SAM, WaMu Finalize Agreement for $300M Downtown Development

SEATTLE-Washington Mutual and the Seattle Art Museum have formalized their $300-million agreement to develop separate buildings totaling 1.2 million sf on the same block in Downtown Seattle.

The joint venture development is planned for the northern two-thirds of the block bounded by First and Second avenues and Union and University streets. The southern third of the block is the existing Seattle Art Museum building. The project site is currently occupied by a parking structure and the Museum Plaza/Arcade Building, which are jointly owned and operated by the museum and the Museum Development Authority.

The project will result in a new 42-story, 890,000-sf office tower for Washington Mutual on the easternmost portion of the site and a new 12-story, 335,000-sf building for the Seattle Art Museum that will connect to the existing museum. Both structures will be built on an underground parking garage that will hold 710 vehicles on six levels. Construction is expected to begin in early 2004 and end in 2006.