MulvannyG2 Architects | UrbanCondoSpaces

New Rental At Bellevue Towers, 16th Floor Studio

June 1, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

There is a new one bedroom rental that just hit the market at Bellevue Towers:

Price – $1,700 per month
Sq. Ft. – 809
Unit # – 1609

Click here to see the listing

See other rentals at Bellevue Towers

UNIT FEATURES	BUILDING FACTS	AMENITIES
809sf	43 Floors	Concierge, View terrace, spa
studio bed, 1 bath	539 units	Movie Theatre
Private Deck	Concrete and Steel	Fitness Studio
Granite Tops, Wood Floors	Ground Floor Retail	Guest Suites
Viking Range, Sub Zero, Bosch	95 on Walkscore	High Speed Elevators

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Bellevue, Bellevue Towers, Business Center, Club House, Concierge, Courtyard, Dog Park, Elevator, Exercise Room, GBD, Guest Suites, Home, Hot Tub, LEED Certification, Lobby Entrance, MulvannyG2 Architects, Owners Lounge, Professional Landscaping, Retail, Secure Parking, Storage Tagged With: Bellevue, Bellevue Towers, for lease, for rent, Rental, Views

Bellevue Towers

February 28, 2011 By admin 7 Comments

BELLEVUE TOWERS

Developer: Gerdling Elden
Architects: GBD Architects & MulvannyG2

Bellevue Towers stands alone with 43 stories of concrete, steel and glass. It’s structure is among the tallest residential buildings in the greater Seattle area. Located at the corner of 4th and 106th in Downtown Bellevue, Bellevue Towers is just blocks away from the Bellevue Square Mall, The Downtown Bellevue Park, and Interstate 405 connecting Bellevue to Seattle via 2 floating bridges (I-90 and 520). The towers is just 5 minutes from the Bellevue Club, 10 minutes from the Microsoft‘s main campus and is only 15 minutes from Downtown Seattle. As Downtown continues to develop, Bellevue Towers will become a center-piece of luxury living in Bellevue; Washington’s 5th largest city.

BUILDING

The two towers that make up 539 units were built by combining sustainable design and urban luxury. As a the largest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Evinornmental Design) Gold residential structure in the Pacific Northwest, Bellevue Towers aspired to be a leader in eco-friendly high rise design. It has been said that the towers architects GBD and MulvannyG2 traveled the world to assemble ideas for iconic Bellevue structure.

INTERIORS

The interiors at Bellevue Towers combine NW contemporary with traditional elements that Bellevue residents are accustom too. Slab granite & marble counters, local cabinetry, solid wood doors, top of the line appliances (Wolf, Viking & Subzero), hardwood floors, stainless fixtures, stylish lighting and high efficiency air and heating systems are just some of the interior features assembled at Bellevue Towers.

AMENITIES

Amenities are a staple in every major condo project worldwide. Bellevue Towers does not disappoint. It features a community great room, fireside terrace, multi-purpose room, dining room, kitchen, dining terrace, Whirlpool spa, sauna, steam room, cold dip, spa terrace, screening room, cardio training room, weight training room, men’s locker room, women’s locker room, and high speed elevators.

URBAN GARDEN

According to Bellevue Towers, the eco-landscaped urban garden built between the two towers is close to a city block in length. It features, a large lawn, water feature, walking paths, outdoor fireplace, wood deck promenade, pet area and a view terraces with glimpses of the Downtown Seattle skyline.

The towers include 539 studios, one-bedrooms, one+den, two-bedrooms, two+den and penthouse homes. Pricing starts from the mid-$300,000 for studios to $2,000,000 + for penthouses.

UCS PROJECT GRADE:

Address: 500 106th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98004

Year Built: 2008

Bedrooms: Studio, 1, 1+d, 2, 2+d and Penthouse

Bathrooms: 1–2

Floors: 43

Total Units: 539

Unit Size: Spacious

My Grade:

Location: A

Amenities: A+

Price: B

Luxury: A

Walk-ability: A

Unit Decor: A

BELLEVUE TOWERS WALKSCORE

What’s Your Walk Score?

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Bellevue, Bellevue Towers, Business Center, Club House, Concierge, Courtyard, Dog Park, Elevator, Exercise Room, Game Room, GBD, Guest Suites, Home, Hot Tub, LEED Certification, Lobby Entrance, MulvannyG2 Architects, Professional Landscaping, Rec Room, Retail, Sauna, Secure Parking, Storage, Terrace Tagged With: Bellevue, Bellevue Towers, Condo, Condos, Downtown Bellevue, towers

Olive 8 Auction Confirmed

August 16, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

The Olive 8 auction has been confirmed (read here). As seen on the Olive 8 blog:

The Olive 8 Sales Team is proud to announce that we will have 34 homes auctioned in September. The auctioned homes will be on our lower floors 18 through 26.

