As seen in the Puget Sound Business Journal
The longtime McDonald’s near the Space Needle is about to be sold to condominium builder Da-Li Development USA, a subsidiary of Taiwan-headquartered Da-Li International, which under new zoning can build a 160-foot-tall tower.
It’s the second U.S. project for Da-Li, which expects to break ground on the previously announced Koda tower in the Chinatown-International District this winter. Da-Li said it wants to do more projects in Seattle and Bellevue and views the owners of apartment project sites as prospective sellers.
Da-Li paid Columbia West Properties of Bellevue nearly $4.4 million for the small surface parking lot due south of the McDonald’s at 222 Fifth Ave. N., near the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The sale of the McDonald’s property, owned by Kami Limited Partnership, is scheduled to close in the coming weeks, Da-Li said.
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“We are going to go straight ahead to design,” Da-Li Chairman James Hsieh said, speaking through interpreter Kevin Hsieh, his son and company vice president. Architect interviews are expected in the coming weeks.
The city International Special Review District last month granted preliminary design approval of the 203-unit,17-story Koda, the first high-rise to do so under the neighborhood’s new zoning rules.
In February, people lined up outside the Koda sales office, and within days most of the homes were reserved. Prices begin in the low $400,000 for studios that start at 350 square feet. Two-bedrooms as large as 1,148 square feet are priced at more than $1.4 million. Today around 85 percent of the Koda units are reserved, though prospective buyers can walk away with no penalty.
Construction of Koda should wrap up in late 2020. Kevin Hsieh said Da-Li plans roll into construction of the Fifth Avenue North project.
PCL Construction is doing pre-construction services on Koda, which the Seattle office of KMD Architects designed.
Da-Li USA plans to make Seattle its permanent headquarters and has opened a regional development office in a retail space at 510 Occidental Ave. S.
“Da Li is here,” said James Hsieh. “These will be the first and second of many projects we want to develop in Seattle.”
Koda condominium tower
A Taiwan-based development company is planning Koda, a 17-story condominium tower at 420 S. Main St., in Seattle’s Japantown.
Kevin Hsieh said Da-Li’s investment team is “very focused” on the Puget Sound region due to strong demand for less expensive condos.
The Koda sales gallery will open in the coming weeks at 510 Occidental, where reservation holders will be able to convert reservations into purchase-and-sale agreements. Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty is marketing the homes for sale.
JLL brokers Ray Allen, Don Flanigan, Seth Heikkila and Matt Kemper marketed the McDonald’s property along with the neighboring parking lot for sale.