Due to the increasing intensity of East Denny Triangle's construction and development, I previously characterized it as a pop-up neighborhood (posted on the original Seattle Plans site, now offline, soon back online; somewhat related post here). Notable is its recent sudden growth and diversity of uses.
But all of that would pale by comparison to West Denny Triangle if someone buys and develops the 13 acres of contiguous land the Clise family has put up for sale.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal this morning[$], the Clise family has put the potential for 13 million square feet of development up for sale, a year after the City Council raised building heights from 300' to 500'.
Mr. Clise believes that the strong job growth outlook for the Seattle area and the 5% vacancy rate for top-quality Class A office space are good reasons to sell now. The WSJ does point out, however, that Mr. Clise may have "missed his window" as interest rates last week rose to nearly 5.25%. The Clise family states that they will hold out for their desired selling price (something in the hundreds of millions)."[Alfred M.] Clise says he is looking for a comprehensive, cohesive plan with world-class design. 'I envision something akin to Rockefeller Center,' he says. "Mr. Clise says the family has no specific requirements, and the investor with the proposal that impresses them the most will likely get the land. Office condominium and hotel towers are probably a given, but he is open to additional features, such as
green space, museums or performing-arts facilities."
Wow. It would be a truly awesome project with tremendous impact on the city. Here is to hoping that someone with truly world-class design ideas scoops this up. It certainly would help alleviate the effects of Vulcan's uninspired Portland-cloning design ideas for South Lake Union.
Other (free) coverage:
PSBJ, PI, Times, Times #2
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