Helios, also known as 2nd & Pine, is a

residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

skyscraper in downtown

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. The 40-story tower is tall with 398 luxury

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

s. Plans for the project were first proposed in 2013 and construction began in late 2014. It is located at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Pine Street near the

Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott B ...

and the city's retail core. Architects Weber Thompson and GBD Architects, working on the project in a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

, described the tower's design as "slender and sculpted". It sits atop a

podium A podium (: podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of a ...

, housing of retail space, with a terra-cotta facade. The building also includes

Zipcar Zipcar is an American car sharing, car-sharing company and a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group. Zipcar provides vehicle reservations to its members, billable by the minute, hour or day; members may have to pay a monthly or annual membership fee i ...

parking spaces,

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point, chargepoint, or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a power supply electrical device, device that supplies electrical power for recharging plug-in electric vehicles (including batter ...

s, bicycle parking, low-energy appliances, and other environmentally-friendly features in a bid to earn a

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

rating. The five-story, 217-stall underground

parking garage A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...

extends north from the tower's lot to a site that is occupied by a 16-story

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

that opened in 2018.

History

The site at 2nd Avenue and Pine Street was originally proposed for a residential tower developed by Paul Brenneke and planned to break ground in 2006. The tower would include a five-story hotel, an upscale athletic club, or a

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...

department store. Brenneke's plans were scrapped after a new downtown zoning ordinance was approved in 2006, and a new, 23-story, $200 million

mixed-use Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

highrise named "1 Hotel & Residences" was proposed by Brenneke and

Starwood Capital Group Starwood Capital Group is an investment firm headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida. It is managed by Barry Sternlicht. It was co-founded by Sternlicht and Robert Faith in 1991. In 1993, Faith left Starwood to found Greystar Real Estate Partn ...

. The proposed building would have 98 luxury

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

s and a 110-room

as well as four floors of retail at ground level and a luxury gym. The project broke ground in 2007 and was expected to be completed in 2009, but construction was halted in September 2007 because of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, and designs were revised to eliminate over 100 proposed condominium units after only 20 of them had been sold. Brenneke sold his stake in the project to Starwood in June 2008, citing the project's financial difficulties. The excavated hole was later filled in 2009 and paved over with a

parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...

. The half-

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

property was bought by

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based Equity Residential in 2012 for $22 million, and the company announced its plans for a 39-story apartment building in January 2013. Construction of the building, led by

Turner Construction The Turner Construction Company is an American construction company with presence in 20 countries. It is a subsidiary of the German company Hochtief. It is the largest domestic contractor in the United States as of 2020, with a revenue of $14.4 ...

, began in October 2014 and was completed in 2017. A 16-story, 229-room hotel on the north side of the lot, facing Stewart Street, was proposed by Widewaters Group and began construction in 2016. It opened in 2018 under Hilton's Charter Hotel brand and includes a rooftop bar. It was sold in 2022 for $107.8 million to a Utah-based company.

References

External links

Equity ApartmentsConstruction camera via Turner ConstructionWeber Thompson profileGBD Architects profile
{{Seattle skyscrapers Residential skyscrapers in Seattle Residential buildings completed in 2017 2017 establishments in Washington (state)