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South Lake Union’s 4th Annual Block Party- August 8th
2008-05-06 01:54:00
We are a little far out but for those definitely living or working in SLU, put this in your planner! For a full day of outdoor fun and entertainment for all, the South Lake Union ’s 4th annual Block Party is back this year on Friday, August 8th from noon to 11pm.  It will be held on the SLU Discovery Center lawn located at the NW corner of Denny and Westlake and will be the perfect opportunity to relax, meet your neighbors, sample food from several SLU restaurants, watch local chefs battle it out in the Whole Foods Audacious Burger Challenge, listen to local bands, watch a movie (Juno) and participate in the 2nd annual Muttmazing Race. Click here to visit the official Block Party website for additional information.
More About: South Lake Union

Monday Mortgage Update
2008-05-06 01:20:00
“KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.” It’s a phrase used by many, and last week was an important one to be in the know, as Bonds and home loan rates were affected by many big newsmakers and market shakers. Bonds and home loan rates found some improvement in the early part of the week, leading into the Fed’s big announcement on Wednesday of another .25% cut to the Fed Funds Rate. Typically, Bonds and home loan rates react poorly to Fed cuts, due to the increase in economic activity that lower Fed rates can cause, which turns into higher inflation. However, the Fed’s Policy Statement hinted that the present rate-cutting cycle may be nearing an end. As a result, Bonds and home loan rates reacted favorably to the Fed’s action. However, speaking of inflation, the Fed’s most favored measure of it - the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure Index - arrived on Thursday, showing core inflation at 2.1%, just a whisker above the Fed’s desired range for inflation...
More About: Mortgage , Update , Monday

Discovery Center at SLU- One of the Top 10 Green Projects in the U.S.
2008-04-24 02:00:00
The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment announced their picks for the Top 10 Green Projects in the country for 2008 and Seattle’s Discovery Center in South Lake Union was one of the projects selected. The Discovery Center was designed by Miller/Hull Partnership, constructed with more than 80% of environmentally friendly and recycled materials and completed in 2005.  If you haven’t visited the center it is located on the corner of Denny and Westlake (101 Westlake Ave), houses the sales offices for Rollin Street Flats, Veer Lofts and Enso, and also has tons of information about the future of South Lake Union.

Four Seasons Milestone- Removal of the Tower Crane
2008-04-22 03:03:00
Today it was announced that the Four Seasons tower crane was disassembled and the project is right on track for fall 2008 occupancy.  Curious as to how they removed it? “To disassemble the tower crane, general contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis stationed one of the West Coast’s largest mobile cranes to the west of the building, along Western Avenue.  Transportation of the mobile crane’s parts to the site required 14 semi-truckloads.  Operators used the mobile crane first to remove the jib, counter jib, mast and operator’s cab, and then to dismantle sections of the tower crane from top to bottom, finishing with removal of the crane’s base. The tower crane’s components will be hauled away in 12 semi-truckloads.  The mobile crane reached 300 feet from lower Western Avenue to the top of the First Avenue building, making it the highest, longest “pickâ€� in the area.  Lease Crutcher Lewis can now finish the interior spaces the crane had occupied on eight of the 21 floo...
More About: Tower , Milestone , Four Seasons

Monday Mortgage Update
2008-04-22 02:28:00
“THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH CHANGE, AS LONG AS IT IS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.” ~ Winston Churchill. And there were some big changes indeed for Bonds and home loan rates last week - but not necessarily all in the “right direction”. For most of the week, Bond prices were pummeled lower, causing home loan rates to rise - and even after a Friday afternoon rally, home loan rates worsened by about .25% for the week overall. One silver lining…some of the abuse that Bonds took was at the hands of somewhat positive economic news. Remember that positive or strong economic news tends to benefit Stocks, which in turn can pull money out of Bonds - which causes Bond prices to worsen and home loan rates to rise. So when news hit of a far better than forecast Retail Sales Report and much better than expected earnings reports from giants like Google, the financial markets responded by flowing money over into Stocks, and right out of Bonds, causing home loan rates to ri...
More About: Mortgage , Update , Monday