The sales office will remain open onsite and continue to sell floors 27 through 39 our “Sky Suites.” Now is a great time to buy a view home in Seattle’s tallest and most luxurious tower. The sales office is open daily from noon to 5 p.m.

The Sales Team

Details in terms of pricing have not come out yet, but we should expect them this week. I’ve heard that R.C. Hendreen, the developer for Olive 8 is deciding between Accelerated Marketing Partners and Kennedy Wilson to hold the auction. If you have not attended an auction before, I would encourage you to go. It is a little chaotic but entertaining to say the least.

I will look to post later this week with more details on pricing and my opinion on the value of buying at an auction.

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Auction News, Business Center, Concierge, Denny Triangle, Developers, Gluckman Mayner Architects, Home, Market News/Trends, MulvannyG2 Architects, Olive 8, R.C. Hedreen Company Tagged With: Auction, Condo, Condo Auction, Condos, Olive 8, Olive 8 Condos

Escala-FHA Approved

June 7, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

According to Eric Mehr of Escala’s sales team, Escala was FHA approved on May 24th. However they still need about 15 to 20 more sales to
start closing FHA loans. Also according to Mehr, Escala has closed 27 conventional and cash deals thus far.

UCS Escala Profile
UCS Exclusive Website

Filed Under: All Condos, Architects, Business Center, Concierge, Developers, Elevator, Exercise Room, Home, Hot Tub, Lobby Entrance, Midby Companies, MulvannyG2 Architects, Owners Lounge, Pilates/Yoga Studio, Pool-Indoor, Retail, Sauna, Secure Parking, Spa, Storage, Theater, Thoryk Architects Tagged With: Condo, Condos, Escala, Escala Condominiums, Seattle

Escala Sales Picking Up Steam-FHA Approval Just Weeks Away

April 27, 2010 By jeff Leave a Comment

I spoke with Erik Mehr of Team Builder JLS yesterday regarding the progress at Escala Condominiums. According to Mehr, they have successfully closed 6 sales since taking the project over. They have over 40 pending sales and for those of you interested, you can follow their pending sales in the MLS. They made a commitment to adding all their sales to the MLS last month.

In summary, Erik felt that they were making great progress. He said that the HOA dues approach that reduced the owners monthly payments was very well received. I inquired about what units were selling well, and as you might have expected the units priced between $450,000 and $550,000 have seen a lot of activity. Mehr also mentioned that the “F” plans were seeing an abundance of sales as well. They are the 3 bedroom units, generally priced over $2,000,000 dollars. Thus far out of 20+ 3 bedroom units, Escala has sold 8 of those floorplans.

In terms of financing, MetLife, the projects preferred lender, is lending conventionally and will continue to do so. This squashes a lot of the rumors that were suggesting that you had to purchase “all cash”. I was also surprised to hear that the project is only a few weeks away from FHA approval as well. This will be a monumental step for the success of the project. I will confirm when they get their approval.

Overall, the 30-40% in reductions seem to be moving the majority of this inventory. As the number of “new” units downtown continue to dissapate, Escala will be looked at as a good option for downtown living.

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Builders, Business Center, Concierge, Condo Updates, Courtyard, Elevator, Escala, Exercise Room, Game Room, Guest Suites, Home, Hot Tub, Lobby Entrance, MulvannyG2 Architects, Owners Lounge, Pilates/Yoga Studio, Pool-Indoor, Retail, Sauna, Seattle, Secure Parking, Theater, Thoryk Architects Tagged With: "featured", Condo, Condos, Escala, Seattle

Olive 8 Update

April 13, 2010 By jeff Leave a Comment

Periodically, I will update on the progress of some of our local condo projects. I’ve checked in with the sales team at Olive 8 for a few months and didn’t get much in response. On that note, they did get back to me tonight with an update. (Thank You!)

It came directly from Megan Hilfer at ParsonsPr (Olive 8‘s PR firm).

Here is an update for you about what’s been going on at Olive 8:

We have had 21 sales so far in 2010.

Our traffic numbers our competitive with other projects – an average of 65-70 visitors per week.

We have a month-long art show with Patricia Cameron Gallery that is kicking off with a party this Thursday, April 15^th from 5-7pm. There will be food and drinks, and a prize drawing. See Art at Olive 8 evite for more info.

