…and the “Best of the West” Award Goes to:

We are delighted to present to you a press release just sent to us by Nyhus Communications.  And, we’d like to add, Congratulations!  Well deserved!

Seattle’s Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue Earns Two Prestigious Awards in the “Best of the West” Development Competition
Pacific Coast Builders Conference Highlights Ongoing Success for the 440-foot Condominium High-Rise

SEATTLE – June 23, 2009 – Opus Northwest, today announced that its Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue condominium development in downtown Seattle received two honors at the 47th annual Gold Nugget Awards.  At the awards ceremony – the premier event at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference – Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue won the top award for “Outstanding Attached Project – High-Rise for Sale” and received an “award of merit” in the category of “Sustainable Residential Neighborhood – Attached Home.”  Another Opus project, Canvas LA, won an award of merit for “Residential Community of the Year – Attached.”

The Gold Nugget Awards program honors creative achievements in architectural design and land-use planning for residential, commercial and industrial projects.

“Relevance keeps the Gold Nugget Awards at the forefront of design/planning competitions, as our 2009 winners demonstrate,” said Judging Chairman Peter Mayer of Peter M. Mayer Productions.  “The Merits and Grand awards represent an amazing diversity of locales, projects and design and planning firms.  Gold Nugget winners share one common denominator: excellence and innovation in addressing complex design/build issues.”

During a three-day judging process, a panel of eight industry professionals from across the country selected Award of Merit honorees and Grand Award winners from a field of hundreds of entries representing 14 Western states and international high-rise markets as far away as China and Dubai.
Judges acknowledged a long list of design innovations at Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue, including:

• The first “tall and skinny” residential tower under a new zoning code (440 feet tall)
• Elimination of traditional terraces in favor of indoor/outdoor solariums
• Unobstructed views of Elliott Bay from almost every home (even those on the east side of the tower)
• Larger-format, two-bedroom homes averaging 1,950 square feet (twice the size of typical condos)
• The first luxury high-rise anticipated to achieve a “silver” LEED rating

All new concepts were exhaustively test-marketed during the tower’s design and were key differentiators leading to impressive sales statistics today.  The project was designed by Seattle-based architectural firm Weber Thompson and Opus Architects & Engineers is the architect of record.
“We’re very proud of both the design and our ongoing market success,” said Andy Taber, Senior Real Estate Director for Opus Northwest – Seattle, who accepted the awards on behalf of his development team. “These acknowledgments reinforce the civic role that developers play – to challenge convention and to listen to the marketplace when designing new communities.”

Taber says with an average purchase price of more than $1.9 million, homes at Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue are bucking the trend of a regional housing market slowdown, which is more acute in higher price ranges.  The project’s sellout pace since opening in January remains steady at one new home per week, bolstering its reputation as the most successful condominium on the West Coast.  The development, near Pike Place Market, was also noted for contributing half of the top 25 residential sales closed in King County in recent months.  To date, 81 of the 143 homes have closed with many more scheduled over the coming weeks and months.

1521 Second Averaging One Home Sale per Week!

Nyhus sent out a news release yesterday stating that Fifteen Twenty-One has been:

…a beehive of unit closings, homeowner move-ins, construction punch-lists and new homebuyer tours.

138 out of the 143 total homes sold during the presale process with an expectable amount of attrition to follow.  There have now been 63 of a 120 pending which have now closed.  The remaining units are scheduled to close in the next several weeks/months depending on time of customization buyers had made.  More good news is that several unit appraisals have come in higher than purchase prices.

“Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is unique and continues to demonstrate impressive demand today–just like it did during presales,” say Jones (Dean), who is representing the project.  “Buyers can separate individual developments from generalizations about the broader Seattle marketplace.  Success stories such as this demonstrate that real estate is, and always well be, intensely local.”

Club Cielo Wins Gold Nugget for Best Specialty Project

ESCALA has been awarded yet another award for prestige. This time for the private social club which is the first to open in Seattle in over two decades. The award was given from over 500 entries submitted from over a dozen Western states. You can view the entire press release here.

Photos of Bellevue Towers Topping Off

Although the Eastside isn’t our primary focus, condos and high-rise towers are. Therefore, we couldn’t help but to share these impressive photos of Bellevue Tower we received from Nyhus. Even though nobody from our team was able to make it, an Account Executive with Nyhus provided us with a couple of highlights from the event.

More than 40 people attended the topping out event yesterday, including buyers, Mayor Degginger and members of the development team.

When our guests arrived at the 43^rd floor, Scott Eaton, Principal with Gerding Edlen Development, developer of Bellevue Towers, thanked everyone for coming. In his welcome, Eaton recognized the development team for their leadership in bringing this project to life and he thanked the future residents in attendance, who he said are the early adopters of a new lifestyle option–living in downtown Bellevue. It is a lifestyle Eaton predicted will only become more popular as downtown Bellevue continues to grow. Eaton said Eastside community leaders showed they had great vision when they recognized the opportunity to create a great residential neighborhood, expanding upon the city’s success in focusing on office and retail uses for so many years. He talked about the comprehensive, community visioning process for downtown a few years ago, which led to the establishment of an entertainment district well as zoning changes allowing for ambitious, creative new developments, all of which is furthering Bellevue’s emergence as a real city.

Eaton then introduced Bellevue Mayor Grant Degginger, who he thanked for helping to steward Bellevue’s success. Mayor Degginger talked about the excitement that is being generated by all the development happening in Bellevue, and he credited Bellevue Towers’ future homeowners for being a part of the city’s downtown transformation.

Then, on a signal from Eaton, the north tower crane operator flew in the final bucket of concrete, which the project team released into the forms for the final slab on the top floor and glasses were raised for a champagne toast. Many guests lingered; taking in the view, chatting with their neighbors and members of the project team, and signing their names in the fresh concrete. Following the topping out ceremony, guests were treated to a special tour to see interior finishes going into some of the units that will be ready for occupancy in November 2008.

Photos

…guests gathering on the top floor of the South Tower for the event.

…bucket of concrete being flown in by the north tower crane operator.

Gerding Edlen Development Principal Scott Eaton recognizing the development team and thanking the future Bellevue Towers homeowners, who he called the early adopters of a new lifestyle option, that of living in downtown Bellevue, which he predicted would only grow in popularity as Bellevue grows.

Mayor Grant Degginger making a short speech about the bright future for downtown Bellevue, which continues to attract investment, jobs and residents, making it a thriving city.

Bellevue Towers will be home to 540 eco-luxury residences, a Purple Café and Wine Bar and other restaurants.  Other amenities include a 25,000 square foot urban garden, a private screening room, a large dining room with terrace and kitchen, a fitness center, a spa and sun deck, and a library and great room that open to an expansive outdoor terrace and fireplace.  Additionally, each building will have its own 24-hour concierge service.  Bellevue Towers is seeking LEED Gold certification for environmental sustainability and is the tallest residential-only development in the region.  It is also the only local project to be developed by the national leader in green buildings, Gerding Edlen Development.  More information is available online at www.BellevueTowers.com.