Representatives with Wright Runstad will be at SeaTac City Hall on Wednesday, November 12 at 3:00 PM for a public open house to discuss the firm’s plans for a large scale development adjacent to the new Angle Lake light rail station.
Wednesday, November 12th
3:00 PM Open House
4:00 PM Presentation
Announced Plan for Major Development
Wednesday, November 5th, Wright Runstad President Greg Johnson said that his company is under contract to buy a seven-acre site just west of the Angle Lake light-rail station. Johnson said his company will pursue development of the property whether or not Wright Runstad is awarded the FAA contract which is looking for 300,000 square feet of office space in a new or existing building within 10 miles of the agency's current office in Renton.
"We've got plans for over 1 million square feet," Johnson said during a Bis Now panel discussion before hundreds of members of the real estate industry. Even though Wright Runstad has had designs on the site for several years, it's believed this was the first time it was publicly discussed.
This is the opportunity that the city of SeaTac, which surrounds the airport, has been pining for for years. SeaTac prepared for years for the arrival of light-rail in the city. Officials updated zoning to accommodate large-scale development and invested in infrastructure. Unfortunately for SeaTac, the light-rail line between downtown Seattle and South King County opened in 2009 when the economy was in the worst recession since the Depression.
The property that Seattle-based Wright Runstad has under contract today is a large surface parking lot. Johnson said it's owned by a limited liability company that Tom Dantzler, a member of the city of SeaTac's Planning Commission, is involved with. Wright Runstad has had it under contract "for quite some time," Johnson said, explaining that his company tied it up three or four years ago after the FAA first started looking for a new regional headquarters.
Wright Runstad is working with Seattle architecture firm NBBJ on a master plan for the property. He envisions a campus with office, retail and hotel space. According to a presentation that federal officials gave to developers interested in the FAA facility, the government plans to award the contract on March 30, 2015, with the facility opening Sept. 1, 2017.
Johnson said that even if his company doesn't land the FAA assignment, he still wants to develop the SeaTac property. Wright Runstad has a long-term contract to buy the site, though Johnson did not provide specifics. But with the large airport-parking lot on the site, it would provide a revenue stream while Wright Runstad waits to develop the property, he said.
Sound Transit is spending $383.2 million to extend the light-rail line 1.6 miles south of Sea-Tac Airport to South 200th. Trains will run on an elevated guideway between the airport and Angle Lake station. A 1,050-stall parking garge and plaza will be part of the Angle Lake Station, where the city would allow 10- to 12-story residential, retail, office and hotel towers. Johnson indicated that a maximum height for buildings could actually vary from 15 to 18 stories due to sloping on the site .
"Housing has potential, but I think the stronger markets are office, hotel and retail," said Johnson, whose company often focuses on developing projects near mass transit. Wright Runstad developed the 1201 Third Avenue tower above the downtown Seattle transit tunnel, and is developing a $2.3 billion mixed-use project called the Spring District next to a future light-rail station in Bellevue.
Open House and Study Session Presentation
Cindy Edens, the Senior Vice President and Director of Development for Wright Runstad will be at City Hall on Wednesday, November 12 at 3:00 PM for a public open house to discuss the firm’s plans for a large scale development adjacent to the new Angle Lake light rail station.
Wright Runstad, one of the largest developers on the west coast has plans for a million square foot mixed-use development that could include office, hotel and retail on the seven acre site which is currently a park and fly lot. Ms. Edens will be available to discuss the current thinking on the master plan for the site, the company’s long-range transit oriented vision for the area and share her views on why the site was attractive to Wright Runstad. The location has also been submitted for consideration as the new site of the FAA Regional Headquarters which would bring over 1,000 jobs into the City.
Ms. Edens will also be making a presentation at the City Council Study Session at 4:00 PM following the open house.
No comments:
Post a Comment