By Jack Stubbs
Bellevue’s Central Business District has experienced an unprecedented amount of development activity over the last several years, and another new project located just one mile from Bellevue’s downtown core is underway.
On February 22nd, a 4-story mixed-use property was granted preliminary approval to proceed in the city’s design review process.
Bellevue-based KG Investment Properties is proposing the development of Bellevue South, a 4-story mixed-use building totaling approximately 426,769 square feet. The development will include roughly 97,600 square feet of retail (for multiple tenants); 40,200 square feet of commercial amusements/entertainment, grocery space and 45,000 square feet of medical office space. Additionally, the project will include a public plaza, attached to the grocery tenant along the street, as well as 695 parking spaces in a three-level open-air structure, according to public documents filed with the city.
Fuller/Sears Architects is designing Bellevue South, according to the project plans. Fuller/Sears was acquired by Seattle-based architecture firm MG2 in October 2017.
And the developer last week received positive news about the project underway: on February 22nd, the development was granted preliminary approval to proceed; the applicant team has until March 8th to submit a Building Permit application to the city for review. The overall design of the project—including elements relating to the building’s integration with the public realm and streetscape and issues relating and pedestrian and vehicular access to the site—still need to be refined before the next stage of the design review process.
Neither the project representatives from KG Investment Properties, nor the city’s Development Services Department or the project planner responded to calls and emails for comment about the proposed development in time for the publishing of this story.
Located at 316 116th Ave. NE, the development is just one to the east of Bellevue CBD and roughly two miles from access to Interstate-405.
According to the project plans, the applicant emphasized that the development will provide the opportunity for access between the proposed building and the future Eastside Rail Corridor Trail, a new 16.7-mile regional trail underway that will connect cities in the Eastside from Renton to Redmond.
