Seattle developers are moving ahead with plans for three new downtown office towers - the first in 20 years - despite abundant vacant space in the area. Much sought-after tech tenants will be a tough lure because “[t]hey like weird buildings.”
Among the challenges facing the developers of the first three office towers to rise in Seattle's central business district in twenty years: "many traditional downtown tenants are getting by with less space due to technology and slower growth, while the tech firms that have driven Seattle’s office boom haven’t shown much affinity for the central business district," writes Sanjay Bhatt.
"New skyscrapers will have to justify their higher rents with smart design, super-efficient floors and killer amenities, experts say, because of abundant space in the business district."
"Tech firms are high on the list of sought-after tenants, given their heavyweight presence in the Seattle area," he adds. But these firms haven’t been attracted to downtown’s towers — with some notable exceptions."
"[Chad] Yoshinobu, the design director at Gensler’s Seattle office, says the typical tech firm finds it more attractive and sustainable to reuse existing space that is 'hackable,' especially older low- and mid-rise buildings with big floors, character and high ceilings."
"But Matt Christian, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield/Commerce, says that in markets across the nation, tech companies are moving downtown because of the easy access to transportation hubs and amenities."
Read the full story: Filling downtown Seattle skyscrapers a tall order
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
275,000 bus trips are at stake on Seattle's ballot
If passed, the Seattle Transit Measure would trigger a 0.3% sales tax and raise an average of $138 million per year to maintain and expand Seattle’s bus services.
Amtrak cuts ribbon on Seattle Airo maintenance facility
The $250 million, nearly 100,000-square-foot building can house an entire Cascades Airo trainset.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority