under the base of the 60-story building and look up to the sky through an atrium running most of the length of the building.
Real estate developer Urban Visions on Monday released the early design of the so-called 888 2nd project, which is proposed for the full block between Second and Third avenues and Columbia and Marion streets where a well-known steakhouse, the Metropolitan Grill, now operates.
Plans call for 1.2 million square feet of space with most dedicated to office. There will also be 30,000 square feet of street-level retail, including a new Metropolitan Grill, and 140,000 square feet of residential space – most likely condos – on the top 16 floors, Urban Visions CEO Greg Smith said.
Smith said it's yet-to-be determined whether he would start the project before pre-leasing any of the office space. First he has to get the city's OK to build the tower. He plans to take the project to a city board for what's known as early design guidance next month or early next year. No target construction start date has been set.
Under the preliminary plan, the building will be "lifted" up off the street, Smtih said, allowing people to walk under the building through a plaza. In the middle of the tower will be the approximately 65-foot-wide atrium that goes all the way to the top of the building. This will allow office workers to get natural light from the interior as well as the exterior of the tower. Urban Visions plans to market this and other design features to set itself apart from competing office projects.
It was nearly a year ago that Urban Visions announced plans for a 77-story project on the site. That would have been a floor taller than Seattle's tallest building, Columbia Center. Smith now said the 77-floor proposal was "kind of speculative." The new, shorter design will have larger, more efficient floor plates than competing high-rise projects, Smith said, adding 888 2nd still will have "great skyline presence" because other towers won't block its views. "We really see it as an iconic structure."
More recent article compared to above one with extra rendering:
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Developer Urban Visions thinking big in downtown, Sodo
Quote:
Seattle developer Urban Visions is no longer looking to erect a new tallest tower in Seattle. But its latest 888 Second Ave. plan is, if anything, even more dramatic.
Meanwhile, it also has big plans for a site east of the sports stadiums.
Seattle is ripe for both projects, Urban Visions CEO Greg Smith said via email on Tuesday.
"Seattle is a very creative city, and people and businesses from all over the world are choosing to move to Seattle to both live and work," he said. "Businesses are created here, grow here and move here, while residents want to live in the city to enjoy the energy of the city. This energy feeds itself."
The Puget Sound Business Journal reported last December that Urban Visions was planning to erect a 77-story tower at the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Marion Street, currently home to the Metropolitan Grill. On Monday, PSBJ reported that the latest design was 60 stories. Smith confirmed this and other details of the new plan.
While shorter, the tower still would be distinctive, thanks to an approximately 65-foot-wide atrium that would run vertically down the middle of the building, bringing natural light into interior offices and connecting to a public plaza running under the building from Second and Columbia to Third and Marion. People walking through the plaza would be able to look up into the atrium.
That what I'm thinking. Or something in the upper 800' range. Looks like its 850-900'. It is a shame they didn't go with the original 1200' proposal. It was stunning. For now though, this is a early concept as mentioned by the text below the pic several posts above. Project is alive, but at the cost of losing the Gensler design.
Innovative project would be Seattle’s second-tallest building
Quote:
A local team led by developer Greg Smith is hatching plans for Seattle’s second-tallest skyscraper, built around an unconventional 616-foot-high atrium that would bathe the interior offices with natural light and give pedestrians walking beneath the tower a view of the sky.
The 880-foot-tall tower, known as 888 Second Ave., would be the fifth tallest on the West Coast, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Smith said his firm, Urban Visions, controls the full city block bounded by Second and Third avenues and Columbia and Marion streets, and he expects to apply for a permit later this year. The project doesn’t have any committed tenants or financing yet, Smith said.
The proposed 60-story skyscraper would have about 1 million square feet of office space and about 160 luxury residences on top, as well as some retail spaces at the base. The well-known Metropolitan Grill on the Second Avenue block front will anchor the new tower’s retail. The current mid-rise buildings on the block are old but not protected as historical landmarks.
Yeah thats one of those things that I wonder. I mean one could say costs, but they are already aiming high. Either that or development rights for the parcel. While not the Gensler version, its pretty decent. Either way, a win win for the city.
Yeah thats one of those things that I wonder. I mean one could say costs, but they are already aiming high. Either that or development rights for the parcel. While not the Gensler version, its pretty decent. Either way, a win win for the city.
Probably costs, although I'm glad they didn't just stick a pole on it to make it a new tallest *cough* LA *cough* (As much as I love the Wilshire Grand Tower).
This building looks awesome though, and it'll be very imposing. Add this to the other 2-250 meter projects going up in Seattle and the skyline will look very different very soon.
According to this source, the tower will be 88 floor. I guess 10 foot ceiling heights is the norm for Seattle. Use to the higher ones in NYC.
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Quote:
The proposed 888 2nd Avenue, so named for its height in feet. Sixteen of the tower’s 88 stories will be for residential use. The tower will take up an entire block, stretching between Second and Third Avenues, and Marion and Columbia Streets.
That's just a common method of measurement that people go with who don't know anything about building heights. Uh, 880 feet? That must equal 88 floors!
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