Seattle's Inn at the Market could get a 'sister' hotel

A partnership that includes the owner of the Inn at the Market has proposed a "sister" boutique hotel across First Avenue from the well-known luxury inn.

In addition to about 100 hotel rooms, the new 11-story building at First Avenue and Stewart Street would include about 75 luxury apartments and 5,000 to 15,000 square feet of retail space, said Douglas Howe, president of Touchstone, the project's developer.

He said his partners in the project include Robert Thurston, who developed the Inn at the Market in 1985 and will operate the new hotel.

"This will be a sister project," Howe said. "We don't have to create a brand — we already have a brand."

The 70-room Inn at the Market was featured in the film "Sleepless in Seattle," and has been rated one of the top places to stay in the world by several national travel publications.

Two parking lots now occupy the proposed building's half-acre site. Howe and project manager Lacey Davidson said the new hotel would have a courtyard like the Inn at the Market, but probably would have larger rooms, more suites and updated technology.

A five-level underground garage would hold 325 cars.

The city's downtown Design Review Board is tentatively scheduled to consider the building's preliminary design April 22. Howe said the partnership plans to apply for a land-use permit within the next two months.

The building will be designed by Tom Kundig of the Seattle firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen, he said.

Putting a hotel in the same building with residential units has become something of a trend in downtown Seattle. The 2200 Westlake project, with condos and the Pan Pacific Hotel, opened in 2006, and the combo Four Seasons and Olive 8 developments are scheduled to open within the next year.

Two other buildings have been proposed on the same block as the First and Stewart project: a 24-story condo tower at Second and Stewart, and a 38-story hotel-condo tower at Second and Virginia.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com