by A $20.5 million parking garage with 500 stalls, planned for the park-and-ride lot in downtown Burien, has moved a big step closer toward the start of construction.
The King County Council adopted unanimously on Feb. 16 an ordinance approving both a ground lease of the county-owned parking lot to Alliance Wasatch I, LLC, which will build the garage on that site, and a lease back to the county of the parking facility upon its completion.
“I’m excited to see signs of progress on this project because connecting people to transit is a critical part of maximizing our transit investments,” said King County Councilwoman Jan Drago, who represents Burien.
“This is one piece of a [Transit Oriented Development] package that the King County Council will be addressing to help bring smart, green development to the heart of Burien and [Council] District 8.”
The existing park-and-ride lot with 300-plus stalls on the northeast corner of SW 150th St. and 4th Ave. SW is adjacent to the new Burien Transit Center – the first part of a three-phase Transit Oriented Development (TOD) project in Burien. The transit center opened last June.
Temporary transit parking during construction of the garage may be located at the old BBC Dodge site at 1st Ave. S. and SW 148th St. An arrangement for this currently is being negotiated.
King County Executive Dow Constantine was authorized by the County Council to execute final details of both the ground and project leases, and to approve certain other provisions of the lease–leaseback transaction.
Burien Economic Development Manager Dick Loman noted that the ground lease, which is expected to be dated April 1, “is subject to receipt of legal documents from Sound Transit, the Federal Transportation Agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy,” which are the county’s funding partners for the project.
After the County Council gives final approval to the project and the lease becomes effective, the developer will have 90 days to finalize construction financing and building permits.
Loman added that construction could begin by Labor Day, with project completion and the opening of the garage expected by July 2011.
He said the county “plans to exercise its option to purchase the parking facility upon completion.”
The final phase of Burien’s TOD – construction of approximately 100 affordable multi-family units around the outside of the five-story parking garage, with a sixth level underground – is expected to proceed after construction of the garage is completed as financing is available.
“Once the apartments are built, you won’t even know a parking garage is there,” Loman said. A lot of this housing is expected to be made available to new teachers in the Highline School District.
Retail and office space will be located on the ground level of the garage/apartment development.
by Although vacant commercial properties in downtown Burien are beginning to fill up with new and returning businesses, as we reported last week, a couple of big pieces still are missing.
None of the street-level retail space in the Town Square condominium complex at SW 152nd St. and 6th Ave. S. is occupied five months after the development opened, with no indication that any businesses are likely to move in anytime soon.
And a twice-anticipated hotel, which just a few years ago was expected to have welcomed its first guests long before now, still is just a dream.
So, despite all the encouraging news, what’s going on with these stalled commercial ventures?
According to Dick Loman, the city’s economic development manager, a combination of factors beyond the control of the city, Town Square private developer Urban Partners and other investors are at play.
But Loman is optimistic that these pieces will fall into place “hopefully sooner rather than later.”
With a number of hotels clustered in SeaTac and more in Tukwila, Burien, which is less than four miles from the airport terminal, seems like an ideal place for the next hotel development in this area, he said.
But while being first in a new location is seen as a marketing advantage for lots of businesses, the hotel industry – in which several properties often are located close together – considers “a pioneering effort” as having “a higher degree of risk,” Loman explained.
So Burien continues to wait for a hotel to come here. Still, there have been promising signs of interest.
In December 2005, Loman recalled, a Tacoma group signed a development agreement with Burien to build a hotel on the vacant city property at SW 150th St. and 2nd Ave. SW. Less than two years later, however, they ran into serious problems with a hotel already under construction in Lakewood and had to withdraw. The city released them from the contract.
A few months later, another group signed a letter of intent with the city to build a hotel at the same site. “But during the course of that process the financial markets began to drift,” he said. “They couldn’t proceed. There was too much risk.”
Despite these setbacks, Loman is optimistic. “I’m very confident that we’ll get a hotel here as soon as the market changes,” he said, noting several hotel chains have expressed interest in building in Burien in the future. “The demand is here. (A hotel) is needed. It will be a wonderful piece of our redevelopment.”
The wait to fill Town Square retail space may not last as long, but in the short term it’s a more complicated process. The primary problem is that leasing retail space in the complex involves working through the same maze with the construction loan that Urban Partners must navigate before condo units can qualify for financing.
“Urban Partners needs to talk to the bank, but they don’t know who (in the banking group) to talk to” right now, Loman continued. In the meantime, the developer tells him “yes,” businesses are interested in leasing this space. “But potential tenants want to know who (will hold the lease) before making a commitment.”
Although he has “no idea” how long it will take for Urban Partners to work things out with the banking group that now holds its construction loan, “I can’t imagine it will last more than 90 to 120 days. It’s too important an asset just to sit there.”
by With only five of the 124 condominiums at Town Square sold to date, more than five months after the grand opening of this complex in June, prospective buyers and those anticipating future downtown development in Burien wonder if condo prices might be lowered.
This question has been raised in the weeks since Chicago-based Corus Bank – the construction lender for Urban Partners, the private developer of the condo/retail complex in Town Square – was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Sept. 11.
Corus Bank’s deposits were sold, then the FDIC conducted a private auction for the remaining assets. Now Starwood Capital Group, TPG Capital, Perry Capital and WLR LaFrak have acquired an equity interest in a limited liability corporation that will hold the construction loans and real estate-owned assets of Corus.
“The $4.5 billion portfolio consists of more than 100 loan and (real estate-owned) assets linked to high-quality condominiums, multi-family housing, office properties, and land representing nearly 23 million square feet,” according to a recent news release from this investment consortium.
