Renton Reporter

02/14/2020

SECO’s Southport has expanded with two new land acquisitions.

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The company, set to bring the tech boom to Renton’s Lake Washington shores, is continue to develop the area. One acquisition being in part of creating more access to the hotel, residential and office space, and the other to develop a property next to the anticipated Topgolf.

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The city and SECO are working to create a second access point to the development by extending Park Avenue North into the site. SECO has just purchased the property along the expected access area from Puget Sound Energy. Once the road project is complete on the city’s side, SECO will start working on the access point on its property.

The Registry

January 28, 2020

In December 2019, SECO Development grew Southport from 17.1 acres to 30 acres with the acquisition of two parcels: a 7.74-acre parcel immediately adjacent to Southport, formerly owned by Puget Sound Energy, and a 5.1-acre parcel just south of The Landing and across from the planned Top Golf development, in Renton. (Editor’s note: According to public records, the sites were purchased for $23.5 million.)

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SECO just completed the first phase of Southport, a 2.4 million square foot mixed-use development with Class A office, retail, luxury residential, and the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington. Michael Christ, SECO Development’s owner and CEO, originally targeted the area in the late 1990’s for its waterfront location, quintessential views, and significant transportation infrastructure. However, since that time, Christ has come to see Southport as Puget Sound’s next technology hub for cloud computing during the coming decade. “Southport’s new 12.84 acres are a blank slate for tech companies to scale intentionally and responsibly to meet the ever-expanding needs of their workforce,” says Christ.

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As the housing and transportation epidemic plays out in tech-hubs across America, Southport represents an attractive solution. Southport is the only centrally located community in Puget Sound boasting 8 highways and freeways within 8 miles of the development and can easily scale to meet the anticipated tech employer growth rates year after year  throughout the next decade. It has close proximity to airports, unique transportation modes not afforded by other campuses (water taxi, seaplanes, and helistop), and has adjacencies to workforce housing (including home ownership and varied housing options) as well as retail, and passive and active recreational opportunities.

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This is what Christ had to say about his motivation to expand Southport: “Renton’s diversity is what has kept SECO prosperous, interested and stimulated after relocating from Bellevue two decades ago. The community is a kaleidoscope of cultures and perspectives representing the driving force of our region’s largest tech employers.”

February 3, 2020

Developer Michael Christ has been looking for several years for someone to lease three office towers in Renton.

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Though he has no signed deals, Christ's Seco Development recently bought two nearby parcels, paying $23.5 million. One site abuts Seco's Southport, a $590 million mixed-use development, where the office towers sit empty next to the development's Hyatt Regency on Lake Washington.

Southport is an outlier in the region's red-hot office market. Virtually all of the new office development set to deliver on the Eastside over the next two years has either been preleased or has deals pending. Southport's 730,000 square feet remains the largest contiguous block of available space in the region.

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Christ, CEO of Seco, has been saying for more than a year that he has deals cooking for the office towers, and that's still the case.

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"We are under two NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and those would be large users ... and then we have interest in spaces less than that as well," Christ said Monday.

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Last month, Seco paid Puget Sound Energy $13.5 million for a 7.7-acre equipment storage area at 900 Lake Washington Blvd. N. It borders Southport's southern edge, making "a weird element" at the development's natural gateway, Christ said. "Now we can create an elegant frontage."

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Puget Sound Energy will lease back the property for about a year as Seco decides how to redevelop it, Christ said.

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About two block farther south, at 745 Park Ave. N., is a 5.1-acre surface parking lot that Seco bought for $10 million. ITF Developments LLC was the seller of the lot, which is just south of the Landing shopping center.

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Next door, Topgolf is planning a complex that includes a hotel and restaurant in addition to driving range, according to the Renton Reporter. A Topgolf representative said the company hopes to be able to share more details soon.

Daily Journal of Commerce

December 26, 2019

RENTON — A 7.7-acre future development site at 900 Lake Washington Blvd. N. in Renton has sold for $13.5 million, according to King County records. The buyer was an LLC associated with Seco Development, whose Southport Development is immediately to the north.

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The seller was Puget Sound Energy, which had owned the property for decades. It was once part of the same Shuffleton steam plant complex that PSE sold to Seco in 1999 for $7 million.

