Second phase eyed for Washington Square

September 4, 2009 2:09 pm
Washington Square’s second phase will involve the lower left portion of the site plan and the top right area.
Washington Square’s second phase will involve the lower left portion of the site plan and the top right area.

Wasatch Development, which has completed two condo towers in downtown Bellevue, is in negotiations with a development partner for its second phase.

That project is seen at a mixed-use development of about 650,000 square feet that would include parking. This second phase development would run from Northeast Ninth Place south along 106th Avenue Northeast to the intersection of Northeast Eighth. Work could begin in 2010, subject to city of Bellevue approval.

Wasatch’s first phase, Washington Square, has been completed and includes two condo towers with 353 condominiums and 26 town houses. The first tenants began moving in at the beginning of 2008 and the project received its final completion certificate in 2008. The two towers are now over 51 percent sold and closed.

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Wasatch’s property sits on the 10-acre superblock just east and adjacent to Kemper Freeman’s Bellevue Place and Bellevue Square on Northeast Eighth Street.

For the second phase, Washington Square also is seeking out a “Best in Class” development partner to design and build a 270-350 unit CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) with approximately 850,000 gross square feet on the northeast corner of the Super Block.

Washington Square is one of the first high-rise luxury condominium projects in Bellevue to get a stamp of approval from Fannie Mae, and the organization is working on getting a similar stamp of approval from the Federal Housing Administration with the help of mortgage companies such as Bank of America, US Bank, Wells Fargo and MetLife.

Wasatch officials say having these stamps of approval means that buyers can put less money down, get a better interest rate, and have more lenders to choose from.

With the Fannie Mae stamp of approval, condo buyers can get a mortgage with as little as 10 percent down. When the project gains FHA approval, the project becomes more attractive, as borrowers can put a minimum down of 3.5 percent.

Prices at Washington Square range from $450,000 to $2.8 million.

More information is available at www.washingtonsquareliving.com.