Urban Partners, however, has yet to comment publicly on whether it might reduce the prices of its Town Square condos – phase one of the planned Town Square project. A primary reason for this is that it’s not a simple matter of lowering those prices, despite the fact that the investment consortium purchased the construction loans of Urban Partners and others well below their original value.
Two or three or even more banks usually are involved in large construction and real estate loans, notes Burien Economic Development Manager Dick Loman. This, in turn, creates a slow and involved process for a developer to obtain permission from lenders before it can make a corresponding reduction in its housing prices.
In the meantime, Loman says, Urban Partners is “hanging in there. They’re not leaving town. They’re trying to do the right thing. I know that Urban Partners wants to meet the market, but they can’t act until they receive a green light for moving forward. This means that (Town Square condo) prices aren’t going to go down without permission from the bank.”
Burien City Manager Mike Martin emphasizes that “no public money is involved” in the Town Square condo-retail complex. “There is no financial to the taxpayers” because the Urban Partners’ development is privately financed.
But, he adds, “We do want to see them fill up sooner than later.”
Snapped today by Sales & Promotion Diva Janet Grella – the roof's on the new Burien Town Square! (a BTB Advertiser)
The B-Town Blog is proud to welcome its latest Advertiser – Burien Town Square!
Burien Town Square is that major new development in the heart of downtown Burien that’s changing the shape of the entire area.
You’ve probably seen the crane, driven past the workers and watched the amazingly quick progress of the growth – but have you really explored what’s going to be there?
At completion, Burien Town Square will have as much as 70,000 square feet of retail at the base of over 400 condominium units. The Square is situated on approximately 10 acres and includes a one-acre park, a brand new King County Library and the future Burien City Hall.
The centerpiece of the downtown B-Town revitalization, Burien Town Square will serve as a centerpiece destination for an untapped trade area of over 50,000 employees and nearly 100,000 residents with average household incomes of just under $80,000. When complete, the project will feature ample surface and garage retail parking throughout, making it easy to dine, shop and spend quality time.
We’ve personally toured the demo unit, and can say from experience that the residences at Burien Town Square are very nicely designed. 
There’s a mix of one and two-bedroom condominiums (some with dens), townhomes, and live/work lofts. And with open floor plans and plenty of light, views (look, there’s Mt. Rainier!) and a resurgent walkable neighborhood, this will be a wonderful place to call home.
All homes feature high-quality designs and finishes, with many upgrade options available. You’ll be proud to entertain here, and happy to spend time at home.
If that’s not enough for you, how about this: homes at Burien Town Square qualify for a 10-year tax abatement under the City of Burien’s tax exemption program. That means 10 full years of property tax savings to homeowners!
So click on their Ad in the lower right sidebar, check out their fun and highly-interactive website, and/or drop into their Presentation Center, which is open daily from 12 Noon to 6pm and located at 455 SW 152nd Street in downtown Burien (map below).
Or for more information, call (206) 901-0000 or complete their residential inquiry form.
Courtesy our friends at the Burien Library comes this slideshow of a behind-the-scenes sneak peak at construction on the new library (located at the Town Square project), scheduled to open in 2009:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
BURIEN – The Laramar Group, a real estate investment and management company, has acquired the Vintage Park, a 543-unit apartment property in Burien.
The property, located at 1101 SW 139th Street, will be renamed The Heights at Burien.
Currently, the site is called “One Thirty Nine at the Park,” and, according to its website:
“…is one of the largest apartment complexes in Washington. Located along Burien’s main stretch of roadway, this sprawling complex has more than 500 apartments.
A majority of the residents here are recent Mexican immigrants who speak only Spanish, as well as recent indigenous Mexican immigrants known as Tarascans, who speak a language which dates back to the time of the Aztecs.”
Opened in 1993, the New Futures site at Vintage Park consists of 4 linked apartment units that have been caringly converted into classrooms, computer labs, and family meeting areas. Painted with vibrant colors, the Vintage Park site is filled with the lively energy of its many neighbors, volunteers, students, and staff.”
According to the press release, Vintage Park is the 15th property acquisition for the Laramar Group. The property was acquired directly from the seller.
Constructed in the mid-1940s, the 543-unit apartment property comprises 44 buildings on a 25-acre site. Offering one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, the complex will apparently undergo a significant transformation, including property upgrades, renovations and the new property signage and logo (EDITOR’S NOTE: Should new signage and logo really considered an “upgrade”?).
Laramar plans a $12 million strategic renovation to the apartment interiors including the upgrade of kitchens and baths, new lighting and hardware and the addition of washers and dryers. Major improvements and updates to common areas will include new siding and roofs, upgraded playground and picnic areas and improved lighting, paving and concrete work. New amenities will include a new club room, business center and fitness center. Additionally, Laramar’s management team will implement new leasing and marketing strategies (EDITOR’S NOTE: we predict that the phrase “new leasing and marketing strategies” = RENT INCREASE).
More info:
BURIEN – The B-Town Boom looks like it’s got a potential Part II coming, as a three-acre area near Five Corners sold for $3.2 million to a private investor known as 162nd Street LLC, with plans to build a commercial and residential development.
Miller Creek Junction LLC sold the land for $3.2 million, or about $1 million per acre.
The site, located at 215 S. 162nd St., was free of improvements at the time of sale.
The buyer intends to build three office buildings and 46 town homes on the property.
Both parties were self-represented in the transaction.
SOURCE:
Photo of the new housing development above Three Tree Point, where the streets have no name.
Yet.
Ever wonder how street names get their, um…names?
We do too, so here are some suggestions we’ve come up with (make your own suggestions in the “Leave A Reply” section below):
- Impending Slide Street
- Wiped Out Woods Blvd.
- SW Deforestation Drive
- Raplewild Ave SW