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A Seco representative told the DJC two years ago that it was eying the south PSE property for office buildings, to be designed by architect ZGF. The city of Renton doesn't show any new plans for the site.

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The deal was worth about $40 per square foot.

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The Shuffleton steam plant began operations circa 1929. For now, PSE still retains the old control house parcel between Southport and the portion that just traded. That, too, may be on the block.

Earlier this month, Seco paid a private group $10 million for 5 acres, now a parking lot, that are a 15-minute walk south from Southport.

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Daily Journal of Commerce

December 18, 2019

RENTON — Five acres of vacant land in Renton at 745 Park Ave. N. have sold for $10 million, according to King County records.

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The buyer was LI-C8 LLC, associated with Seco Development. The company didn't respond to DJC queries about its plans there. City of Renton records don't show any new plans for the land, now used as a parking lot. The deal was worth about $45 per square foot. EB-5 developer Seco's biggest and best known project is the nearby Southport, with a Hyatt Regency hotel, apartments, and three new office buildings with around 700,000 square feet — as of yet unleased by CBRE.

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The sellers were two LLCs associated with Mercer Island investors Bruce and Scott Gibson. They acquired the property from Boeing in 2010 for as part of a larger 19-acre, $10 million deal. What is now called Lot 7B sold this week.

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NAIOP

September 18, 2019

SECO Development is thrilled to be named a finalist in two categories of NAIOPS WA's prestigious Night of the Stars Awards Program. The program identifies and honors outstanding local real estate development projects and companies. SECO Development has been named a finalist in the Developer of the Year category. Additionally, SECO’s Southport Office Campus project is a finalist for Office Development of the Year. Winners will be announced at the NAIOP Night of the Stars gala on November 8th.

BISNOW

June 24, 2019

As Puget Sound’s super-hot economy chugs on with no sign of slowing down, Renton is emerging as the next hot neighborhood. Sitting on the south shore of Lake Washington, it features waterfront parks with walkways by the lake, views of Seattle and Mount Rainier. To some, this industrial city is a diamond in the rough.
 

May 24, 2019

SECO Development is honored to receive the 2019 Business Excellence Award for Innovation in Urban Tech Development. SECO Development received this award as a result of being an organization that is visionary, not just in the Renton community, but regionally. 

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King 5 News

May 13, 2019

A new billion-dollar development at the south tip of Lake Washington is nearing completion, and project managers expect an announcement about a future big tech tenant soon.

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Seco Development's Southport mega-project in Renton includes residential, retail, commercial office space and a Hyatt hotel. But its 700,000 square feet of office space in three separate office buildings remains empty.

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Rocale Timmons, senior vice president of planning and development with SECO, says the space is specifically designed for a tech company, and there is a lot of interest.

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"Large tech tenants are thinking about ways they can grow responsibly, and you have to think about emerging markets like Renton," she said.

425 Magazine

May 1, 2019

Thousands of readers cast their votes in 425 Magazine's annual "Best of 425" issue and named Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle's Southport as Best Hotel! 

The Hyatt Regency was also awarded:

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Best Event Space

Best Corporate Party Space

Best Cocktail at Water's Table

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Congratulations to the Hyatt team!

KING 5 News

April 4, 2019

As Bellevue gets ready to welcome Amazon's worldwide operations team, nearby cities are competing for other big tech companies. KING 5's Ted Land reports.

March 23, 2019

Southport is proud to call Renton home. A growing center of opportunity located minutes from Seattle, Bellevue & SeaTac International Airport.

GeekWire

November 1, 2018

An ambitious plan from a Seattle-area real estate developer to build and operate a network of high-tech water taxis, ferrying passengers between its Southport megaproject in Renton, Wash., and the region’s top tech hubs, is getting closer to reality.

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Seco Development first publicly acknowledged plans for a passenger-only water taxi service on Lake Washington a year ago, though it had already been talking to government entities and stakeholders for months at that point. Since then, the team has refined the plan, selected a manufacturing partner and is getting close to finalizing boat designs, all with a goal of bringing the service online by 2020.

GeekWire

10/28/2018

Manly Grinolds isn’t a fan of change. After all, the retired aerospace contractor has been coming to Rubattino’s for breakfast since he was 7 years old.

