Work Under Way on New Seattle Apartments
Holland Partner Group, in partnership with Mesirow Financial Institutional Real Estate, had broken ground on 717 Dexter Ave. N. in Seattle.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Seattle—Holland Partner Group, in partnership with Mesirow Financial Institutional Real Estate, had broken ground on 717 Dexter Ave. N. in Seattle. The project includes 100 units incorporating townhouse residences and studio, one- and two-bedroom flats, and is located in the South Lake Union neighborhood.
Building amenities will include a resident club room equipped with game tables, a raised bar, a mezzanine level with a media room for gamers and movie aficionados, and a dog run. 717 Dexter will also incorporate a rooftop deck with views of Lake Union and the downtown Seattle skyline. The deck will feature a covered area for socializing, a fireplace and a variety of seating areas.
Holland is eager to take advantage of the expanding demand for apartments in Seattle and elsewhere. The 717 Dexter project is Holland’s third start in Seattle this year, with construction currently under way on 1200 Madison in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood and 901 Dexter, which is in South Lake Union. Holland is also developing properties in California, Oregon and Colorado.
According to real estate specialist Kidder Mathews, the Seattle area’s apartment vacancy rate is 5.3 percent as of the third quarter of 2011, down from a recent high of 7.2 percent two years ago. Few new units have come on line this year, and in its third quarter 2011 report, the company says that “rental rates have now recovered to pre-recession levels and both use and quantity of concessions have decreased, resulting in increasing overall effective rents.”
Lenders have noticed this as well, says Tom Parsons, partner in charge of Holland Development’s Pacific Northwest region. “Lenders were interested in supporting the 717 Dexter project because of the quality of the sponsor and the location of the real estate in arguably Seattle’s hottest submarket,” he tells MHN. Other factors, he adds, were “the overall size of the project and the design, which includes contemporary architecture and small workforce units.”
