Dive Brief:

• Seattle’s building boom shows no signs of stopping as ground broke last week on the luxury Nexus condominium high-rise, according to Curbed Seattle.

• From developer the Burrard Group, the project will feature units priced from $500,000 to $3 million, and will include amenities like co-working space, a yoga room and a rooftop terrace. Units are set to include smart home technology that will integrate a developer-built system with Amazon’s Alexa and other home automation tools.

• Set for completion in 2019, The Seattle Times reported that the 41-story condo building had prospective buyers queuing — literally — around the block for units at a pre-sale event in June.

Dive Insight:

The rise of Nexus comes as Seattle’s downtown experiences record-high development activity. However, with tech giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook adding or expanding their footprints there, the city is experiencing a critical shortage of housing, particularly in the low- and middle-income categories.

There were 68 buildings under construction in Seattle at the end of 2016. Of that group, 16 were residential and added a combined 2,199 units to the market. Already, the Downtown Seattle Association has said that 51 projects are in line for completion this year, with 5,975 residential units expected for delivery. 

As Seattle’s downtown adds more residential and commercial space, the city is also seeing upgrades to existing buildings to accommodate for and promote a larger population. One of the city’s most notable projects, the Washington State Convention Center expansion, is underway in the hopes of allowing the facility to attract more events and the revenue that comes along with them.

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