By Meghan Hall
Vulcan is continuing to develop in and around downtown Bellevue and has recently submitted an application for another residential development. Called “Plaza 200,” Vulcan intends to construct 180 units of multifamily housing downtown as Bellevue itself prepares for an influx of new residents and employers in the coming years.
According to public records, the project site is located at 200 105th Ave. NE. The proposed development will rise eight stories in height, and in addition to the residential units, 5,200 square feet of ground floor retail and service uses, as well as three levels of below grade parking, are planned. The residential units will be market rate.
Outdoor space is also planned, including a 375 square foot area on NE 2nd Street, which will be located under the building overhang with seating and bike racks. A 203 square foot corner encircling the garage entry, as well as a 550 square foot space at the north end of the development–for occupants only–are also designated in project documents. An amenity rooftop deck, as well as a central courtyard, are also planned.
“At the corner the people can sit on the curved bench between the landscape at the building and the planting “island” at the street corner creating a small retreat to enjoy solar access at this enhanced intersection,” a project narrative states. “Ornamental planting within this landscape corner will enhance the image of a “City in a Park”. The building entrance adjacent to this open space will help animate and activate this area.”
Seattle-based Encore Architects will be designing the project. The overall design of the building will be urban in nature and will work to fit in with the evolving nature of the neighborhood. The base of the building will relate to the human scale of the neighborhood. Storefront mullions and durable materials such as brick, concrete and storefront glazing will be used.
The upper levels will be broken into three volumes and will have different materials from the base to differentiate it from the ground plane and add visual interest to the project. A regular window pattern and infill material at the corners will be used for the north and south facades, while more “playful” materials will be used at the middle volume.
“These large moves and material variety bring the scale of the elevations down in perception to a human scale,” notes the project documents.
Currently, the property is developed with two buildings: a one-story, 26,400 square foot retail building known as 200 Plaza, which contains multiple retail buildings, as well as a one-story, 4,000 square foot stand alone building currently occupied by Lawrence the Florist. Both structures would be demolished to make way for the new project.
Vulcan purchased the site, which consists of two parcels, in April of this year with plans for redevelopment in mind. Vulcan acquired the site for $25 million from a private seller associated with 12 Bellevue International LLC.
“Vulcan’s purchase of the 200-224 105th Ave. NE site expands our multi-family residential development capacity in the Bellevue CBD,” explained Vulcan’s Real Estate Strategy Director Lori Mason Curran, at the time of the transaction.
In recent years, Vulcan has been incredibly active in downtown Bellevue, contributing heavily to its development landscape. The developer has also built 555 Tower, a 42-story highrise containing 967,500 square feet of office space and 28,400 square feet of retail. Vulcan is also currently building West Main, a full-block development on the north side of Main Street. Constructed on the site of the former Bellevue Plaza shopping center, the two-towered project will contain more than one million square feet of office space upon completion. Amazon has signed leases to occupy space in both projects.
As of this writing, Vulcan had not yet returned The Registry’s request for updated comment.