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“This apartment, the one over here on Second and Main, that’s out of place,” Grinolds says, pointing in the direction of a new six-story complex in downtown Renton. “And it took away some of our view.”

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Across the red counter at Renton’s oldest restaurant, Carl the Cook, as he prefers to be known, joins the conversation about this city’s future. Carl sees the proverbial writing — or dollar signs — on the wall. A growing economy, driven by a population that spiked 30 percent to more than 100,000 in the past decade, has created opportunity for investors.

CoStar

10/24/18

Developer Michael Christ aims to do for a Seattle suburb what Amazon did for its South Lake Union neighborhood a decade ago. All he needs now is a major tenant to make it pay off.

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Christ is principal of SECO Development Inc., which is developing a 17-acre, 2.4 million square foot waterfront corporate campus in Renton, a suburb of about 104,000 people 12 miles southeast of Seattle. It is one of many developments across the country seeking to lure companies to suburban locations in the wake of an urban building boom.

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The project, Southport on Lake Washington, will have 712,000 square feet of office space in three towers, with the ability to expand to 5 million square feet. SECO has already built a four-star Hyatt Regency Hotel on the property and seven onsite residential towers with 383 units. Four restaurants and retail space are in the planning phase, as is a water taxi that would ferry workers between Southport and tech-centric South Lake Union.

October 11, 2018

It's impossible not to feel the stress of life lifting off your shoulders while reclined in an Adirondack chair, with a glass of wine in hand, sitting just feet from Lake Washington. Small airplanes glide overhead beneath the thick canvas of clouds, and the sound of seagulls is faint enough to be relaxing.

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The experience at Southport in Renton is one that can’t be replicated. The once-industrial area — home to Boeing’s 747 factory and operations for Puget Sound Energy — is slowly being redeveloped and redefined by Class “A” office space, high-end apartments, restaurants and retail, and the Hyatt Regency.

Wander With Wonder

August 1, 2018

Imagine getting away to a beautiful amenity-laden hotel with impressive Pacific Northwest luxury décor, a fine-dining restaurant, waking up to a lake view with eagles fishing for breakfast. Oh and you can watch the news on a 65 inch flat-screen TV. Not far from I-5 or Sea-Tac Airport, Seattle Southport is a new upscale waterfront development, which is home to lake-view condos and small shops and adjacent to a city park. This was the destination for my getaway at the stunning Hyatt Regency Lake Washington.

Daily Journal of Commerce

July 26, 2018

For decades, the Eastside commercial real estate community has been largely defined by downtown Bellevue, Redmond and a limited number of other area submarkets.

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The distinctions are well-earned: As the state’s second largest central business district, Bellevue has a formidable core, with more than 10 million total square feet of commercial office space. And Redmond, after all, is home to Microsoft, which began its tech-office campus development in the mid-1980s, before broadening its footprint later into Bellevue, Seattle and other markets around the world.

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Microsoft recently announced a multi-billion-dollar expansion that will bring online some 18 new buildings over the next five to seven years in Redmond, so its reputation as a major part of Seattle’s Eastside market should only continue to grow.

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Until recently, Renton, at least in the minds of brokers and large-space users, was part of the region’s “South End” office market. It is home to the Boeing Renton factory, where many of the world’s commercial airline stock, most notably the 737, are proudly assembled.

Seattle Refined

June 9, 2018

Once upon a time, if you were a hotel restaurant - you weren't considered fine dining.

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Well it's 2018 folks - and all those sneering Seattleite's probably live in Renton now, and I just had the best ribeye of my life at a hotel restaurant.

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Water's Table is a gem tucked on the very southernmost tip of Lake Washington, inside the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington. The name makes sense - your table is literally on the water.

King 5 News

June 6, 2018

As home prices continue to go up in Western Washington, it's not just homebuyers who are moving the suburbs.

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A huge tech campus is getting its finishing touches, but it isn’t located in downtown Bellevue or Seattle. It’s sprouting up in Renton.

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The Southport Office Campus, built on the south shore of Lake Washington, is a 17-acre site that’s trying to fill 688,147 square feet of office space. Kip Spencer, Director of Leasing & Marketing of SECO Development, touted the campus as affordable for tech companies and their future employees.

