By Jon Peterson
While the multifamily market across the greater Puget Sound region continues to attract investors from across the country, shovel-ready development projects are also getting a closer look. An approved project in Seattle, which is getting a considerable haircut in scale is hitting the market in order to test interest.
Medina-based Liu family is seeking a $9.8 million price for its development site located at 815 9th Avenue in Seattle. The family has altered the design and the type of apartments for its development site, but it does offer some flexibility for the potential buyers, according to sources family with the property.
The original plans for the site called for a development to construct a 29-story 275-unit high-rise complex. This project had been sent to the permitting phase of approvals dating back to 2018, according to previous reporting by The Registry. This has now changed.
The new vision for the site is a six-story building with a total of 96 units. “It was our opinion that the previous design scheme really wasn’t feasible given the skinny nature of the project. There wasn’t any more land that could be added to the project to make it wider,” says Dave Speers, executive vice president with Kidder Mathews in the company’s Seattle office. He is representing the seller of the development site.
The site is currently in the final entitlement process stages with the city of Seattle for the issuance of a master use permit for the project. This should be concluded by the summer of this year. The plan would be to develop small efficiency units, which would vary from 300 to the mid 400 square foot range.
The site as it stands now is used as a surface parking lot. It is providing income to the owner of the property presently, however, the operation of the parking is handled by a third-party firm. The expectation is that a number of experienced real estate development firms would likely be the buyer of the site. The current parking plan for the new development calls for 102 spaces for bicycles and 10 for automobiles.
The property is located near businesses that would likely provide renters in the project in the future. This includes Seattle University and a number of hospitals like Swedish Hospital, Harborview and Virginia Mason.
The site is located within the First Hill District in Central Seattle. This region has a history of attracting young renters that are looking for a central location and a less expensive alternative to the downtown and South Lake Union areas of Seattle. The Central Seattle submarket of the city has strong market demographics with a vacancy rate of 5.6 percent and a 12-month asking rental rate growth of 7.6 percent, according to data provided by Kidder Mathews.
