3rd & Cherry, formerly Seattle Civic Square, is a planned tall, 57-story 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, United States. The residential high-rise, located near

Seattle City Hall Seattle City Hall (also known as the Seattle Municipal Building) is the home of the offices of the mayor and city council of Seattle, Washington, located between 4th Avenue and 5th Avenue in the downtown area of the city. Most city departments ha ...

and the

Seattle Civic Center The Seattle Civic Center is a building complex in Seattle, Washington whose original master plan was designed by Édouard Frère Champney in 1910. The complex comprises several buildings owned by the City of Seattle and King County, Washington, Ki ...

, will have 520

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 amenity spaces, including a public plaza at ground level and retail spaces. It was originally proposed in 2007 but has been delayed due to political and financial issues, undergoing several redesigns under various developers. It is set to be built by Bosa Development and open in 2026. The skyscraper is located right next to an entrance to the Pioneer Square station on Seattle's

Link light rail Link light rail is a light rail system with some rapid transit characteristics that serves the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit pro ...

network.

Triad proposal

The site, at 3rd Avenue and Cherry Street, was formerly home to the Public Safety Building, which was demolished in 2005. A 43-story residential and office tower, named the Seattle Civic Square, was approved in 2009, with developer Triad Development and a design team led by

Foster + Partners Foster and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the design ...

and GGLO. The original building plan included space for retail, offices, and residences, as well as a public plaza. The Civic Square project was put on hold during the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

as the developers search for financing or a tenant. In late 2015, Mayor Ed Murray announced he would not renew the contract with Triad Development after an employee of Triad's was accused of coercing

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...

candidate Jonathan Grant into settling a lawsuit with the Tenants Union of Washington over the renewal of the project's construction permit. A different group of displaced tenants filed a suit against the city and Triad, alleging special treatment from the city for the project; the suit was settled in October 2015, with Triad paying $5.5 million into a housing affordability fund if the project is built. Touchstone Development was granted Triad's interest in the project in March 2016, and began searching for possible tenants and financing.

Bosa proposal

In May 2016, Mayor Ed Murray announced that Touchstone would not continue developing the project, having failed to secure financing and tenants within the 60-day deadline. On October 28, 2016, Mayor Murray announced that Bosa Development would take over the contract and develop the building, paying into an equitable development fund and

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

. The project would be subject to design approval and could begin construction as early as 2018. Under the new deal, Bosa would pay $16 million to build a new condominium tower (with a new design) on the property, and contribute $5.7 million to an affordable housing fund. In 2017, Bosa unveiled their new proposal, designed by James K.M. Cheng, with no office space. The proposal, for a curving 58-story building with 423 condominiums and 586 parking stalls, went through repeated design changes during the review process. The project site and development rights were sold to Bosa in December 2019, but the project has not been granted a land-use permit . The shoring and excavation permit for the project was issued in March 2022 and Bosa announced that it would begin construction the following month. The tower was planned to open by 2026. In July, Bosa announced a pause in construction due to "price escalations" and a volatile market.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3rd and Cherry Proposed skyscrapers in the United States Residential skyscrapers in Seattle

Triad proposal

Bosa proposal

See also

References