Hines Unveils Mixed-Use Build in Downtown Bellevue
The development will feature 1.2 million-square-feet of office space, 400 apartment units and 90,000 square feet of retail.
Hines is partnering with Benenson Capital Partners and USAA Real Estate to develop a new mixed-use property in Downtown Bellevue. The property—which Hines says will serve as a gateway to the downtown area—will feature 1.2 million-square-feet of office space, 400 apartment units and 90,000 square feet of retail.
Named Main Street Place, the property is on nearly 7 acres with access to a light rail station that will give the property access to Downtown Seattle, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond. The property itself will also feature public open spaces and pedestrian walkways. Finally, the development team is using sustainable design and green living elements in developing the property. The developers have engaged Kohn Pedersen Fox, GGLO, A+I, Design Workshop and MKA for the property design, while Steve Kohn of Cushman & Wakefield is a consultant to the developers.
According to Hines, Bellevue is among the most active submarkets in the Seattle area—and it isn’t the only developers with a major project. A partnership between Avenue Bellevue and Fortress Development recently secured a $700 million construction loan through Silverstein Capital Partners to build a two-tower luxury condo, hotel and retail development. The transaction is one of the largest recorded in the US since the start of the pandemic and the largest construction loan in Bellevue’s history
Skanska recently broke ground on the city’s first speculative office project in six years, The Eight. Located on 8th Street and 108th Avenue NE, the 25-floor, class-A office tower will comprise 540,000 square feet. The Eight will feature 7,000 square feet of open public space, 12,000 square feet of ground floor retail space and an additional 1,200-square-foot retail pavilion. It is the developer’s sixth project in the greater Seattle market.
It is particularly interesting to see strong office development in this market. A recent report from CommercialEdge found that Seattle had the highest vacancy rate increase during the pandemic, up 480 points. The number was second only to Austin and San Francisco. Interestingly, these are also markets with a strong concentration of tech companies.
Main Street Place is on a 115-year ground lease with Benenson Capital Partners. It is scheduled to deliver in 2023.