21 sales since the beginning of 2010 is pretty good. In the next few weeks, I will be sure to see how many they have actually closed. Which we all know is a very different story. Either way, their success is important for all of us, so I hope their sales continue. For additional info on the project, I thought I would add a few links for your review:

Floorplans

Amenities

Photos

Location

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Business Center, Concierge, Condo Updates, Developers, Downtown Core, Exercise Room, Guest Suites, Home, Hotel Services, LEED Certification, MulvannyG2 Architects, Neighborhoods, Pilates/Yoga Studio, Pool-Indoor, R.C. Hedreen Company, Seattle, Spa Tagged With: "featured", Condo, Condos, Olive 8, Seattle condos, Update

A View From Escala

April 1, 2010 By jeff Leave a Comment

I took a series of pictures from the west facing “E” unit while at the Escala brokers open event last Thursday. I thought I would share them with you so that you can get a glimpse of what that west facing view would look like. Enjoy:

Amenities

Location

Floorplans

[mappress]

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Builders, Business Center, Concierge, Courtyard, Elevator, Escala, Exercise Room, Game Room, Guest Suites, Home, Hot Tub, Lobby Entrance, MulvannyG2 Architects, Owners Lounge, Pilates/Yoga Studio, Pool-Indoor, Retail, Sauna, Secure Parking, Theater, Thoryk Architects Tagged With: "featured", Condo, Condos, Escala, Seattle

Just In: Bellevue Towers Now FHA Approved

April 1, 2010 By jeff 1 Comment

Just in; I just received an e-mail from Bellevue Towers and they have announced that they are FHA approved. This is great news for a local condo project that has a large number of units to sell. Good for them. I hope this gives them some momentum as we head into spring. As I have said before, our Seattle/Bellevue market is much better off if we all succeed. See below for the details of the e-mail:

If you have any questions or want to schedule a tour, e-mail me at info@urbanimg.com

—-

Sales at Bellevue Towers are already off to a strong start in 2010 with 15 new offers in March alone and nearly 20 sales over the course of the past three months. Now with flexible FHA financing, buying a new home at Bellevue Towers is more attractive than ever:

Loan amounts up to $567,500

Down-payments as low as 3.5%

30-year-fixed and ARM rates

Qualification with a family member as co-signer

Our FHA approval arrives just in time to allow you to take advantage of federal tax credits and historically low interest rates.

Tax Credits: To qualify for the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers (or $6,500 for repeat homebuyers), you must purchase your new home at Bellevue Towers by April 30th and close by the end of June.

Interest Rates: With the Federal Reserve having stopped its purchase of mortgage-backed securities, interest rates are expected to start rising again from their current historic lows.

Now is a great time to take advantage of FHA financing to purchase a home at Bellevue Towers.

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Bellevue, Bellevue Towers, Builders, Concierge, Exercise Room, GBD, Hoffman Construction, Home, Lobby Entrance, MulvannyG2 Architects, Owners Lounge, Retail, Sauna, Spa, Storage, Terrace, Theater Tagged With: "featured", Bellevue, Bellevue Towers, Condo, FHA

My Latest Experience at Escala Condominiums

March 27, 2010 By jeff Leave a Comment

See More Pictures Here

For you any of you that have not seen Escala yet; do it! I highly recommend it. In my years of doing real estate it is one of the most interesting projects I’ve seen. From the grand lobby, the million dollar views and the all white penthouse 30 floors above the city, Escala at a minimum offers visions of grandeur.

While at the brokers open event on Thursday, I tried to summarize my experience on Twitter.com. ”Escala is the Upper Eastside of NY, with remarkable views, spacious layouts & luxurious amenities. It might not fit Seattle yet, but time will tell.” That 140 character summary was the best I could do with trying to capture the essence of a project that cost over $370 million to build. Trust me, it is not easy.

Everything aspect of the project was designed during some of the most successful years of our local real estate economy. That reveals itself as you experience the luxurious and excessive aspects of the 31 story project. You have thousand dollar furniture in the lobby a grand marble staircase, a magical chandelier and a second floor full of amenities that look like they could belong in some of the best resorts around the country. Amenities come at a cost. Since converting the amenity and club space to a “pay per play” system, they were able to reduce homeowners dues to $.53 per foot (originally $.80).

The next stages of our tour (on Thursday) was a guided walk-through of the modeled units as we headed up higher and higher and experienced the incredible views. Each condo was modeled differently and I often looked right past it as I was trying to get a feel for the units “finish level” and view corridor. If you have been reading this blog or any other condo blog in town you would have see a barrage of posts that had scolded the Escala for their asinine pricing strategy. I felt that since they have publicly announced the price reductions that I should look at the units with care and consideration. With that being said, let it be known that I was really impressed. I constantly challenge my assessments of each unit so that I could report back un-baisley.

