Overlake 7-Story Office Building With Three Levels Of Underground Parking

"ESTERRA PARK BLOCK 3"

Project Overview

The project incorporates a 7-story office building with 3-levels of underground parking 

For more information on this project:  Notice of Application Project Details (PDF)

6-Story 330-Home Esterra Building In Overlake

Project Overview - Under construction

Avalon Bay Communities is designing a six-story, 330-home building on block 8 of Esterra Park. Block 8 is across NE Turing Street from the Park at Esterra Park site. The design for the building includes a ground-level courtyard that opens to the side facing the park.

The New "Esterra Neighborhood" Of Overlake Urban Center

And, we think the Downtown is sprouting 6-story multi-family mixed-use buildings ... Don't discount the 988 home "Esterra Neighborhood" of the Overlake Urban Center just up the hill.

• Two 6-story buildings are under construction totaling 545 apartments ("homes")
• An 8-story tower with 212 "homes" under construction; hotel
• 5 and 6-story buildings totaling 231 homes under construction
• 7-story Office building with 3-levels of underground parking.
• Park 
• And this is just the beginning - 13 buildings in all

I'll be posting a description of each building next week, including sketches.  If you can't wait, check out the city's "Project" page here.  

-- Bob Yoder

East Link Light Rail construction update

This clip shows you the magnitude of the East Link Light Rail ST-3 project and why it's so expensive. The video ends before the Eastbound 520 exit to Redmond's Overlake Station.

According to the City, "an Eastbound SR 520 Ramp Split, a months-long project will add a new Eastbound 520 exit directly to NE 51 Street in place of the currently combined exit to NE 40 and 51 Streets  It's expected to be complete this week. The City of Redmond’s contractor will work nights beginning Monday, May 6 and the dedicated off-ramp to NE 51 Street is anticipated to open on Thursday, May 9. Construction began in September 2018 and went into a short winter shutdown until dry weather allowed for the final re-channelization.

The Eastbound SR 520 Ramp Split is based on the ramp split concept implemented in 2015 along Westbound SR 520 at NE 51 and 40 Streets. That project has successfully reduced congestion compared to the old combined ramp exit."

For questions and more information contact Jackie Lalor, Communications & Marketing Supervisor, at jlalor@redmond.gov or 425-556-2209. 

Redmond Overlake Village Station construction

credit/ Ryan Bianchi

This photo shows the concrete pour at the future Overlake Village Station’s pedestrian bridge over SR 520 

Ryan Bianchi, of the Sound Transit Outreach Division spoke at the Senior Center's "first Friday Coffee Chat" at 10 AM last week.  He's was (and is) helpful in getting us up to speed on our Redmond East Link Extension.  His Facebook page is an excellent source of information and a great way to comment on the projects.  

Ryan Bianchi

Community Outreach Division
206-398-5070

Facebook, Twitter, Flickr

www.Soundtransit.org/redmond link 

 

860 new residential units planned for Overlake - 130 affordable

APPROVAL
LAND-2018-00010, Esterra Park, Block 6B
Neighborhood: Overlake
Description: 2 buildings with 260 units; Building A includes 130 affordable 
housing units; Building B includes a YMCA day care &130 market rate units 
Location: TBD, parcel number 6448900030 
Applicant: Scott Clark with Clark | Barnes 
Staff Contact: Cameron Zapata, 425-556-2480 or cazapata@redmond.gov
Review Materials:  Memo   Design Deviation   Materials

PRE-APPLICATION
LAND-2018-00566, Esterra Park, Block 2A/2B
Neighborhood: Overlake 
Description: 8-story multi-family building with 600 apartments
Location: 15300 NE Turing Street
Applicant: Larry Flack with Runberg Architecture Group
Staff Contact: Cameron Zapata, 425-556-2480 or cazapata@redmond.gov
Review Materials:  Memo   Materials

8-story Overlake project in planning stages

PRE-APPLICATION
LAND-2018-01083, Modera Overlake
Neighborhood:  Overlake
Description:  New multi-family residential building with 246 units and 
associated leasing office, resident amenity areas, parking and exterior courtyard 
Location:  15260 & 15248 Bel-Red Road
Applicant:  Darrell Turner with GGLO 
Staff Contact:  Scott Reynolds, 425-556-2409, sreynolds@redmond.gov
Review Materials:  Memo     Materials

"Modera Ovelake" is under review by the Design Review Board.  The building will 8 stories tall with 2 stories of parking below grade and two stories above.  The project is mixed-use with 178 residential units and 4,000 s,f, commercial.  The project is on 1.41 acres, bound by Bell-Red Road to the east and south and NE 121st to the north.

