Seattle Stars Take on High-end Condos

The full-block development will help connect the famous Pike Place Market to the Retail District.

By Meaghan O'Neill -- Interior Design, 9/21/2006

Earlier this year, Seattle developer Paul Brenneke announced that the Second + Pine condominium development, scheduled to break ground this winter, will feature “high design sensibilities” along with a slew of amenities and services located in its base, including a hotel, sports club, day spa, retail shopping, urban market, and restaurant. The full-block development, which expects to be open for residency in late 2008, will play a part in connecting the famous Pike Place Market to the Retail District.

"It's been a long time coming,” says Brenneke, “and we're happy to see this, along with other major developments, reshape the neighborhood to become what it should have always been–the singular center of gravity for the city."

To encourage interest in the building, Brenneke has hired seven interior designers to work on as many penthouse town homes, which crown the 23-story structure. Known as the "Seattle Seven," the designers include Steven Hensel of Steven Hensel Design Studio in collaboration with Eggleston Farkas Architects, Nancy Burfiend of NB Design Group, Christian Grevstad, Rocky Rochon of Rocky Rochon Design, Dixie Stark of DA Stark Interiors, Garret Cord Werner, and Jeff Lamb of Sienna Architecture Company.

The group will present their creations as part of a private designer showcase this fall for the media and buyers interested in presales. (More than half of Second + Pine has been reserved for presales.) Each designer was presented with a raw, two-story volume with views of the city and Puget Sound. The town houses range from about 2,200 to more than 6,800 square feet; each is unique in terms of orientation and layout.

Below the penthouses, 91 condominium flats were designed by Yabu Pushelberg, as were the common spaces for both the residences and the hotel. "Our goal is to create a project that sets a new standard for hotel design on the West Coast, while harmonizing with Seattle's relaxed approach to urban life," says Glenn Pushelberg, co-founder and principal at the New York- and Toronto-based firm.