By MARC STILES
SEATTLE- University District Parking Associates, Inc. said it has selected Selected developer Touchstone and Atlanta-based Portman Holdings to lease two properties.
Touchstone and Portman said in a news release they are planning a mix of commercial office and retail “to help ensure that the University District neighborhood contains uses beyond new student housing.”
Plans for the long-term lease include a 190,000-square-foot commercial office building on Lot A (4530 12th Ave. NE and a 155,000-square-foot office tower on Lot B across the street at 4536 Brooklyn Ave. NE.) Each will have ground-floor retail and below-grade parking.
The developers said they plan to start the entitlement process this summer, with project completion scheduled for 2023, two years after the neighborhood light-rail station is scheduled to open.
“The addition of light rail next to the University of Washington and in the center of the U District neighborhood is a once-in-a-generation transformational opportunity. This creates the perfect time to reimagine these lots in a way that is consistent with UDPA’s mission and vision,” Touchstone CEO Pat Callahan said in the release.
The city upzoned the U District two years ago in anticipation of the 2021 scheduled opening of a light-rail station. Lots A and B are across from the station on Northeast 45th Street.
The area has seen a crush of student and other multifamily housing proposals, with construction of one tower underway. A hotel/apartment tower also has been proposed.
Touchstone and Portman’s plan is a continuation of the commercial office market north along the extended rail line. At Northgate Mall one rail stop to the north, nearly 1 million square feet of office is planned as part of a complete redevelopment by Simon Property Group.
Formed in 1944 by neighborhood businesses, UDPA’s purpose has been to provide affordable parking. With the upzone, UDPA conducted “a global search to find the most qualified development team to bring vitality and positive economic impact to the U-District,” UDPA President Don Schulze said.
Trinity Real Estate of Seattle advised UDPA on the transaction.
In March, the Business Journal first reported that Urban Renaissance Group, which is Touchstone’s parent company, was planning the two towers.
