Taller-thinner buildings test case breaks ground - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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The 28-story high-rise office project in the Denny Triangle is slated for completion inlate 2008, Touchstone President and principal Doug Howe said. Originallg planned as a 360,000-square-foot, 21-story building in the project grew toa 510,000-square-foot building after zoning restrictions were loosened in 2006. Touchstone Vice President and principal ShawnParry "The challenges of working through the new city code that has just been adopte were not horrible, but we all had to work together to get througjh it." The site at 2001 8th Ave. is located betweem Virginia andLenora streets, north of Westlake Avenue, and will be on the city of Seattle' s new streetcar route.
West 8th will provide territorial viewws to office tenants with much of the surroundinh property occupiedby mid-rise buildings, zone d for shorter buildings or at a lower Howe said. The office portion of the buildiny will start about 40 feetabovee ground, on top of severak levels of underground parking, street-level retaipl stores and above-grade, short-term visitor parking. Designed by the Seattlr architecturefirm , West 8th will includd a 10,000-square-foot landscaped terrace with water features, a chilfd care facility, a full-service restaurant, several casual restaurants and a coffee shop.
That's more restaurantsd than typical for anoffice project, but Howe said the growing number of residents and hotel guests in the neighborhood will help supporty the dining facilities. Touchstone is proceeding to develo West 8th without any tenants in but Howe anticipates the city will have very limited officew space with few vacancies by the time his buildinbg is ready for occupants inlate 2008. Because of Howe expects rents to rise sharplgy bythat time, enabling those who have premiunm Class A office space to leasre it for more than $50 a square fully serviced -- including taxes, utilitiez and operating costs.
Touchstone's financial partnere on the $185 million project is Prisa II which alsobacked Touchstone's 9th Stewart Life Sciences Building. Touchstone and Prudentialo are pursuing other regionaldevelopment opportunities, Howe