SEATTLE-Developer Legacy Partners has launched construction of its 247-unit Legacy at Pratt Park, a mixed-use apartment complex on the former site of the Wonder Bread factory in the Pratt Park district of Central Seattle. The development, which will include with 6,500 sf of street-level retail along with a pedestrian-oriented street design, will restore the city's iconic neon Wonder Bread sign.
The six-story project is located on the 1800 block of South Jackson Street, directly adjacent to the five-acre Pratt Park. The Wonder Bread factory operated at the site beginning in 1916, and in 1952 the 16-foot neon sign become a beacon for the Central Area neighborhood. The factory closed in 1999, and the property remained vacant until Legacy bought it in 2006.
Plans to restore the sign emerged from Legacy's discussions with representatives from the community, who expressed their desire for the sign to remain, according to Kerry Nicholson, Legacy senior vice president and partner. He says the developer's plans will return the sign to its original location atop the new building, with upgrades including a dimmer switch and modern neon bulbs that eliminate the neon sign's "hum."
The Legacy at Pratt Park units will include live/work lofts, studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as some penthouses. The building will include a rooftop deck open to all residents, and more than 70% of the units will feature private decks or patios. The project is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2009
Legacy's development history in the Puget sound includes nearly 40 years of building residential and commercial projects, including its conversion of the historic Queen Anne High School into condominiums.Nicholson says that projects like the Pratt Park apartments and the Queen Anne conversion underscore its intrest in "unique and historic properties."
Legacy arranged equity for the Legacy at Pratt Park development from BlackRock Realty and Legacy Partners Residential Development Inc., with construction debt financing from Bank of America. Sienna Architecture Co. is the project architect, with Legacy Partners Builders Inc. as the general contractor.
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