McKean Condominiums in Queen Anne- NOW OPEN
2008-04-07 19:42:00
The McKean is an intimate vintage conversion featuring only eight 762 square foot one-bedroom homes encased in an original 1929 brick exterior.  While the building has been completely re-wired, re-insulated and re-plumbed, each unit features authentic original hardwood floors and window frames, as well as the original hex-tile bathroom flooring and refinished cast-iron tubs. Kitchens have been fully remolded with espresso-stained cabinets, slab granite counters, gas range, stainless appliances, tile floors and finished with crown molding detail.  Most homes enjoy spectacular views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains and the building itself offers reserved off-street parking and additional storage for each home! Pricing starts at $334,950 and the McKean is now officially open for weekend tours from 12pm-6pm.  For more information, visit their website or call 206-340-2287.
More About: Open , Queen Anne , Queen , Anne , Condominiums

Monday Mortgage Update
2008-04-07 18:44:00
“I KNEW THE RECORD WOULD STAND UNTIL IT WAS BROKEN.” ~ Yogi Berra A record was broken on the job front last Friday as the Labor Department reported a much worse than expected loss of 80,000 jobs in March - the greatest jobs loss reported in five years. In addition, revisions to both January and February’s Jobs Report delivered an additional loss of 67,000 jobs - that’s on top of the previously reported loss of 85,000 jobs for that two-month period. And…the story might be even a bit gloomier than it already appears. The Labor Department uses a lot of averaging to help it come up with its numbers more quickly, but this practice can skew the current picture significantly. Think of it this way - and because it’s now baseball season, here’s a Baseball analogy - let’s say that mid-way through the season, a red-hot hitter with a batting average of 340 declines into a bad slump for several weeks. While he now can’t even hit a basketball...
More About: Mortgage , Update , Monday

NEW Listing!
2008-04-04 04:53:00
I have absolutely fallen in love with this house!  We have been preparing the house to hit the market for a little over two weeks now and every time I visit, I find myself walking throughout the rooms and ending up in the backyard thinking “what a great house!�  It has been very very well maintained, offers a great use of space, and the backyard is a perfect place to relax, work or play.  For a buyer who is looking to purchase a solid home with an opportunity to do a little customizing, this is the perfect investment and home.  -Ash   Click here for more details       
More About: Listing

Lake Union Park’s First Phase Grand Opening Celebration- April 30th,
2008-04-01 09:17:00
Join Seattle Park s Foundation, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and friends to celebrate the first public opening of Lake Union Park.  On April 30th, the public will be able to walk across the pedestrian bridge to 1.6 acres of green space embraced by Lake Union and relax on the terraced steps overlooking the water. Enjoy a free salmon bake, live music, boat rides, historic vessels, educational activities, demonstrations, and prizes.  Explore the first phase of Lake Union Park and see plans for the entire 12-acre park which will be open in 2010. Click here for more details!
More About: Celebration , Opening

30 Townhomes Proposed for Queen Anne High School Gym Site
2008-04-01 09:02:00
There were two offers submitted for the 1.1 acre site at 1431 2nd Ave N, one of which was proposed by Lorig for $7.5 million with plans to construct approximately 30 Victorian-style townhomes at the old Queen Anne High School gym site. The real estate development and management firm, plans to start construction upon closing on the property in the fall of 2009 and complete the project a year later. According to Ron English, the district’s deputy general counsel and property manager, Seattle Public Schools will be considering the purchase and sale agreement on May 7th and should be finalized in July of this year. Lorig originally converted the old Queen Anne High School into apartments, restored The Victoria, a 1920’s apartment building into condos in 1998 and are currently developing 200 West Highland (now selling from $1.3M to $4M!) …click here to read more!
More About: Site

Monday Mortgage Update
2008-04-01 07:52:00
The Bond market will gravitate towards news from the job market this week, with employment information due to arrive on Wednesday and Friday. Although Wednesday’s ADP Employment Report has a history of being somewhat unreliable in predicting the “official” Jobs Report number, Bond traders will still try to use it to predict what the Department of Labor’s report will show on Friday. And this week, the estimates are negative - meaning no job creations are expected, net job losses are what is anticipated - so any positive reads could be good news for Stocks, but bad news for Bonds and home loan rates. So…surprise, surprise…more volatility for Bonds and home loan rates is likely in store, between the ADP Report release on Wednesday, and the arrival of the Jobs Report on Friday morning. Remembering that when Bond prices move higher, home loan rates move lower - you can see that the chart below shows some good news. The black line indicates a “f...
More About: Mortgage , Update , Monday

