A new full-service boutique hotel is coming to Bellevue. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants announced last Wednesday that it is partnering with the Fana Group to build a 120-room hotel that will be part of a major, mixed use development. Scheduled to break ground in early 2017 and open sometime in 2019, the development will include two high-rise towers and 270 premium rental apartments. According to Kimpton, the name of the new mixed use building has yet to be determined.
The Bellevue Kimpton, located at 10655 NE Fourth Street, will occupy the North Tower and will include approximately 5,000 square feet of meeting space, a full service restaurant, a heated rooftop pool with event space and lounge, and other amenities. Located in the heart of downtown Bellevue’s central business district, on the corner of Fourth Street and 106th Place, it will be minutes away from major companies such as Microsoft, T-Mobile, PACCAR and Concur Technologies.
“We are eager to bring something to downtown Bellevue that it doesn’t yet have, a boutique luxury hotel”
Bellevue will be Kimpton’s eighth hotel in the Pacific Northwest, with four located in Seattle, including the Hotel Monaco, Hotel Vintage, Palladian and the Alexis. “The Pacific Northwest has been an integral part of Kimpton’s growth story for more than two decades and we look forward to expanding our presence in one of the strongest markets in the country,” said Mike DeFrino, Kimpton CEO. “The hotel’s prime location near some of downtown Bellevue’s best shopping and nightlife will be a draw for travelers.”
The owner and developer of the new hotel is the Fana Group, a Bellevue-based company that has boutique hotel investments in Seattle and San Francisco. Its asset management team oversees a portfolio of over one million square feet of office and retail properties. “We are eager to bring something to downtown Bellevue that it doesn’t yet have, a boutique luxury hotel,” said John Powers, Fana Group’s President of Real Estate. According to Powers, the Fana Group is awaiting permitting of the project from the City of Bellevue.
The property will join a strengthening hotel market in Bellevue. “Similar to Seattle, the market conditions in Bellevue are strong, running at about 72 percent occupancy and a rate of about $140,” said Chris Burdett, Senior Vice President of CBRE Hotels. “On a course of a whole year, Seattle generally produces a higher RevPAR than Bellevue. Today, however, everybody, including Bellevue, is higher than the national RevPAR average, which is about 65 percent occupancy and a rate of $120.”
“Bellevue doesn’t have the small boutiques like we have in Seattle with the Mayflower, the Vintage, the Roosevelt, the Monaco, and that type of property,” said Burdett. “So this is breaking into that kind of lifestyle boutique space, which will be great for Bellevue and I think is needed.”
Kimpton is a leading operator of boutique hotels and restaurants, and an industry pioneer in introducing the boutique hotel concept to the U.S. The San Francisco-based company currently operates over 60 hotels and more than 70 restaurants, bars and lounges throughout 30 different cities across the country. Since January 2015, Kimpton has been operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