May 17, 2018

There will be 688,147 square feet in the three office towers. Towers one and two should be completed late this year; tower three (to the east) will be finished next year.

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Towers one and two will have large floor plates — up to 35,000 square feet on the upper levels. Tower three will be a little smaller.

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Spencer says there's interest from both in- and out-of-state companies. The latter might be drawn by cheaper employee housing — the median home price in Renton or the Maple Valley is a fraction of, say, San Jose.

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The 2,121-stall garage totals 695,159 square feet, bringing the entire project size to about 1.4 million square feet. Add the hotel and apartments, and you get about 2.4 million square feet. Oh, and the garage has 194 bike stalls and an area for kayaks, too.

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One Exxel Pacific executive noted that, in terms of concrete and other materials, this office project is comparable to a 40-story high rise.

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City officials marvel at the transformation, and say it's a game-changer for the city.

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Q13 News

May 11, 2018

Along the shores of Lake Washington in Renton, there is a lot of construction going on and the area is quickly transforming.

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“It was a former power plant, and when completed it will be 2.4 million square feet comprised of residential housing, a 4-star luxury hotel and a 700-thousand square foot office complex,” said Kip Spencer with Seco Development, the company behind the creation of Southport, which will include three new office buildings in Renton.

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But these are no ordinary high-rise structures. "This building rivals any building being built on the planet right now,” said Spencer.

The Registry

May 11, 2018

A long-anticipated project on the southern edge of Lake Washington, which has been in the works for about two years, is set to experience a landmark moment in its evolution.

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On Friday, May 11th, there will be a “topping off” ceremony held for the office portion of the Southport campus, a mixed-use development comprising 17 acres of waterfront property that will include three 9-story office buildings that total 727,634 square feet of Class A office space. The campus also includes the 383-unit Bristol Residences and the 347-room Hyatt Regency Lake Washington, two components of the development that are already complete.

425 Magazine

May 1, 2018

Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle's Southport was voted "Best of" in four categories of the 2018 reader-voted 425 Magazine awards.

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Hyatt Regency Lake Washington was named:

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Best Outdoor Dining (Water's Table)

Most Romantic Dinner (Water's Table)

Best Cocktail (Water's Table)

Best Wedding Venue

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Congratulations to the Hyatt team! 

Crosscut

April 19, 2018

Imagine flying to work on a high-speed catamaran plying Lake Washington. No car, tolls, bridges or gridlock, just a great view, good food, high-speed Internet and a link between your affordable neighborhood and your destination at South Lake Union.

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When you arrive, you can hop on the streetcar or your bike (the boat has a bike rack), or simply walk to work. The commute takes less than an hour and the Mercer Mess is, well, less messy.

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That’s the vision laid out this week by SECO Development Inc., a private developer in Renton that is reshaping that city’s waterfront. The company is proposing a privately funded two-year pilot project to run a water taxi service for commuters between SLU and Renton, at the south end of the lake, in 2020.

Visual Capitalist

April 19, 2018

On a global scale, the U.S. economy is massive at close to $19 trillion in size. Topping the list for overall score is the State of Washington.

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However, the United States is also the sum of its parts. America represents the union of 50 states and other jurisdictions such as D.C., and all of these state-level economies have their own unique problems to overcome, drivers of growth, and local resources that factor into their prosperity.

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The Registry

March 28, 2018

“Renton is definitely changing, we’re seeing new schools being built, and the whole Kennydale area of Renton is really changing as well…being around the lake is a desirable thing. Anytime there’s a body of water, people want to live around it,” said Vicky Baxter, CEO of the Renton Chamber of Commerce.

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Renton, a city located on the southernmost edge of Lake Washington, is changing: a growing tech sector, a healthy industrial market and a housing market on an upward trajectory are all components that indicate an active city. A growing medical industry, increasing demand for office space, promising educational programs and a desire of tech workers to be able to live more affordably outside of the downtown core in Seattle, are all factors driving the economic engine of the up-and-coming city.

