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Seattle is a top-10 market nationwide for apartment and condo construction, and retailers are following residential growth back into the Seattle core market. In the first half of the 2013, nine apartment projects added nearly 1,300 units to Downtown. As of June 2013, 30 more residential projects were under construction or permitted, representing about 5,400 units. Projects (mostly apartments) are breaking ground at a quickening pace, with total construction costs for those currently underway at about $2.8 billion — a level not experienced since 2008. Many of the projects are mixed-use developments that contain street-level retail components. Almost half are located near Downtown Seattle.
In 2012, three major retail renovations were completed in Downtown. This overhauling of aging retail space has continued into 2013. Nordstrom Rack now has a new 42,500-square-foot space in the Metro level of Westlake Center, which is directly across from the Nordstrom flagship store. Pike Place Market completed several renovations that cost close to $70 million. These included upgrades to the Market’s infrastructure and features. Target acquired 95,000 square feet of space in the Newmark building (Pike Plaza) and remodeled the retail space across three floors. This urban-concept CityTarget is roughly two-thirds the size of a standard, free-standing Target. The Seattle locale was one of the first three CityTargets to debut in the United States.
There are several projects currently underway in 2013, in addition to continued renovations of Westlake Center. This includes 30,000 square feet of retail space for Zara, the world’s largest clothing retailer. The Seahawks Pro Shop at CenturyLink Field was renovated and expanded to make the space 250 percent larger. It now stands at 7,400 square feet. A new location in SoDo (south of Downtown) for Mercedes Benz of Seattle is also underway. It will include an 84,000-square-foot showroom that is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2013.
There are also reports of a TJ Maxx store opening soon in the Kress Building on Third and Pike, as stated in the application filed with the city for renovations of about 22,000 square feet. The area around Third and Pike is becoming a center for discount retailers. Ross Dress for Less now resides across the street to the east of the Kress building, while Target is one block to the west. A new Korean grocer named H Mart is speculated to occupy the former Nordstrom Rack space in the Broadacres Building. The space will be about 15,000 square feet (less than half the size of its Lakewood location), as H Mart follows the trend of catering to the urban shopper in a reduced space.
Amazon purchased the three blocks known as Denny Triangle from Clise Properties for $207.5 million in December 2012. It has proposed the construction of 3.3 million square feet of office space over the next eight years that would include a tower and a smaller building on each of the three blocks. The project would feature 66,000 square feet of shop and restaurant space. Upon completion, Amazon will have more than doubled its footprint in Seattle. Construction has commenced on the first phase, and the project is scheduled to open in late 2015, according to Amazon.
— Hank Wolfer, associate, The Nisbet Group, National Retail Group, Marcus & Millichap in Seattle