In downtown Seattle, Grubb & Ellis measures just over 8.45 million sf in 34 planned projects--the largest being the 1.1-million-sf 801 First Avenue South by developer Martin Smith. The question on this project, as with most of those in planning, is: when?

Chris Vay a research analyst with the Bellevue office of Grubb & Ellis tells GlobeSt.Com while surveying developers for the report, "A lot of the people I talked to were uncertain about their start dates. Because of the down market and the small amount of preleasing that's been happening, they couldn't say when they would be able to start building."

The Grubb & Ellis report says planned projects on the Eastside well outweigh Seattle's numbers. Here, more than 11.1 million sf are under planning. And given the velocity of vacancies in the key city of Bellevue -- last clocked at 24.8% -- it's no wonder the majority of these projects have start dates that are "yet to be determined." Only seven of the 35 planned Eastside projects have estimated completion dates.

Even the Northend and Southend markets have developers planning for their futures with 1.4 million sf and 2.3 million sf, respectively, going through their predevelopment phases. In the Northend, a full 11 of the 20 are sporting completion times -- seven of them being Opus Northpointe Corporate Center buildings scheduled for delivery in January 2004.

The Southend submarket has a smaller total number of buildings in the planning phases -- only nine. But, some of their sizes are significant. Equity Office Properties is looking to construct the 781,000-sf Southport at 1101 Lake Wash. Blvd. N in Renton. Once again, however, there are no indications as to when construction could get underway. Another major endeavor planned is the Kilroy Airport Center that Kilroy Realty hopes to make a reality when the market once again turns. In its current format, the project at 1800 Pacific Hwy. S would be completed with 600,00-sf. Though, once again the "when factor" remains nebulous.

Instant Insights /

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