The Registry

February 10, 2018

Renton, WA, February 9, 2018 – Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. announced today that it served as the exclusive advisor to SECO Development, Inc. (“SECO”) in arranging $265 million of construction financing for the development of a 727,634 square foot office tower located at 1101 Lake Washington Boulevard North, Renton, Washington. The financing was provided by Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI).

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A New York based Cushman & Wakefield Equity, Debt and Structured Finance team of Dave Karson, Steve Kohn, Gideon Gil, John Alascio, Chris Moyer & Alex Lapidus represented SECO Development, Inc. in the transaction.

Puget Sound Business Journal

February 1, 2018

Black Rooster, a Chinese fine dining restaurant focused on fresh, local ingredients will open inside the Southport mixed-use development in Renton in September.

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Inspired by the bistros of the Song Dynasty, and designed by Chinese artist Chonghai Hao, the restaurant’s space will feature wood décor accents, tables with a ceramic warmer and an open kitchen display for customers to enjoy performances put on by the chefs.

November 4, 2017

Hyatt Regency Lake Washington was awarded the NAIOP 2017 Hospitality Development of the Year award at the annual Washington State Night of the Stars Gala. 

The NAIOP Washington State Chapter’s Night of the Stars Awards Program is an annual gala dedicated to recognizing exceptional individuals and companies in our industry and the projects in which NAIOP members are involved. The goal is to identify outstanding real estate developments and activities in a variety of market types and the individuals who conceived of, took risks, sponsored, supported, and made the projects happen. 

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GeekWire

November 2, 2017

Real estate company Seco Development plans to to fund a water taxi pilot project to ferry passengers across Lake Washington, between Seattle’s tech-heavy South Lake Union neighborhood and the developer’s massive office project in the city of Renton, Wash., GeekWire has learned.

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Seco is taking the lead in planning as well as funding the pilot project, which aims to put passenger ferries on Lake Washington by 2020. For the better part of the year, Seco has been talking with King County, the cities of Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, Kenmore and others, as well as local business interests about the service. Though the initial focus is on a route between Renton and Amazon’s backyard of South Lake Union, Seco envisions routes to other parts of Seattle as well as cities like Bellevue.

Puget Sound Business Journal

September 8, 2017

We’ve spent a lot of ink extolling the development in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond that has made this region the envy of the real estate world. But there’s another Eastside powerhouse that in some ways is even more remarkable than its big sisters to the north.

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Renton has enjoyed more manufacturing prowess than any Eastside city as the home of Boeing’s cash cows. In World War II, they built B-29s there. The 707, 727 and the 757 were produced in Renton. Today, they’re still cranking out the best-selling commercial airplane in history, the 737. Renton Municipal Airport is where every 737 lifts off on its first flight.

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Read more...

July 12, 2017

A new jewel joins a crown of attractions that’s around Lake Washington. The 12-story hotel Hyatt Regency Lake Washington has opened its doors to the public.

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Perhaps the most-anticipated economic development of the year for the city of Renton, the hotel hosted its grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony Monday June 10, with appearances from Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin and Renton Mayor Denis Law.

July 12, 2017

Tourism became a much bigger part of Renton's economy this week with the opening of a high-end waterfront hotel, the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington.

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The 12-story Hyatt Regency is part of the mixed-use Southport development. The hotel and a trio of nine-story office buildings that are now under construction are the latest additions to Southport, where around 400 apartment units were built previously.

Puget Sound Business Journal

2/23/17

Hyatt Hotels Corp. has named its general manager to run a luxury waterfront hotel set to open this summer in Renton’s Southport development.

Rusty Middleton is a veteran Hyatt hotel executive who previously was the general manager at Hyatt Hotels’ Andaz Wall Street.

Hyatt announced other key appointments to the executive team at Hyatt Regency Lake Washington. Jeff Ouradnik is the hotel's director of Sales and Marketing; Jennifer Grosclaude is director of events; Vincent Savignano is executive chef. All three have been with Hyatt for several years.

Washington State Department of Transportation

September 29, 2016

RENTON – Gov. Jay Inslee joined federal, state and local officials (including Brent Camann of SECO Development) today to celebrate the first project to begin construction with Connecting Washington funding in the greater Seattle area.

