Rainier Square skyscraper, set to be second-tallest in Seattle, reaches its full height

It’s set to be the second-highest tower in all of Seattle—and as of last week, it already kind of is. The last steel beam was placed on the Rainier Square building on Fourth and Union Thursday in what’s known as “topping out,” meaning the structure’s reached its full height.

This 58-story, 850-foot building, designed by architecture firm NBBJ and developed by Wright Runstad & Co., features a unique swoop shape which some call similar to a champagne flute, shoe, or ice cream scoop. It’s meant to be complementary to the Minoru Yamasaki-designed Rainier Tower next door, which was built in 1977 and features a tapered base.

Inside, all that space fits a little bit of everything: office, retail, and residential. The lower floors contain 80,000 square feet of retail space, which will include a 20,000-square-foot PCC location and a gym. A whopping 722,000 square feet of office space was originally going to be entirely occupied by Amazon until the retail giant opted to sublease.

Courtesy of Rainier Square

The very top floors—41 through 58—will be luxury apartments, which the project team says will be the highest in the city, with resident amenities on 39 and 40. A hotel will be tucked in between the new and old towers in a 12-story building.

In August 2018, the project was among those stalled by a 17-day strike and picket by International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302. After the union reached an agreement with Associated General Contractors of Washington, the building shot up at a breakneck pace, going from basement to top-out in just 10 months.

As The Stranger pointed out, it technically surpassed the previously second-tallest building, 1201 Third, earlier this month once it surpassed 772 feet. The tallest building in the city still is, and will remain for the foreseeable future, Columbia Center, built in 1985 and standing 967 feet at its tip.

The building is scheduled to open about a year from now, in August 2020.