I will leave you with four considerations:

1. Take a look at the Escala Home pricing below
2. Enjoy the pictures that I took while touring the project (see here)
3. Give me a few days and I will have all the video I shot at Escala uploaded to my Youtube.com channel.
4. Take a look for yourself this weekend. If you like real estate in general is a fascinating experience.

–

Escala Home Pricing:

A Plan, 1 bed/1.5 bath
Total Living SF 1,054
Floors 3-19 with North or South Views
Priced at $384,000-$554,000

B Plan, 1 bed/1.5 bath
Total Living SF 1,110
Floors 3-19 with East or West Views
Priced at $384,000-$554,000

C Plan, 2 bed/2 bath
Total Living SF 1,780
Floors 3-24 with NE, NW, SE, & SW views
Priced at $699,000-$1,124,000

D Plan, 2 bed + den/2 bath
Total Living SF 2,182
Floors 20-24 with North or South Views
Priced at $1,250,000-$1,450,000

E Plan, 2 bed + den/2 bath
Total Living SF 2,226
Floors 20-29 with West of East Views
Priced at $1,090,000-$1,625,000

F Plan, 3 bed/2.5 bath
Total Living SF 3,073
Floors 25-29 with NE, NW, SE & SW views
Priced from $1,600,000-$2,250,000

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Builders, Business Center, Concierge, Courtyard, Elevator, Escala, Exercise Room, Game Room, Guest Suites, Home, Hot Tub, MulvannyG2 Architects, Owners Lounge, Pool-Indoor, Sauna, Secure Parking, Spa, Storage, Thoryk Architects Tagged With: "featured", Condo, Condos, Downtown, Escala, Grand Opening, Seattle

Escala Sales Office Opens To The Public-March 27th

February 26, 2010 By jeff Leave a Comment

Hot off the wire, please read below for a notice from the Escala Sales team. As expected they are starting a pro-active vs re-active approach. Expect more details, but as you can see prices will start at $384,000. How do you think the market will re-act? I’m anxious to get your opinion!

YOU NEED TO CHANGE MORE THAN JUST PRICE IN TODAY’S NEW ECONOMY

Dear Jeff,

As a valued registrant, we would like to share with you details of the important changes happening at Escala Seattle. First and foremost, our pricing has been dramatically reduced. Below is a list of starting prices for our One, Two and Three Bedroom Homes.

1 BEDROOM, 1.5 BATH, 952sf Homes starting at: $384,000
2 BEDROOM, 2 BATH, 1607sf Homes starting at: $699,000
3 BEDROOM, 2.5 BATH, 2442sf Homes staring at: $1,574,000

In addition, we have taken a sustainable business approach to homeowner fees and services. The concept of Club Cielo, a five-star, 30,000sf club facility with outside membership, will now be available to Escala residents only. This decision has greatly reduced homeowner fees. All the while maintaining an unbelievable level of service and a greater level of security.

What does this mean to you? In place of a fully-staffed Bar, Restaurant and Spa we are moving to a User-Pay system. Whether you’re planning a private party for your 40+ guests, want to schedule a fitness trainer or masseuse on Thursday or simply want to book the screening room – all can be arranged through the concierge and Columbia Hospitality. Where costs are involved, those fees will bill directly to you instead of burdening the entire Home Owners Association. The fitness facility, resistance pools and changing rooms are always available.

There are many things that have not changed at Escala. These include access to an extensive amenity package, spacious homes with the largest decks of any downtown development and classic Seattle views. Combine all of that with Absolute-Value pricing and there is no other building like Escala in downtown Seattle.

Our sales office opens to the public on March 27^th, 2010. As an early registrant, we’d like to get you in prior to the March 27^th date. Call 206.816.6300 to schedule an appointment with one of our new sales professionals.

See you soon!

The Escala Seattle Team
1920 Fourth Avenue
Seattle WA 98101
t. 206.816.6300
e. info@somethingischangingatescalaseattle.com
w. somethingischangingatescalaseattle.com

Filed Under: All Condos, Amenities, Architects, Builders, Business Center, Concierge, Courtyard, Elevator, Escala, Exercise Room, Guest Suites, Home, Hot Tub, Lobby Entrance, MulvannyG2 Architects, Owners Lounge, Pool-Indoor, Retail, Sauna, Secure Parking, Storage, Thoryk Architects Tagged With: "featured", Condo, Condos, Escala, New Pricing, Seattle