ESCALA New Construction Photos

Wow, have we have been lucky with the weather.  We were fortunate enough to have fairly blue skies while taking a hard hat tour of ESCALA today with John Midby.  Since there is yet to be any interior walls at the construction site, it’s really difficult to paint the picture of what everything will look like.  Therefore, our photos are focused on the amenity space, quality of construction, and views.

After climbing up and around a little boys hot wheel car playground paradise, we entered the enormous lobby.  Midby pointed out the where the winding staircase will attach to the 3rd floor.  The long-time developer assured us the staircase would be, “smashing.”

From here, we went down the east wing of the building where there will eventually be a plush lounge and fireplace for guests and residents to relax.  Which restaurant will occupy the northern portion of the luxury development is still up in the air.  However, based on the chuckle and “we don’t know yet” response by John, there’s plenty of interest.

One of things that was most impressive about the tour was not only the views and the spacious floorplans, but just the amount of concrete.  Before our exit, John stated that, “We want the quality of our work to represent everything we do.  We spared no expense on quality.”

With much of the construction materials scattered about, it was difficult to get a good shot of the spectacular views for those who have, or will be purchasing units in the northeastern corners.  However, there’s a straight shot down a corridor that will give these homeowners a spaceneedle view.  In addition, many of those same floorplans will offer homeowners lake views.  Personally, I really enjoyed the view down 4th Avenue which is shown below.

And these guys…  They just wanted to say hi to mom, dad, and the rest of the fam.

We’ll follow up this post soon with renderings of the amenities, which are not yet ready to be released.

Mosler Lofts Getting Soaked in Legal Disputes

A puddle of lawsuits have been reported in the P.I. since we last posted about the $6.7 million lein on Mosler Lofts last week. A battle between who’s responsible has erupted between JE Dunn and the Schuster Group. The Schuster Group has responded to JE Dunn claiming that they (Dunn) were in breach of contract for substantial and costly delays.

Additionally, more liens on the property have flowed over to subcontractors and suppliers.

In its lawsuit, Belltown Development Partners says it paid JE Dunn for subcontractors’ work and materials suppliers furnished, but Dunn did not pass on the money.

If that wasn’t enough, another lawsuit filed in December is asking the developer for a minimum of $325,000 to repair damages to the Kroll’s Map Co.–Mosler Lofts neighbor. The claim is asking to compensate Kroll’s for lost business and physical damages from not properly protecting the building during construction.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like anyone will be swimming out of this one anytime soon.

Mosler Lofts Slapped with $6.7 Million Lien

General contractor JE Dunn NW is preventing the purchase or sale of any units at Mosler Lofts by filing a lawsuit to collect $6.7 million. The letter below states that the lawsuit could take weeks, months, or even years before the settlement restores homeowners titled rights.

The immediate impact of this situation on our homeowners and potential homeowners is that they will be unable to obtain clear and free title to transfer ownership or receive title insurance – no buying, no selling, no use of equity as collateral.

This is an unfortunate circumstance for those who have, or have been thinking of buying at Mosler Lofts. The award-winning building is one of the first to set the standard on building green in Seattle, and we should all cross our fingers that the lawsuit is settled quickly for the benefit of it’s homeowners.

Details regarding what JE Dunn NW is specifically holding the lien for could not be found.

click to image enlarge

ESCALA – 1920 4th Ave., Seattle, WA 98121

Address: 1920 4th Ave., Seattle, WA 98121
Neighborhood: Downtown

CONDOS FOR SALE

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DESCRIPTION

Everyone has talked, blogged and heard about it. Lead by Escala’s visionary, John Midby of Las Vegas real estate development group The Midby Companies. John Midby is also a principle of Seattle based LEXAS Companies known for their national development of mixed-use residential developments. Also on the team is structural engineers Cary Kopczynski and Company, Seattle’s own landscape architects Weisman Design Group Inc., San Diego’s Thoryk Architects and Seattle’s MulvannyG2 Architects. Interior design by DiLeonardo whose portfolio includes the Ritz-Carlton in Egypt and Crowne Plaza in New York. The 330 foot luxury high-rise will include 274 homes and range from 900 to 4,500 square feet with the lower exterior will be covered with stone, precast concrete, and Greek columns with decorative cornices. Penthouse units up to an amazing 16,000 square feet. Amenities include 25,000 square feet consisting of a private club with exercise room and spa, theater, bar and lounge, wine cave and membership to Club Cielo Private Social Club. In addition to luxurious amenities, homes themselves feature a private elevator entrance, hardwoods throughout and Bosch appliances.

PICTURES

VIDEO

BUILDING DATA

• Year Built: 2009
• Number of Units: 274
• Number of Stories: 31
• Exterior: Cement/Concrete
• Parking: Common Garage
• Pets: Subj to Restrictions
• H/O Dues Included: Central Hot Water, Earthquake Ins., Garbage, Water/Sewer
• Common Property Features & Amenities: Cable TV, Concierge, Exercise Room, Lobby Entrance, Pool-Indoor, Security Gate, Spa, Social Club, Theater, Wine Cave

NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS

• 5th Ave Corner Cafe
• Avis Rent-A-Car
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Ben Bridge
• Borders Books & Music
• Cold Stone Creamery
• Coldwater Bar & Grill
• Diamond Park 2
• Il Fornaio
• Macy’s
• Mariners Team Store
• Pacific Place
• Quality Food Market
• Rite Aid 319 Pike
• Sleep Country USA
• Westin Hotel

VIEW NEIGHBORHOOD MAP

ADDITIONAL OPINIONS & REVIEWS

*Data is deemed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. In some cases, number of units may include commercial and residential spaces and/or height may or may not include a 13th floor.