Site on 2nd & Virginia- FOR SALE!
2008-03-28 23:23:00
The site that sits next to the Cristalla on the northwest corner of 2nd & Virginia is now for sale.  The Justen Co. and Columbia West Properties did have plans to build a 40-story condo tower along with another “sister� tower across the street, but now Columbia West wants to sell the land and “buy income-producing properties� according to the listing agent, Jim Klinger (GVA Kidder Mathews).  The southwest corner of the 2nd and Virginia intersection is still slated to become a tower comprised of 182 condos, 135 hotel rooms, 2,000 square feet of commercial space and parking for 300.  Click here to read more!      
More About: For Sale , Site , Sale

5th & Columbia Tower- To be the 5th Tallest in the City!
2008-03-25 03:11:00
Thanks for the heads-up Thomas! Looks like there will be a new addition to Seattle’s skyline- 5th & Columbia Tower .  The 43-story office building is slated to become the 5th tallest building in Seattle and will be “designed to honor, rather than overpower, those venerable neighbors” said historic-preservation advocate Kevin Daniels of Daniels Development.  The uniquely slender tower is to have four triangular planes set at different angles and will fit right in with the Library just a couple blocks down.  And for those of you wondering about the First United Methodist Church…the future use has not been decided but will be renominated for landmark status, and any use “will preserve the sanctity of the building — no condos.”Click here to read more!  
More About: City , In the City

Monday Mortgage Update
2008-03-25 02:45:00
“DARLING, I DON’T KNOW WHY I GO TO EXTREMES…TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW, THERE AIN’T NO IN-BETWEENS…” Billy Joel The financial markets endured another week of extreme bipolar behavior, with enormous intra-day mood swings that normally wouldn’t be seen over the course of several weeks. While Bonds and home loan rates wildly rocketed higher and plummeted lower on a daily basis throughout the week, fixed home loan rates ended up improved by about .25% for the week overall. And last week…the action started unusually early, stemming from some almost unprecedented weekend actions by the Fed. Last Sunday night, the news broke that the Fed had not only decided to make a move to lower the Discount Rate by .25%, just two days ahead of when their normally scheduled announcement would arrive, but also that they had helped facilitate the bailout of investment giant Bear Stearns. The 85-year-old company had its stock purchased by JPM Chase at $2 per shar...
More About: Mortgage , Update , Monday

Downtown’s First United Methodist Church: SOLD for $30M!
2008-03-19 06:45:00
  It was just reported that Fifth & Columbia Investors LLC has purchased the Seattle First United Methodist Church for $30 million. The transaction also includes a building that was built in the 50’s (will be demolished for office space) and a building that was built in 1908 located between Marion and Columbia on 5th Avenue.

 I haven’t been able to seek any additional information on the plans for the beautiful church that many 5th & Madison residents enjoy, but will report as soon as I get word!
More About: Sold

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
2008-03-17 21:49:00
Thought I would peruse my favorite international listing site, Properazzi, for castles in Ireland…Kenmare Bay 7 bedroom castle FOR SALE- €10,000,000! Featuring: - Moat with drawbridge - Grotto style swimming pool complex with sauna and steam room - Harbour with floating jetty - Elevator  - Reception Hall - Drawing room with Minstrels Gallery - Conservatory - Study Click here for more details- Happy St. Patrick ’s Day!                         
More About: St Patrick

Monday Mortgage Update
2008-03-17 20:52:00
So if you love all the excitement, drama, intrigue and crazy volatility of late…you’ll love the week ahead, as it is loaded full with market movers. We’ll get the latest readings on the health of the manufacturing and housing sectors, but the main event will take place on Tuesday when the Federal Reserve announces its latest interest rate decision and Policy Statement. The Fed is expected to cut the Fed Funds Rate by another .75%. However, as we’ve seen following every Fed rate cut in the recent cycle, chances are very good that Bond pricing will worsen following the cut…which results in higher home loan rates. This happens because Fed rate cuts help to stimulate the economy, by making it less expensive to finance personal and business purchases…and this in turn fuels inflation, the arch-enemy of fixed return assets like Bonds, which home loan rates are based on. So a word to the wise - if you or someone you know has been ready to move forward ...
More About: Mortgage , Update , Monday

Mannequin Scare?North of Lake Union
2008-03-13 20:29:00
  I know there have been some recent mannequin sightings?but the Townhouse Mannequin Clan (TMC) seems to be taking over several townhomes north of Lake Union .   Check it out?laughed for a good 5 minutes and not sure what to think! 
More About: North

