Commercial Space in Two-Building, 810,000+ SF Project Fully-Leased as Amazon Moves Into North & South Towers
Seattle Coffee Works Opens New Location in 1,500 SF Ground Floor Retail Space
Seattle, WA, October 4, 2017 – Today, Touchstone (www.touchstonenw.com) and USAA Real Estate (www.usrealco.com) announced the opening of Troy Block, its 811,520 SF commercial office project comprised of two distinct towers located in Seattle’s thriving South Lake Union neighborhood.
With completion of the 13-story, 418,999 sq. ft. north tower (399 Fairview Ave. N.) and the 12-story, 391,005 sq. ft. south tower (300 Boren Ave. N), the full city block, two-building project is now complete—with all commercial space fully-leased to online retailer Amazon.
Popular local coffeehouse Seattle Coffee Works is also opening its newest unit within the 1,500 sq. ft. retail space of the south tower building, with this location being named Cascade Coffee Works. The soft opening is slated for this month and an official grand opening is planned for November 2017.
“We’re proud to partner with USAA on the Troy Block development and excited to see the building fully occupied and opening,” said Touchstone Founder and past President Douglas Howe. Although Howe is no longer involved in the day-to-day operation of Touchstone, he has continued to be a very integral part of the team leading Troy Block. “This was a very complex, full-block project – and we couldn’t be more pleased with the finished product.”
Image license: Perkins + Will, Lease Crutcher Lewis, Swift Company and Touchstone.
© Copyright 2017 Benjamin Benschneider All Rights Reserved. Usage may be arranged by contacting Benjamin Benschneider Photography. Email: bbenschneider@comcast.net or phone: 206-789-5973.
“Completion of Troy Block is another milestone in our very successful relationship with Touchstone, consistent with our strategy of investing in partnerships with best-in-class developers,” said Len O’Donnell, president and chief executive officer for USAA Real Estate. “After years of successful collaboration with Amazon on the development of distribution centers through our global industrial and logistics program, we are pleased and honored that they selected Troy Block to support their growing office needs in Seattle.”
Developed by Seattle-based commercial real estate company Touchstone and USAA Real Estate, the Troy Block office space was leased in 2015 while the building was still under construction, with Amazon noting plans to move in when construction on both buildings was completed.
Comprised of all-glass towers with colors complementing the historic facades of the landmark buildings at its bases—the Troy Laundry Building and the Boren Investment Building—the LEED-Gold certified project is located just east of Amazon’s headquarters in South Lake Union.
Providing dramatic, cross-block connections with an open courtyard, Troy Block features pedestrian-friendly landscaped courtyards, secured underground parking, an upper-story deck, and an extensive indoor bike storage facility.
Image license: Perkins + Will, Lease Crutcher Lewis, Swift Company and Touchstone.
© Copyright 2017 Benjamin Benschneider All Rights Reserved. Usage may be arranged by contacting Benjamin Benschneider Photography. Email: bbenschneider@comcast.net or phone: 206-789-5973.
In addition to the commercial and retail spaces, Troy Block also has two art installations from renowned Pacific Northwest artists—including a large metal sculpture by Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo of Seattle’s Lead Pencil Studio and an active video sculpture by Jim Blashfield of Portland.
Splicing factual worlds with those of the imagination, Blashfield’s Mechanism is installed in the Arcade walkway and features moving images and machined artwork. It was inspired in part by remnants of industrial equipment found and recovered during the demolition of the Troy Laundry.
Additionally, Lead Pencil Studio’s City Fragment, located in the courtyard at the top of Boren Hill, is constructed of thousands of small, blackened stainless steel rods—reflecting the artist’s interest in smaller-scale, informal architecture and is meant to connect viewers to the neighborhood’s history.
Touchstone Corporation partnered with USAA Real Estate on the project, and Regions Bank provided construction financing. The architect was Perkins+Will and the contractor was Lease Crutcher Lewis. Urban Renaissance Group will operate the building.
Image license: Perkins + Will, Lease Crutcher Lewis, Swift Company and Touchstone.
© Copyright 2017 Benjamin Benschneider All Rights Reserved. Usage may be arranged by contacting Benjamin Benschneider Photography. Email: bbenschneider@comcast.net or phone: 206-789-5973.
About Touchstone and Urban Renaissance Group.
Touchstone, a subsidiary of Urban Renaissance Group, LLC, is a Seattle-based full-service commercial real estate company, engaged in acquisitions, development, asset management, leasing, property management and ownership in Seattle, Bellevue, Denver and Portland. The strategic premise of the Urban Renaissance Group is that the form of the American City will change dramatically during the next 20 years. Urban Renaissance Group acts as a catalyst that understands and ignites that change, thereby building community, creating place, and generating fair returns for investors, as well as opportunities for its partners and employees. Learn more at www.urbanrengroup.com.
About USAA Real Estate
USAA Real Estate, with over $18 billion in assets under management, provides co- investment, acquisition, build-to-suit and development services for corporate and institutional investors and arranges commercial mortgage loans on behalf of affiliates. The portfolio consists of office, industrial/logistics, multifamily, retail and hotel properties. USAA Real Estate is a subsidiary of USAA, a leading financial services company, serving military families since 1922. For more information, visit www.usrealco.com.
