Residence for Rent at Washington Square

When Washington Square rolled out their condo pre-sales in 2006, not everybody had the intentions of moving into the units. Some bought for investment purposes.

Recently we found a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 724 sq foot unit on the rental market for $1,500 a month. This unit is on the 16th floor at Washington Square and has a great view of the developing Downtown Bellevue skyline.

This condo, which would likely sell in the mid $400,000's, rents at a reasonable price compared to new apartment units in Downtown Bellevue. A comparable unit at Avalon Meydenbauer rents for $1,500.

It will be interesting to see, as more of these condos start coming to market, if there are many investors or if the majority of buyers are individuals planning to move in.

Retail Roundup

First Sign up for Avalon Meydenbauer Retail
If you've been looking around this week when your on Bellevue Way, you would've noticed the first permanent sign is up at Avalon Meydenbauer for Desert Sun Tanning Salons. They will open up at the location in two weeks. So, for those looking for a great fake-in-bake in the core of Downtown Bellevue, wait no longer; they take care of you (especially to those of you who will live at Avalon Meydenbauer Apartments, your discount is 50% off!).


Bellevue Square - Victoria Secret Moved for Remodeling
Many men this last week while shopping for Valentine's day might've realized this already, but Victoria Secret has moved to a temporary location on the first floor next to Tiffany's.

Avalon Meydenbauer Apartments, Ready for Move In

Downtown Bellevue's most conveniently located apartment building, Avalon Meydenbauer, has long been under construction and is now ready for occupancy.

Located kitty corner to Bellevue Square at 10410 NE 2nd St, the apartments are centrally located in Downtown Bellevue. In addition to the great location, amenities include a fitness center, resident lounge, Wi-fi access, and luxury interiors. One of the greatest luxuries of this building will be the on site Safeway (unless customers choose to use the even more convenient Amazon Fresh).

Avalon Meydenbauer will be the first of many apartment buildings that will be coming to market within the next couple of years. Can the Downtown Bellevue market sustain so much luxury apartment growth?

For those of you interested in moving in the prices & Square Footage start at:
Studio 486 Sq ft - $1,125
1 Bedroom 730 Sq ft - $1,490
2 Bedroom 1022 Sq ft - $2,080
3 Bedroom 1403 Sq ft - $2,860

We are curious to get your feedback in the comments section; do you think these prices are high, low, or what you expected?

BECU Branch to Open in Downtown Bellevue

For all of those out there that are proud BECU customers you will be delighted to hear that BECU will be opening a banking branch at the corner of NE 2nd & Bellevue Way in Downtown Bellevue.

The branch will be opening in spring at one of the retail locations below the Avalon Meydenbauer apartments that will be completed in early 2008. The anchor tenant of this project is Safeway, which will be moving across the street from their current location on Bellevue Way.

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UPDATE
Since this post was made, the BECU signs have been taken down...

Elements Too - Apartments & Retail

The Elements Too project, which you might have seen under construction (as we voted it Downtown Bellevue's most festive construction project) has been a bit more quiet than some of the other major developments in the Downtown Bellevue core, but will be just as prominent once it's complete.

The 22-story tower and 13-story mid-rise named Elements Too, (originally known as Ashwood II) will play home to 274 apartment homes. Complimenting these "architecturally unique" buildings will be 48,000 square feet of retail with five levels of underground parking.

Bellevue-based Su Development has had careful attention paid to the design of these two buildings and their interiors. A three-story, light-filled atrium will connect the two buildings. In addition to the atrium, a water feature will flow from the atrium to an open-air piazza. This will encourage the community living at Elements Too and the surrounding areas to gather for outdoor arts performances in a green space.

Located at 112th Ave NE right off NE 8th look for the high-rise to be complete and open in the summer of 2008, while the mid-rise building and atrium will follow in the fall of 2008.

Plans for Bellevue's "urban village" revealed

The plans for a 36-acre "urban village" in Bellevue's Bel-Red Corridor were reported yesterday in The Seattle Times. The proposed project would consist of 800 apartments, retail space, acres of open recreational space, and over 3 million square feet of office space.

The "urban village" will be built in an area now being familiarized as the "Spring District," which is currently an aging Safeway distribution plant that was purchased for $68 million in May by Wright Runstad and San Francisco's Shorenstein.

Although this project doesn't fall into the Downtown Bellevue boundaries, in the future we could see the Downtown area naturally expand into the Bel-Red Corridor. Nevertheless, it would be a nice compliment to the Downtown area.

The project anticipates 16 acres of open space, roads and trails, a soccer field, a health club and high-capacity transit station.

The construction for this project could start as early as in 2009, and finish up in 2010.

Image courtesy of The Seattle Times

Downtown Bellevue Cadillac Dealership property SOLD

The Hanover Company based out of Houston, TX has just purchased the current Downtown Bellevue Cadillac dealership property for $39,300,000. The dated looking Cadillac dealership at 1001 106th Ave NE is over 2.5 acres, and is planned for two high-rise apartment buildings.

This is the Hanover Company's third property and construction project on NE 10th St. The two buildings will be 18-20 stories tall.

