Skanska Plans 150K-SF Office Development in Bellevue

Developer Skanska has acquired a 40,888-square-foot land parcel at NE 9th Place and 106th Ave NE in Downtown Bellevue to develop a 150,000-square-foot boutique office building. The site is adjacent to The Eight, another of Skanska’s office developments in the area.

The commuter-friendly location is near several major employers, including Amazon’s Bellevue Campus, Microsoft’s Bellevue Campus and the headquarters for Symetra and Concur, and it is near entertainment venues, including The Bellevue Collection, downtown hotels, as well as local restaurants and entertainment destinations.

This most recent acquisition is Skanska’s eleventh development in the Puget Sound area since its founding in 2011. The nearby and most recent project The Eight is a 25-story office tower is already under construction and set to deliver in early 2024. The 541,000-square-foot property will feature a 3,190-square-foot private rooftop deck, seven alternating indoor/outdoor exterior balconies, 12,000 square feet of community-focused ground floor retail space adjacent to an expansive urban park. It is the first speculative office development in the city in the last six years. Located on the corner of 8th St. and 108th Ave. NE, the property is designed with a side core that allows for large, flexible floor plates. The tower will also feature seven alternating indoor/outdoor exterior balconies. It is being built with LEED certification in mind.

Investors are generally bullish on the Seattle office market, despite the recent dislocation caused by the pandemic. Last year, Boston Properties made its foray into the area with the acquisition of Safeco Plaza, a 50-story 800,000-square-foot, LEED-platinum certified, class-A office building. The property is expected to have a gross purchase price of $465 million. Boston Properties purchased the property through its co-investment platform, a $2 billion venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP) and GIC. Boston Properties’ announced the co-investment venture earlier this month, but Boston Properties CEO Owen Thomas made note of the plans on the company’s first quarter earnings call.

Later in the year, Hudson Pacific Properties acquired 5th & Bell, a 192,000-squae-foot office building in Seattle, for $119 million. The building is fully leased to Amazon, and the ground lease has a 50-year term remaining. Located in the Denny Triangle, the six-story property is LEED certified, and it features larges floorplates, outdoor deck, an end-of-trip facility with showers, lockers and bike storage, retail and ample parking.