Documents obtained from the city of Bellevue reveal what Amazon’s Bellevue 600 project will look like and offer other details.
The development team, led by Seneca Group, states that Amazon would like to start construction of the first tower in 2021 and move into the 43-story building in 2024. In addition to the tower, the first phase includes a meeting center, commons space, retail and a potential daycare.
The second tower will be 33 stories and replace the Bellevue Corporate Plaza building, 600 108th Ave. NE. Timing of this phase has yet to be determined.
A six-level below-grade parking garage is expected to have 1,815 stalls, with 1,056 stalls built in the first phase and the rest in the second.
That may sound like a lot, but it’s actually less than the 2.0 stalls per 1,000 square feet of building that city code requires. Amazon is seeking a code departure down to 1.28 stalls per 1,000 square feet.
The project team wrote that the departure is based on a parking demand study that indicated employees were more likely to use transit to get to work rather than drive alone. The project is just north of the existing transit center, and a light-rail station is scheduled to open in 2023.
The development is designed to serve as a gateway to the city from the transit center and rail station, the project team wrote.
Sellen Construction is listed as the general contractor for the project, which architecture firm NBBJ is designing.
Gustafson Guthrie Nichol is the landscape architect.
“A significant outdoor plaza with lush landscaping in the middle of the block will … create a north-south pedestrian connection and serve as a place of respite for downtown workers, commuters, visitors and residents,” according to one document.
In addition, there will be a “major public open space” at the intersection of 110th Avenue Northeast and Northeast Sixth Street.
Other members of the team are Magnusson Klemencic, structural engineering; McKinstry, mechanical and plumbing design and energy modeling; and Stantec, electrical engineering.
Amazon already occupies one leased tower in Bellevue and is making plans to move into another, which until recently was the headquarters of Expedia, which moved to Seattle. Two projects, both of which Amazon has pre-leased, are under construction and total about 1.1 million square feet.
