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Overview

The Burrard Group of Vancouver, BC, commissioned Skanska to erect this $151.6 million, 374-unit condominium building at 1200 Howell Street in 04/2017. Weber Thompson was hired to be the architect of this 41-story, twisted-cube highrise.

Building History

Seattle's condominium market heated to white hot in the mid-2010s, when the Nexus Condominium Tower was announced. Curbed Seattle.com reported: "Several groups camped out overnight to ensure a first place in line while a crowd of approximately 130 were queued up by 11am on June 4th when the reservation event commenced. Prospective homebuyers were offered an individual home for priority presale with a price range for a $5,000 fully-refundable deposit to be held in escrow. Reservations will convert to a Purchase and Sale Agreement during the Fall of 2016, commensurate with the opening of a formal sales center and the ground-breaking of the development. NEXUS is scheduled for occupancy by mid-2019." (See Sean Keeley, Curbed Seattle.com, "Potential Buyers Camped Overnight For Shot at Nexus Condos," published 06/07/2016, accessed 09/05/2018.)

Construction on Nexus began in 2016, with construction topping off the tower on 03/14/2019. Completion was completed in the first quarter fo 2020. The project team included architect Amanda Keating, interior designer Bernadette Kelly and landscape architect Rachael Meyer. Nexus achieved a LEED Gold certification.

Building Notes

New Seattle rules for developers lowered the percentages of mandatory parking spaces required for new high-rise apartment towers located on or near transit lines. Nexus reflected the lower threshold for parking that developers had to install in new projects by the mid-2010s: "Of the 244 units reserved, 60 do not include parking stalls while 32 will share unassigned "Flex Parking" spaces via an app. Every other home reservation included at least one parking stall while larger condos have access to a second spot." (See Sean Keeley, Curbed Seattle.com, "Potential Buyers Camped Overnight For Shot at Nexus Condos," published 06/07/2016, accessed 09/05/2018.)

Seattle DPD's Director's Rule 11-2012 was put in place on 09/28/2012. "Currently, the city defines frequent transit service as 'transit service headways in at least one direction of 15 minutes or less for at least 12 hours per day, 6 days per week, and transit service headways of 30 minutes or less for at least 18 hours every day.' Onsite parking is not required for new buildings within a quarter-mile of areas with frequently-served transit stops." (See Lizz Giordano, Seattle Transit Blog.com, "City Pushes for Apartments Without Onsite Parking," published 02/23/2018, accessed 09/05/2018.) These rules were being reconsidered for locations being built outside "transit service headways."

According to a sales blurb put out by Realogics Sotheby International Realty.com for Seattle Business Magazine, "NEXUS is downtown Seattle’s most successful high-rise presale development having already sold 361 of the 389 homes with first occupancy scheduled for late 2019—the soonest amongst all the city’s new construction condominiums. Robust presales prompted the retirement of the NEXUS Sales Center in June 2018 as the developer, Burrard Group, focused their attention on construction. Having recently celebrated the 'topping off' of the 41-story tower, Burrard is now returning to market with the 28 remaining homes and has appointed real estate veteran Julie McAvoy to Project Sales Director with Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR). New listings include one-, two-, and three-bedroom condominium flats and Skylofts priced from below $1 million to more than $2.7 million." (See Seattle Business.com, "NEXUS Is Downtown Seattle's New In-demand High-rise Development," accessed 05/13/2019.)

Nexus contained 548,423 gross square feet and occupied a 14,400-square-foot site. It had 278,680 square feet set aside for residential usage and 3.658 for retail. It possessed 382 condominium units and 316 parking stalls.

The tower won several awards between 2017 and 2020, including: 2017 Gold Nugget Awards Merit Award Winner Best On the Boards Multifamily Community; 2020 Gold Nugget Awards Grand Award Winner Best Multifamily Community – 100 du/acre or more; 2020National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) Night of the Stars Awards High-Rise Residential Development of the Year; 2021 Multifamily Executive Awards Grand Award Winner High-Rise Project of the Year.

PCAD id: 21050