Seattle Condo Tour: April 5th & 6th
2008-03-13 18:54:00
For those of you, wanting a chance to visit some of the newer condominium projects in Downtown, Fisher Communications is holding its 2nd annual Seattle Condo Tour April 5th & 6th.  The tour will officially start at Fisher Plaza, participants will be shuttled to and from the condominiums, and those who visit 6 or more properties ...
More About: Nightlife

What Should You Do With Your Tax Rebate?
2008-03-11 22:02:00
The government’s Economic Stimulus Plan has been in the news a lot lately, and the $168 Billion package is intended to jumpstart the economy by distributing tax rebates that should be arriving in your mailbox as early as spring. The question is: what should you do with your rebate check? The info below can help ...
More About: Lifestyle , Rebate

Trophy Tower- 2,800 SF Parcel, 43-Story High-rise in the Denny Triangle
2008-03-11 21:18:00
Seattle-based, Pb Elemental has an award-winning portfolio of luxury townhouses, single-family homes and small condominium projects, but recently decided to take on a much bigger project- Trophy Tower .  The 43-story, ultra-luxury tower will be position on a 2,800 SF lot at Court Place and Howell Street in the Denny Triangle.  There will only be 19-units priced ...
More About: Story , High , Rise

Housing Slump Concerns First-Time Buyers
2008-03-04 01:53:00
A colleague of mine passed this article to me this morning- click here!  It is a piece on why the housing market has scared off first-time buyers (falling prices, foreclosures, loan approvals, on and on) and also touches on how it has momentarily affected the rental market. The National Association of Realtors reports that hundreds of ...
More About: Time , Market trends , Housing , Buyers , First Time

KIRO 7, 6pm Eyewitness News- Seattle?s Urban Density
2008-03-04 00:49:00
Thanks for the heads up CosmoSeattle : Sounds like tonight at 6pm, Kiro 7 will be investigating new Land Use laws in the Downtown /Denny Triangle neighborhoods?will be an interesting piece so don?t miss it!  
More About: News , Urban , Condominiums

Monday Mortgage Update
2008-03-04 00:27:00
Here we go again…another action packed week in store, with the main event being Friday’s monthly official Jobs Report. This report is always of high interest, as it gives a good read on the health of the economy. Boiled down simply ? if businesses are hiring, it means their outlook is good for the future ...
More About: Mortgage , Update , Monday

Escala Rises Above 4th Avenue!
2008-02-29 00:16:00
Sitting at Lola having breakfast three weeks ago, I couldn?t even see hardhats emerging from the deep eight-floor hole but now they are on to pouring the mezzanine level that will soon be the 25,000 SF Club Ceilo!   Here is a shot from their webcam?check it out!  Just a reminder: Escala- Occupancy May 2009 - 31 floors - 275 condominiums - ...
More About: Midtown , Avenue , Condominiums

The Four Seasons Update- Seattle?s Most Exclusive Address
2008-02-28 02:45:00
On this gorgeous day, I had the privilege to meet with Molly Gleason for a hardhat tour of the Four Seasons Hotel & Residences and I must say that the project is moving along quite nicely!  The building topped out in December 07 at the 22nd floor, windows are now being installed and they are ...
More About: Seattle , Exclusive , Update , Address

Monday Mortgage Update
2008-02-26 04:05:00
Last Week in Review    “AH SUGAR…AH HONEY HONEY” The Archie’s made this the top song of 1969, and in fact, it was the only song recorded by a fictional band to ever reach #1. And like a child who has been overloaded on candy, Bonds have been “bouncing off the walls”, and appear all “sugared up”. Bond ...
More About: Mortgage , Update , Monday

The Parc #328- Offered at $349,000
2008-02-26 03:03:00
- Click here to view more details and photos!
More About: Belltown , Condominiums , Property Type

UrbanAsh Confidential- What I have been up to?
2008-02-20 02:40:00
A lot of good things are in the pipeline for Spring 2008 and over the past month I have been cranking away on new projects, taking on more listings and trying to balance all and everything in between.  Obviously I have had a little trouble keeping up with the posting, but the clouds have parted ...
More About: Madison , Condominiums

Downtown Living: Update on AVA & Congrats to Wendy!
2008-02-19 04:33:00
  AVA | retail district New condo tower debuts at ?State of Downtown ? event    AVA will feature an outdoor heated pool and lounge deck with cabanas for entertaining.      AVA, a new high-rise condo development, is another step closer to being fully realized.      The development team recently received its Master Use Development Permit with the unanimous support of the Seattle Design ...
More About: Living , Update , Wendy , Condominiums