SEATTLE — Wright Runstad & Co. will redevelop Rainier Square, a 140,000-square-foot retail property that is part of the University of Washington’s Metropolitan Tract in downtown Seattle. The project entails a 1.2 million-square-foot, mixed-use development located at 1333 5th Ave., just off Interstate 5 and a few blocks from the waterfront.
Construction is scheduled to commence in the second half of next year. Once completed in late 2017, Rainier Square will contain a 50-plus-story tower with 750,000 square feet of office space and about 240 apartment units. It will also feature a 15-story, four-star hotel, as well as 30,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurants and retail shops. The total project is estimated to cost more than $500 million, according to reports.
The University of Washington managed the developer selection process and chose locally Wright Runstad & Co. with approval from the university’s Board of Regents. Architecture and design firm NBBJ will design the new Rainier Square.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded this opportunity,” says Greg Johnson, Wright Runstad & Co.’s president. “The 66,000-square-foot site is the single best location in the city for this landmark project we are proposing. It is simply great real estate any way you look at it.”
The Metropolitan Tract of the University of Washington is composed of more than 11 acres, or more than four city blocks. It previously housed the University of Washington before the school moved to its current location along Mason Road in 1895. The Tract also includes Rainier Tower, the Fairmont Olympic Hotel and the IBM Building.
Seattle-based Wright Runstad & Co. develops, acquires, manages and leases high-quality commercial office buildings primarily in the Pacific Northwest. The company is privately owned by three active principals.
Wright Runstad is also developing the Spring District, a 36-acre, transit-oriented, mixed-use urban development in Bellevue; and a 296,500-square-foot office building at 1200 North, just north of the Pacific Tower in Seattle. It is also overseeing the restoration of the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium, a 93-year-old college football venue.
— Nellie Day