Approval of this project is in the Pre-Application stage.  Color is one of the aspects of this building under review.  Contact Scott Reynolds with your comments.

Source:  Design Review Board agenda 

Make Your Voice Heard on Sear's Redevelopment Plan

You may have heard that there is a large, multi-year redevelopment plan being proposed by Seritage Growth Properties for the Overlake Sears location.  After several months of City Council review, the public is now encouraged to provide formal feedback at a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, June 19, 7:30 PM, City Hall.  Extensive project materials are available at City of Redmond

Suggested topics:  transportation, bike travel, mobility, affordable housing, affordable services, parks, building design and height, performance center, transit services, landscaping, connectivity to Bellevue and Downtown Redmond.  

The proposal calls for the redevelopment of the approximately 13 acre Sears site for a mixed-use development that includes:

• 500 multifamily units
• 210 room hotel
• 100,100 square feet of street level retail space
• 23,000 square feet of market/food retail space
• 266,800 square feet of office space
• 62,700 square feet of restaurant space
• 2,245 stalls of underground parking
• And approximately 2.1 acres of parks and open space

Special thanks to Tom Hinman for his community outreach efforts and keeping us informed of the Seritage re-development plan.

Mayor Marchione's 2018 State of the City Address

Mayor Marchione is way underpaid.  His salary is ~$137,000.  In contrast, the Communications and Community Engagement Director at Lake Washington School District is paid $169, 285 and only works 10 months a year.  Nine Associate Directors are paid $153,800 per year.

This video is a must listen even if you see only the first 5 minutes.  

Light rail connecting the Overlake Village to the Redmond Technology Center is well under way

NE 148th is in the foreground.  The light rail piers are paralleling SR 520.

This photo was taken by me on 148th Avenue NE, just south of NE 29th Place on the SR 520 bridge sidewalk.  It's my understanding the three concrete piers will support light rail from the Overlake Station to the Redmond Technology Center station. (RTCS.) Completion is expected by 2023.  Once the link extension is complete it will be 10 minutes to Bellevue and 30 minutes to Seattle from RTCS.

It's my understanding the three cranes in the distance are in Overlake Village. 

The light rail will continue from the RTCS to the SE Redmond Station and on to the Downtown Station located across from Redmond Town Center. Completion is targeted by 2024. It's anticipated the East King County Regional Aquatics Pool and recreation center will be located near the SE Redmond Station.

B. Yoder

Updated: Road bikes, ebikes, and bike shares are a wave of the future in Overlake

 View of "Redmond 148" from the southwest.  According to
Senior Planner David Lee it includes two stories of underground parking.
The only access is from the north

OPINION  Completion of this "Redmond 148" structure is targeted for late 2018.  It's located on 3040 NE 148th and will be a significant hub for bicycle commuters. If you look under the 3rd traffic light you might see a trail head.  The trail travels counter-clockwise around the building to Redmond with access to the Microsoft campus along the way.

The 520 Bicycle Trail from Seattle to Bellevue and Kirkland is behind me so you have to take the crosswalk to get to the Redmond 148 trail head.

A bicycle connection to 520 Bicycle Trail is planned nearby which will provide residents with an easy connection to the Microsoft campus and Redmond via the pedestrian-bicycle bridge to be built over SR 520.

Road bikes, ebikes, and bike shares will be a wave of the future in Overlake.  I have a PIM ebike and will be riding it on the 520 Bicycle Trail during Redmond's Bike Bash.

B. Yoder

Eight-story Modera Overlake project-design is under review, public is invited to comment

Internet photo

This project is under review by the City's Design Review Board (DRB.)  The DRM is appointed by the City Council and is comprised of five professionals and two residents who volunteer their time and represent the community at large. 

The purpose of the Board is to make urban decisions that will promote visual quality throughout the City  DRB meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month at 7 pm in the City Council Chambers. Planner Gary Lee manages the meeting. 

If you have questions or want to receive updates on "Modera Overlake Apartments" and other projects e-mail Gary at glee@redmond.gov.  