The Cadillac dealership will occupy the space for five months longer, then construction is projected to begin at the end of 2008. Cadillac is expected to move to the previous Dodge dealership location on 116th.

"Ho Ho Ho," says Ashwood to commuters

"Ho Ho Ho!" Ashwood II , located on 112th Avenue NE right off of NE 8th Street, wins Downtown Bellevue Network's Most Festive Construction Site Award.

The developer/construction team has put up wreaths in the shapes of the letters "H" and "O" that light up sporadically across the construction site facing the freeway!

Thanks for the laughs and smile! Hopefully the project continues to be newsworthy (and completes on time).

Bellevue is Missing Artists

According to John Su, the owner of 989 Elements apartment tower, what Bellevue is missing are artists.

Su is engaging in a project called Open Satellite. It will allow artists to use a large open (what would've been retail space) space to create large-scale art in all mediums. The idea is it will allow for emerging and mid-career artists to have a place within the city to be inspired and create all types of art. Exhibitions will be staged quarterly.

The opening event will take place next week Wednesday August 29th from 5 - 8pm. The location's address is 989 112th ave NE Suite, 102.

The 23-story apartment tower opened last September, but has been slow to roll out retail in the bottom floors of the building. Recently it has been springing to life. Zen Asian Cuisine & Vertigo Lounge are two retail tenants which will be moving in within the coming weeks.

Two Lincoln Tower Being Planned?

Final plans have been unknown for what exactly the fate is for the current Safeway location on Bellevue Way. The Safeway will be moving across the street to join the retail space underneath the Avalon-Meydenbauer apartment complex when complete.

Monday afternoon it become clear that Kemper Development Company (the property owner) is actively making strides in researching the location's environment. A Holocene Drilling truck was present and drilling a hole into the ground taking what seemed to be a core sample of the earth below.

The rumor until now is that a condominiums will take over the outdated location of the Safeway. The area is prime real estate, which is across the way from Bellevue Square, and next door to the Bellevue Arts Museum and One Lincoln Tower.

Recent Downtown Bellevue Photography

Sometimes pictures can say so much more than words...


















More DowntownBellevue.net Photography at Flickr

Bre - Belcarra Apartments

The location previously used as Cadillac's spare parking lot in Downtown Bellevue at 1032 106th Ave NE has been fenced off and will be used to house a six-story 320 apartment complex. Belcarra Apartments, as it will be named is owned by Bre Properties, and will include over 15,000 square feet of retail space.

According to representative's at Bre properties, the projected completion date is August 2009.

Metro 112 High-Rise Apartments

According to the City of Bellevue the project known as "Metro 112" is scheduled to break ground the 3rd quarter of 2007. The project will include 300 apartment units, 25,000 sq ft of commercial space, and 450 parking spaces.

Metro 112 is located just across the way from the new Bellevue City Hall, which is conveniently located within steps of the business district in Downtown Bellevue. With many apartment complexes now turning into condo conversions it is leaving renters with limited options. The Avalon Meydenbauer Apartments on Bellevue Way are quickly coming to a finish. Metro 112 is far from complete, but when finished will give Bellevue residents seeking rental properties another option in downtown luxury living.

Photos courtesy of Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects

Construction on 108th Ave NE

108TH Ave NE has been a busy street this year in Bellevue. In November the horrifying accident of a crane falling from the Tower 333 construction site killed a resident in his apartment home across the street. Now with the construction and reconstruction of Tower 333, Civica Building, the apartment complex, and Plaza 305 it has made for a crowded construction area.

Tower 333 Taking Shape
Tower 333, which Expedia has announced they will take over 16 of the 20 floors, has now began to attach the glass windows to the building, giving the building some much needed character.

Civica Building in Repair
Tuesday afternoon the Civica building was caught being repaired. By the looks of it, it seems the office building being repaired was completely evacuated during repair. Eight months after the strike by the crane, it seems Civica is a couple of windows away from a full recovery.

Photos Taken July 17th

New Main Street Construction

Construction has begun on Main Street in Bellevue for a complex that will include a ten story development. The building will be home to 65 housing units, 4,800 square feet of retail, and 130 parking spots.

It was only a matter of time before the previously run down strip mall boarding the entrance of the city of Medina was torn down. Old Bellevue, as it is known is becoming not only a ritzy shopping area, but now a neighborhood of classy low rise condominium & apartment housing.

Avalon Meydenbauer Apartments Coming Soon

Picture taken June 11th

Coming this Fall all you renters will have another option in Bellevue. The Avalon Meydenbauer apartments are beginning to take form. They will be in the heart of downtown Bellevue on the block of Bellevue Way and NE 4th St (kitty corner to Bellevue Square).

Pricing information for the 350 units is not yet publicly available, but you may sign up on their Web Site for more details when it becomes available. The best guess is that pricing will be on the high end, the location in Downtown Bellevue doesn't get much better than it. Cross the street and you'll get to Bellevue Park or Bellevue Square. Another incentive to live in these units is that Safeway is building their new Bellevue location in the retail space below. It doesn't get much better than going downstairs to do your grocery shopping.

Art Rendering of Finished Product