$2.3B Spring District Development in Bellevue Breaks Ground

The Spring District, a 36 acre environmentally sustainable, mixed-use urban neighborhood in Bellevue, Washington broke ground this week as the new $23 billion project that is targeting the technology industry moves closer to completion. The City of Bellevue approved The Spring District Master Development Plan, designed for the old Safeway Distribution Center in the Bel-Red Corridor, in May of 2012, and this week Phase One began in earnest as the developers razed a big warehouse where Coca-Cola and other tenants operated until recently. Developed by Wright Runstad & Company and Shorenstein Properties, The Spring District will be developed block-by-block over the course of 15 years, with a light rail station ultimately connecting the community to Microsoft, downtown Bellevue and Seattle. When fully developed, The Spring District, designed by NBBJ, will total approximately four million square feet including three million square feet of office space, up to 1,000 multifamily residences, and ground floor retail spaces.

"We’re excited to launch The Spring District and create a new urban extension of downtown Bellevue, much like the Pearl District has extended downtown Portland," said Greg Johnson, the President of Wright Runstad & Company, in a press release. "Security Properties has done exciting projects in San Francisco, Ballard and Fremont that were specifically tailored to those communities, and we think that experience is a perfect fit for The Spring District." Notes John Marasco of Securities Properties, "We plan to work closely with the property owners and the neighborhood, to create something tailored to the location and the people who will live there. We don’t do cookie-cutter. Every development is tied to its neighborhood by art and design."

Phase One of the project includes the purchase of a 2.5-acre parcel at the southwest corner by Securities Properties for a 316-unit multifamily project, with an option to develop another 225 units on an adjacent parcel. Located at the intersection of State Route 520 and Interstate 405 in the Bellevue-Redmond Corridor, Phase One plans also include six office buildings and a two-acre park block. There are also plans to convert some of the existing warehouse areas into spaces suitable for an urban distillery or tap house, along with an ample landing pad and outdoor dining space for food trucks.

Bellevue-based Broderick Group is the broker responsible for leasing the first two office buildings in Phase One of The Spring District. "This first residential project will speak volumes to knowledge-based companies that want to offer their current and future employees the 24-hour, live/work lifestyle that can only be found in or near an urban core," said Jeff Watson, principal at the Broderick Group. "The ability to attract and retain the best talent is paramount for growing companies who increasingly view real estate as a potential competitive advantage, and The Spring District is well on its way to becoming a hub for innovative companies."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.