New Space in Historic Joshua Green Building Serves as Integrated Headquarters for Urban Renaissance Group and Touchstone
Light-Filled Space Designed to Create a Stronger, Refined and Creative Environment; Highlights Beauty of Historic Space
Seattle, Wash., November 19, 2018 – Seattle-based commercial real estate firm Urban Renaissance Group (www.urbanrengroup.com) (URG) today announced that it has moved into an expanded headquarters office in Joshua Green Building.
Located at 1425 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle, the new 13,000 sq. ft. space on the second floor of the historic Joshua Green Building — which URG successfully restored and repositioned in 2009, subsequently achieving the prestigious NAIOP ‘Renovation of the Year Award’ (2009) — was adapted from retail space to office use. URG relocated from its previous fifth-floor, 8,055 sq. ft. space in the same building.
“When this space opened up, we knew it would be a fun challenge to reposition it from retail to office space,” said URG Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Callahan. “As we welcomed Touchstone into our office, this became the perfect way to grow our downtown footprint. A second-floor space in downtown Seattle with as much access to daylight as this space is unusual, and we’re so pleased to be here”.
Creating a Stronger, Refined and More Creative Work Environment
URG selected the Seattle office of design firm IA Interior Architects to design the new space, which draws upon the distinct energy and complementary cultures of the previous URG and Touchstone offices. The new space compels an even stronger, refined and more creative environment for the organizations to continue to grow and thrive.
Through its design process, the team focused on revealing the simple beauty of the original architecture of the space while taking advantage of the expansive window line and large skylights washing the space in natural light. The new headquarters includes numerous powerful design elements including:
- Authentic, Representational Materials. Using authentic, uncomplicated materials and a rich, warm palette, the new headquarters expresses the character of both URG and Touchstone. The meeting room and office glazing treatment represents the streets of Seattle, Portland and Denver, which reflect URG and Touchstone’s geographic presences.
- Paying Homage to History, Strength and Progress. Previously serving as a retail space for former tenant Office Depot—who covered and buried the original features—the team uncovered the Joshua Green Building’s original terrazzo floor tile dating back to the early 1900s during construction. The renovation also removed all previous ceiling systems to reveal the building’s frame and structure while highlighting well-organized infrastructure that serves the space. It further allowed for presentation of the seismic bracing that was the result of the URG-managed building restoration in 2009. The exposed cross-braces around the perimeter are painted in dark accent to anchor the finished space.
- Center Hubs & Gathering Spaces. High-traffic and shared work areas are strategically placed in the heart of the office and adjacent to each other in order to allow for large gatherings and community events. The open kitchen, designed as a center hub for the office, features a mural commissioned by local artist Sam Wood Wilson to inspire and embody the values of the integrated company: Invest, Build and Operate. The kitchen island was also custom-built to be movable for different gathering types and, when it is in its home position, it is common to see employees making food or perched-up on the barstools having lunch. The foyer to the Board Room also features a custom, angled collaboration table.
- Focus on Light. The team also uncovered two skylights during the design process, allowing light to pour into both the Board Room and new kitchen space. With private offices lining the interior core—the team used significant interior glazing to transfer both the interior and perimeter daylight while consolidating the hard wall construction to a tight inner core; open work space around the perimeter is washed in a natural light.
- Emphasis on Green Values. As the renovated Joshua Green Building includes numerous green elements, the new office space does, as well – including natural light, sustainable practices and live plants. With open sight lines and three skylights, plants thrive in the office.
“Given our culture of collaboration, community engagement and celebration, the large open kitchen adjoined to our formal Board Room with sliding glass doors is one of the most important design elements of this space—and it is incredibly well-built for large gatherings and community events embracing and enabling our values of transparency, hard work and high-fives,” continued Callahan.
He added, “Our presence in this building is especially important given Joshua Green Corporation’s investment in URG since 2012.”
Currently, the Joshua Green Building is more than 80 percent leased, with two vacancies including an 8,055 SF full-floor suite on the building’s 5th floor and an 8,055 sf full-floor suite on the building’s 6th floor.
About Urban Renaissance Group
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. Founded in 2006, the strategic premise of Urban Renaissance Group (URG) is that the form of the American City is changing. URG acts as a catalyst that understands and ignites that change, thereby building community, generating appropriate returns for its investors and opportunities for its partners and employees. Learn more at www.urbanrengroup.com.
