"We had a lot of ground water to deal with," says Thomas. "Fortunately we found a great soil engineer (CJ Shin in Kirkland), and McCarthy (one of two contractors on the project) just really got down and found ways of dealing with it."

The way turned out to be a lot of soil nailing, an alternative method of shoring, with a 30-foot deep cut that cost the project three weeks. "McCarthy did an absolutely great job and made up for the lost time. We're actually slightly ahead of schedule now. This is one of those occasions when there are lots of good things to say about the contractor," adds Thomas.

The project encompasses 140 residential units in two buildings located at the corner of Western Ave. and Cedar St. in the lower area of the Belltown neighborhood. A 10-story concrete high rise (being constructed by McCarthy) will house 98 rental loft units ranging in size from 720 sf to two-story suites as large as 1,200 sf. A five-story wood-frame mid-rise will consist of 42 suites. Express Construction Co. is the contractor for that building. Thomas says rental rates have not yet been set.