DEVELOPMENTS
News about construction projects underway
Posted October 7, 2003
A region on the move
In Seattle and the surrounding areas, where growth has grown exponentially in recent years, transportation officials have been working on traffic congestion by giving commuters more choices. Recently, one such choice made its way onto local streets: a new light rail system. Residents should stay tuned, too, because it may receive some significant add-ons shortly.
On August 22, Sound Transit – the Puget Sound region's light rail system – launched a 1.6-mile line in Tacoma, Washington. It's the first modern streetcar service in Washington State, and plans are to expand it with a 14-mile light-rail line that would run from Westlake Center in downtown Seattle to Tukwila.
The region may be able to act on those plans. In July, the Federal Transit Administration awarded Sound Transit a $500 million grant intended to help with the project's estimated $2.44 billion price tag. As a next step, Congress has been given 60 days to review the decision. If Congress opts not to challenge the grant, then construction on the new light rail system will soon begin - a process that is currently slated for completion in 2009 if all goes according to plan.
Bellevue booms
Construction will begin early next year in downtown Bellevue, where a developer plans a four-story building at the former Masins Furniture site on Main Street (known by many as Old Bellevue). The $5.5 million project, a 49,750-square-foot mixed use building, will include 13 town houses above two floors of retail and office space. It is slated for completion by the end of 2004.
Downtown Seattle explores a new addition
Downtown Seattle, which has experienced massive growth in recent years, could soon welcome a major, $100 million-plus mixed-use hotel development that's in the planning stages with Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. The company has set its sights on a mixed-use retail and residential project similar to those it has completed in Boston, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and other cities. Specifics for the new Seattle project are still being negotiated and depend on site selection and on-going market conditions.
Issaquah makes connections
In Issaquah, the Sunset Interchange – a freeway connector between Interstate 90 and the Issaquah Highlands – opened, providing a second route to I-90 from the Issaquah Plateau and a third freeway connection in Issaquah, where it's estimated that 60,000 cars pass through daily. The openings of the Sunset Interchange kicked phase two of the Issaquah Highlands into gear, allowing the developer to begin constructing 2,500 more residential units. Next year, work will begin on a 425,000-square-foot retail center that will include a grocery store and, in later phases, a hotel, business center and possibly a cinema. Eventually, Microsoft plans to break ground on a 2.95 million-square-foot campus that will rival the company's Redmond headquarters in size.
Snohomish grows steadily
Growth is running rampant in Snohomish, where the Tulalip Tribes may add a resort hotel with 250 – 500 rooms near the Tulalip Casino. Additionally, Paine Field plans to ask the City Council to ok zoning changes that would help the airport accommodate a hotel developer who has interest in space near a planned aviation museum. Along Interstate 5 near Everett, ground will soon break on a 100-room Holiday Inn Express.