The estimated $360-million project includes a hotel, condominiums, retail and office space. Construction began in 2000 and was halted in August 2002 because of the economic downturn. If the sale goes through, city building official Gregg Schrader tells GlobeSt.com there is "a reasonable chance" that construction will restart later this year on one of the largest mixed-use construction projects in the nation.

In February, building permits for the project expired due to 180 days of inactivity but were promptly reissued by city planners, this time with approval to develop the project in phases rather than all at once. The permits were immediately reissued because Lend Lease, knowing it wouldn't likely restart construction in time, applied for them in October. With the new permits, Lend Lease or a new owner has until next February to restart construction and three years to complete it, a city planning official tells GlobeSt.com.

The first phase would be the 40-story hotel and condo tower, which also includes a very small portion of the 333,000-sf retail portion of the project. Also included in the first phase is tenant improvement work for the project's 2,100-slip parking garage, which is largely complete. The second phase is the retail portion of the project. The third phase is the 27-story office tower, which given the current office market may be several years in the making.

In January, ArcLight Cinema Company and Lend Lease terminated a lease agreement for an 86,000-sf movie theater that was to anchor the retail portion of the project, leaving a bank branch as the lone signed tenant for the project, which is located across from Bellevue Square.

According to the documents filed with the King County Recorder's Office, the movie theater terminated a 20-year pre-lease agreement with four five-year extension options for the ground and mezzanine levels of the retail piece. In 2001, when the project was in full swing, Drugstore.com worked out a deal to terminate its 90,000-sf pre-lease there after deciding it would not need the space.

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