Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Seattle includes a spa and fitness center, outdoor terrace pool and water-view restaurant and lounge.

Premier Business Partners:

Puget Sound Steel

The Seattle Hotel Group is the project’s developer. Its partners include Columbia Hospitality CEO and President John Oppenheimer, former Seattle Mayor Paul Schell and Madrona Venture Group Managing Director Tom Alberg. Paul Zumwalt is the owners’ representative.

Four Seasons had managed its original Seattle hotel, The Olympic Hotel, since 1982. It was the ninth Four Seasons hotel in the United States. Since Four Seasons left The Olympic in 2003, Oppenheimer, Schell and Alberg have led a group of local investors determined to bring Four Seasons back to Seattle. “After 20 years of success, when Four Seasons left Seattle in 2003, a group of prominent local investors formed Seattle Hotel Group with the single goal of bringing the internationally recognized luxury hospitality leader back to the city,” Zumwalt explains. “With a world-class symphony hall and the recent expansion of Seattle Art Museum, the return of the renowned Four Seasons brand will contribute to Seattle’s ongoing transformation into a 24-hour international destination.”

Located at First and Union downtown, the 310,000-square-foot mixed-use development will feature 145 guest-rooms and 36 private residences. Residents of the development’s 110,000 total square feet of luxury condominiums will have access to hotel amenities such as the signature Four Seasons spa and fitness center, outdoor terrace pool and water-view restaurant and lounge. The hotel will also offer meeting space and catering services in its 5,000-square-foot ballroom.

In addition to featuring views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains, the hotel will be steps from Pike Place Market, the financial district and downtown shopping. “The site was paramount to this project’s success,” Zumwalt stresses. “It had to offer spectacular views and direct access to Pike Place Market, Seattle Art Museum and the area’s best restaurants and entertainment venues. The above-ground parking garage that was previously at this address didn’t do justice to the site’s opportunities.

Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Seattle will be a destination for locals as well as tourists in part because of its unique water-view restaurant, lounge and outdoor pool terrace.”

Weathering the Challenges
The project’s architect is Seattle-based NBBJ, and Lease Crutcher Lewis, also in Seattle, is the contractor. The project broke ground in December 2005. Many challenges have arisen, including a concrete strike, record rainfall and several wind storms. “But we’ve weathered each challenge without compromising the construction schedule,” Zumwalt points out. “Thanks to the remarkable team at Lease Crutcher Lewis, we’re on track to open in summer 2008.”

Zumwalt says the company has taken a non-traditional approach to marketing, especially for such a high-profile project. “The buyers at Four Seasons Private Residences Seattle, we figured from the beginning, would be largely established Seattle-area residents or frequent visitors and would be loyal Four Seasons fans,” he explains. “That encompasses a relatively small group of people, so we created a localized marketing plan: a Web site with a downloadable virtual tour of the property, direct mail and full-page ads in the Seattle Times. [We also] came up with a wide-ranging public relations strategy.”

Zumwalt says the local and national press coverage has been substantial. Additionally, updated signage at the construction site has served as successful advertising. “Four Seasons is a household name associated with the highest standard in luxury hospitality,” he says. “The buyers here aren’t shopping around for a condo; they’re already sold on the lifestyle and are sold on the chance to live at Four Seasons. Who wouldn’t want to live at their favorite hotel?”

Zumwalt says there were many interested buyers for the 36 condos even before the Preview Center opened in fall 2006. “We’re really not competing with other condo developments for the same buyer,” he explains. “Of the 36 homes, 12 remain available.

“The only bright spot in the nation’s real estate market, Seattle is still a great place to buy property,” he adds. “We continue to see great interest in the remaining residences.”

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts will manage the homeowners’ association for the residences and ensure that the hotel’s standards of quality are maintained throughout the building.

Residents will have dedicated Four Seasons concierge service separate from that of the hotel.

Drawing to a Close
At the end of November, the building reached its full height of 21 stories, 224 feet above street level.

In February 2008, enclosure of the building is scheduled for completion, and elevators will be commissioned in March. The property will be turned over to Four Seasons and training will begin in June. The building is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2008.