Ladies and gentleman, let's get ready to renovate!
Two competitors have entered the ring in a smackdown showdown for the right to be the master-development partner of a proposed $300 million makeover of Yesler Terrace. It's the opportunity to make your mark, as well as a whole lot of money, transforming 30 acres of World War II-era apartment buildings in First Hill into a modern community with as many as 5,000 residences, 900,000 square feet of office space and 153,000 square feet of retail and community space.
In this corner, Paul Allen's Vulcan Real Estate. The Sultans of South Lake Union says they want to do the same thing they did there to this project as well. Vulcan would partner with community development corporation Capitol Hill Housing in the effort.
In the other corner, a team consisting of Forest City Enterprises of Los Angeles and Jonathan Rose Companies, who between them have developed 47,000 housing units and 17M square feet of office space. These out-of-towners are no pushovers.
The city will be interviewing both teams next month and will then choose one to start negotiating with. The phased construction plan is expected to last as many as 20 years. Grab your popcorn and get ready to...wait a while.
· Vulcan team squares off against national bidder for big Yesler Terrace assignment [PSBJ]
· Vulcan on shortlist to renovate Yesler Terrace [Seattle Times]