The "Modera Overlake Apartment" project address is 15260 Bel-Red Road.  The site is near Aero Rent A Car next to Brown Bear Car Wash and across from Jimmy John's.

CITY LETTER TO THE DESIGN REVIEW BOARD:  "This first "Modera Overlake Apartment" pre-application meeting is to learn about the applicant’s (Modera Overlake) development concept, and to provide input regarding design issues the Board and staff will be interested in addressing through further design development.

With the two new buildings across Bel-Red Road, in Bellevue, and being that this might be the 1st new building in Overlake Village, Staff would like to ensure this building sets a good design direction and tone for this sub-neighborhood. Staff is also concerned with how the south and west façades of the garage will be clad/treated as they will be 2-stories tall near the property lines, as these sides will not be wrapped with commercial or residential space. 

The applicant (Modera Overlake) is proposing an 8-story building, which is possible in this zone with the use various incentive techniques, including the payment of in-lieu fee for plaza dedication, Green Building Incentives, subterranean parking, and provide housing above the minimum required. At this bulk, wire-frame, study stage, staff is concerned with massing, façade and roof modulation, and exterior façade material selection.  [Color schemes and other items will also be studied.]

OPINION: The Redevelopment of Sears Plaza is Something to Ponder

"Redmond is growing faster than many of us imagine, especially in the Overlake Urban Center.  A 14-acre Urban Village coined "Seritage"  will transform  Sears Plaza into office space, a hotel,  residential, commercial, retail and a large park.  High rise buildings are a possibility.  

Click this link to discover the magnitude of this village:   https://www.redmond.gov/595/Seritage

·       The buildings will reach 9 stories and  include both commercial space, hotel and residential units. 

·         When built, the project will generate over 13,000 vehicular trips a day. Currently planned, the developer-funded road improvements are minimal, in fact the traffic study states traffic will improve when the project is completed. The cities of Redmond and Bellevue will bear the burden of road improvements as part of their infrastructure plans)

·         There will be 2,300 parking stalls (vs. around 1,000 today). 

·         There is an already approved project next door (KCC Limited Edition) that will result in 885 homes, 173,000 square feet of office, 28,000 square feet of retail, an 80-room hotel. Adding new, larger project to the area will likely multiply the impacts of this development.

If any of the design assumptions on the project are not correct, it is likely that the traffic gridlock in the area will intensify. The best way to influence the project is to get informed and provide comments to the city either at the meeting or via email. After all, there are 10,000 of us in Overlake today (in Bellevue and Redmond both) and many have a perspective on proposed development and its impacts.

Updated: Sears store in Overlake urban center proposed for major redevelopment

By Tom Hinman, Facilitator

Imagine Overlake

For those of you who wondered what was to become of the Sears site in Overlake, here's the answer.  The development company Seritage has proposed a project that covers a 14 acre parcel that includes a park (over the new storm water vault) in a master planned mixed use development. View the project design HERE.  It's amazing.  The project, known as Heritage Place, has been approved by the Design Review Board per information linked below and will be the subject of an initial Redmond City Council study session on January 23rd.  There will be another study session on March and a public hearing on this development a bit later on.

The "Overlake Neighborhood" Is Booming

It appears "flat top" buildings are envisioned for the Overlake Urban Village

Woah!  Downtown construction of the 6-story rental buildings and the couplet road conversion are totally distracting us (at least me) from what's going on in the Overlake Urban Center. To catch up, I'll be posting a series of reports on this "neighborhood" over the next several weeks.

Right now, Education Hill is the most populous neighborhood in the City.  Soon the Downtown will be the most populated; finally in the end, Overlake will be number one.  Five thousand new homes and 95,000 new jobs are are expected between 2010 - 2030.  Overlake is the third largest jobs center in Puget Sound!  Light rail will arrive in six years further stimulating growth.

Yes, the 9-story twin towers proposed for the old post office site are tall but be prepared for Overlake! Commercial buildings are zoned 8-10 stories and residential buildings, 8-12 stories. According the city's old Overlake Urban Center web page seven projects have already been completed.

A few months ago Steve Fischer, City Development Manager, gave Council a status update on projects currently underway:

1)  Capstone Lofts Hotel, 274 rooms, completed by this summer.

2) Avalon Block 4, 230 apartments, partially occupied, near 152nd.

