SEATTLE — Despite the economic upheaval of the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic or the virtual construction standstill amid a local concrete strike over the last five months, property development in downtown Seattle seems unstoppable.
City documents show a three-building project, which was initially proposed in early 2020, is moving forward with a land-use application submitted in August 2021.
The plans focus on the two blocks just north of McGraw Square, with designs for one building to sit adjacent to the historic Lloyd Building at Stewart Street and Sixth Avenue.
The new project, which has been dubbed SIXO by the owner Kilroy Realty Corporation and its partners, would demolish the current Bank of America building which sits adjacent to McGraw Square.
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The concrete plaza, home to the John Harte McGraw statue as well as the South Lake Union Streetcar’s southernmost stop, would neighbor a new 30-story office building with retail on its ground floor.
Designs for the potential $130 million structure include parking for at least 200 vehicles.
Across Sixth Avenue, the SIXO project proposes an 18-story office building with retail on the ground floor as well as changes to enhance the Lloyd Building, which is a designated Seattle landmark.
In the preferred design, the new building will be completed with an element called a “spatial stitch,” which will connect the new structure to the existing older building. The designs include connecting each floor of the new and old buildings in an effort to build harmony, according to the proposal.
City records show the builders expect the two new buildings and rehabilitation of the Lloyd Building to cost at least roughly $200 million. A design proposal for the residential tower on the corner of Stewart Street and Seventh Avenue has not been released.
In a presentation for the Downtown Seattle Association, the developers said the entire three-building project looks to include around 600 housing units and roughly 900,000 square feet of office and retail space.
Kilroy Realty said it hopes to be able to start the first phase of the development before the end of 2023 once the design review and initial permitting processes are complete.
The proposal comes as a number of other massive projects have begun taking shape across downtown, including a new nearly 60-story high-rise across from City Hall.
Comments can still be shared on the new SIXO development on the city’s Department of Constructions and Inspections website.