The original design was for 480,000 sf in 33 stories, with the top ten floors being residential units. Uncertainty by Hedreen about Seattle's downtown housing market, though, has the developer considering a redesign that doesn't include the residential units, says Derek Bottles, the company's project manager. Without the condos, the tower would be 10 stories shorter and 150,000 sf smaller. It would also put the building back under the height limit, though Bottles tells GlobeSt. that could have easily been mitigated by a transfer of rural development credits.

If the changes go through, the surviving 23 floors would include roughly 30,000 sf of retail and 300,000 sf of office space, Bottles tells GlobeSt. regardless, the anticipated groundbreaking for the project is summer 2001. The project is in line behind Hedreen's luxury hotel on Pine St. "Once The Elliott is finished, our construction teams will be available to start on this new project," says Bottles. The cost for the tower at 1635 Olive is also in a state of flux while the final design is determined. Sources believe the project in its original 33-story version would run between $50 million and $60 million.