3)  Red 148, old Asteca site, 244 units, 24 "affordable," [Impact fees:  fire $46,872, park $686,984, transportation $360,000]

4) Block 7, partially occupied, 260 apartments and about 13,000 square feet of retail

5 ) Lincoln Park:  Blocks 5, 6A, 9 -- 156th Ave. NE & NE Turing St.  3 multi-family housing buildings:  6-story w/ 215 homes, 8-story w/ 212 homes, 6-story, w/ 231 homes, just starting, 150,000 cubic yards removed.

6) Avalon Block 8 on NE 24th & 152nd, 330 units, just starting, 25,000 cubic yards removed.

More to come...

Bob Yoder

Imagine Overlake, by Tom Hinman

Imagine Overlake –

Did you know that the Overlake Village Park being discussed at City Hall on January 15th is only the first of three parks to be developed in Overlake over the next 20 years?  More than 9 acres of parkland will eventually be built to provide the level of service needed as that neighborhood grows.  How these three community resources complement each other to create a “place” in Overlake should be considered as the first park planned for Overlake Village.  Read More >>

Council approves final funding phase of Downtown Stormwater trunk line - Second $20 Million Overlake trunk line planned

Redmond City Council unanimously approved two City Department of Natural Resource (DNS) funding projects in their September 19th Consent Agenda.  DNS is a division of Public Works with focus on controlling and treating stormwater run-off.

•  $4,434,639 was approved for the final phase of the Downtown/Redmond Way Stormwater Trunk Line. 
• $68,800 was approved to hire a crew of six Washington State Conservation Corps workers to restore and maintain 45 acres of stream habitat associated with city capital improvement projects.

Work on the Downtown/Redmond Way Stormwater trunk line started July, 2011.  Total costs are over $20,000,000 to completion, including a treatment facility at McRedmond Park.  The pipe follows the Burlington Northern Railroad Corridor including spurs from 166th Ave to 83rd Street and 170th Ave to Avondale Way.  A total of 7000 feet of trunk line is laid upon completion including removal of 6300 railroad track and street restoration including 30 ADA approved sidewalk ramps. 

The Marchione Administration has a second $20,000,000 stormwater trunk line project planned for the Overlake Urban Center.  It includes an underground vault the size of three city halls on the eastern parking lot of Sears.  Redmond stormwater rates pay for this infrastructure and are some of the highest (if not the highest) in the region.  Just look at your city water  utility bill. 

Developers have been slow to move into Overlake at this report and Council President Pat Vache' is looking for stakeholders to step up and lead.   Marchione held an August Council study session which included talk of competing with Bellevue by changing zoning once again.  Are enormous stormwater projects clogging redevelopment?   BY 

City of Redmond asks community to celebrate Arbor Day....Can we?

Redmond inadvertently mutilates these five Trees near the 91st Bridge

City asks community to celebrate Arbor Day on April 11...can we?

'Celebrate Arbor Day and the importance of Redmond’s trees and forest ecosystems' on Wednesday, April 11 at Farrel-McWhirter Park with a restoration work-party 3:30 pm to 6pm.

“Taking care of our community forests demonstrates the City’s ongoing commitment to the preservation, protection and enrichment of our environment,” notes Teresa Kluver, Park Operations Supervisor. “Preserving our trees and forests is vital to maintaining our quality of life and working to build a better future. I hope residents will want to take part in this effort.”

How is the Redmond community supposed to celebrate Arbor Day when the City breaks their own tree preservation law and allows a 100% clear-cut of trees on their 28 acre Group Health Overlake project? 

To compensate for 100% clear-cutting of 1000 trees, Group Health commits to planting 3,345 trees and 31,220 shrubs, but where?  Read More >>

Picture Story of Group Health Overlake Center Trees, by Max Feingold

Picture Story of Group Health Overlake Center

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Max Feingold publisher of Cat's Paw Images, Blog  "Exploring the Seattle Area Camera in Hand"

In 1871, Warren Wentworth Perrigo and Captain Luke McRedmond became the first white men to stake a claim and settle the land that would become the city of Redmond.  Read and See More >>

Photo and Story by Max Feingold

These pictures tell the story eloquently. Hopefully, they will help decision-makers realize what they’ve got in this urban jewel before it’s gone. Enough of paving paradise! We can have the transit-oriented village AND a good percentage of these beautiful trees; they are not mutually exclusive unless the only consideration is profit.  Thanks for all the work you put into this post.
-- Comment by Katheryn, Reader of  "Cat's Paw Images - Blog"