The Addition, also known as Summit, at the Seattle Convention Center (recently renamed from the Washington State Convention Center) is making steady progress toward completion. With only months of construction remaining, interior details are quickly taking shape. In other progress, construction has begun on the codevelopment office project by its new owner, Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. (HPP).
Codevelopment Moving Forward
On April 27, the Seattle Convention Center completed the sale of the Addition’s fully entitled office development site at 1000 Olive Way to HPP. The tower is expected to be LEED Gold-certified with 100% carbon-neutral operations and will feature 546,000 square feet of Class A office space. Delivery is anticipated in 2024.
The office codevelopment, along with a neighboring residential codevelopment, will rise immediately north of the Addition and above its below-grade loading dock. The codevelopments are central to one overarching goal of the project, which is to build a great neighborhood with street-level uses, pedestrian amenities, and density that create a welcoming environment for walking, living, working, and visiting.
Supporting an Equitable Recovery
Through its partnership with ANEW, which provides pre-apprenticeship training, the Addition project has supported the Trades Rotation Program (TRP), which educates and empowers women, people of color, and others to pursue careers in the building trades. The most recent cohort of women and nonbinary students graduated April 14. The program prepared graduates such as Bridget Black and Mikhail Stewart to join apprenticeships in their chosen trades.
Black says starting a new career can be daunting, especially in a male-dominated field. But she is determined to become an electrician and says the support from her classmates and the opportunity to earn a family wage in the trades has kept her motivated.
“The program has given me a lot of confidence,” she says. “My kids, too, are proud of me, and they talk about what I’m doing to their friends. It’s been good for my whole family and will help us in the long run.”
Stewart says programs like the TRP break down barriers to accessing living-wage careers and that women and others who are under-represented in the construction trades deserve a seat at the table.
“When you empower other people, you empower your community,” Stewart says. “As soon as you start breaking down those barriers and more people can get to work, we’re going to build things we never dreamt of building. We can reach new heights.”
