Belltown tower proposed despite slow economy

As Seattle's construction pipeline slowly constricts, a local apartment-investment firm has filed preliminary paperwork with the city to build a 17-story apartment tower in Belltown.

The down economy actually makes this a good time to get started on a new building, said Ed Hewson of HB Capital. "Right now I can get great people to work on all the aspects of the project," he said.

"Where the financing (for construction) comes from, I don't know. But we're not at that point yet."

HB's project, at Third Avenue and Cedar Street, would have about 200 units, retail on the ground floor and four levels of underground parking. A 1954, single-story office building owned until recently by the American Lung Association would be demolished.

HB bought the 0.3-acre property for $3.35 million last October, according to county records.

The firm owns apartment buildings in Seattle, Tacoma, Mountlake Terrace and on the East Coast, Hewson said, but hasn't yet built anything itself. It plans to start construction later this year on another Belltown project, an 8-story apartment building at Second Avenue and Bell Street.

"I don't think the (apartment) market is that terrible right now," Hewson said. "In two years, when we're done, the market will be better.

"We believe in the long-term future of Belltown."

The city's Downtown Design Review Board has tentatively scheduled a meeting April 27 to consider the Third and Cedar project.

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