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At a groundbreaking ceremony under sunny skies near Renton City Hall, leaders marked the start of the Interstate 405/State Route 167 Interchange Direct Connector project. Scheduled to open to traffic in summer 2019, this project will build a new flyover ramp connecting the high occupancy toll lanes on SR 167 with the carpool lanes on I-405.

Puget Sound Business Journal

August 26, 2016

This list ranks Eastside construction projects by estimated cost.

Daily Journal of Commerce

June 16, 2016

Berkadia said the recent sale of 77 Central on Mercer Island set a per-unit record price for a mid-rise apartment building in this region: $567,261.

Seco Development of Renton sold the complex at 2630 77th Ave. S.E. to TIAA of San Francisco in a $97 million deal handled by Berkadia Senior Managing Director Kenny Dudunakis.

1/22/16

This was a big day for a big project. The office portion of Southport is three nine-story buildings with 730,000 square feet.

Southport also has a 12-story, 347-room Hyatt Regency hotel that is under construction and set to open June 2017. Seco already built 383 apartments.

Watch Kiro 7 News coverage featuring the Southport Waterfront Corporate Campus groundbreaking.

November 3, 2015

One of the most audacious spec office projects is at Renton’s Southport, on the banks of Lake Washington.

Developer Michael Christ said he plans to move forward in December with foundation work for a three-tower office complex with 725,000 square feet.

KOMO 4 News

September 20, 2015

Watch Komo 4 News coverage featuring Hyatt Regency Lake Washington.

September 15, 2015

May 1, 2015

Sixty business leaders from China visited Renton this past week to discuss possible investment in SECO's Southport development. The group made the trip from Seattle by boat.

“This meeting is an opportunity to build and strengthen our relationship with our guests from China, to develop new partnerships, and welcome businesses to Southport,” said Min Christ, CEO, Seattle Family Regional Center.

Bloomberg

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

SECO Development, Inc. has received all design review and master plan approvals for the construction of three Class A high-tech nine-story office buildings, Southport Waterfront Corporate Campus; the final phase of the $570 million 17.1-acre Southport Development, a mix of office, retail, restaurants, luxury apartments and a 4-star hotel and convention center on Lake Washington. The project reflects the demand for premium office space by international and domestic corporations in the Greater Seattle area, the fastest growing large city in the U.S. The Southport Project is in Renton, WA, centrally located between Seattle, the City of Bellevue and SeaTac Airport, serving 37.4 million annual visitors. The project has waterfront views of Lake Washington, the Seattle Skyline, Olympic Mountains, Mt. Rainier and is adjacent to the 57-acre Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park. 

PR Newswire

Monday, January 19th, 2015

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SECO Development, Inc., the developer behind the progressive mixed-use projects in Seattle, Renton, Bellevue and Mercer Island in Washington, has joined with MulvannyG2 Architecture, ranked among the nation's top 50 architectural firms, Sellen Construction, the largest locally owned commercial construction company in the northwest, and General Partner Seattle Family Regional Center, to design and build the Hotel at Southport, a 4-star 350-room luxury hotel serving the needs of America's fastest growing city. The 12-story Hotel at Southport is located minutes from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport serving 34.7 million visitors to Seattle each year.

Friday Oct. 10, 2014

The hotel will add to the development of the 17.5 acre site, which began as a dream for SECO Development founder Michael Christ. An experienced developer, Michael bought the site from Puget Sound Energy in 1999.

Tuesday Oct. 7, 2014

On October 1, SECO Development broke ground on the site of a 12-story, four-star hotel and convention center on the South end of Lake Washington.

Between construction and operations, the project will bring 2,310 much-needed jobs (primarily) to the Renton area, SECO Development said. The last element of the final phase will be an office campus.

The festivities were marked by speeches from U.S. Congressman Adam Smith of Washington’s 9th District, Renton Mayor Denis Law, Bellevue Councilmember Conrad Lee, along with Michael Christ of SECO Development, and Craig Davenport of MulvanneyG2 Architecture.

Friday Oct. 3, 2014

“The dream is still alive,” said Christ, president and CEO of Seco Development, the owner of the 17.5-acre Southport, where 384 apartments and retail space already are part of the master-planned community tucked between the Boeingplant and Gene Coulon, the crown jewel of Renton’s park system.

Tuesday Sep. 30, 2014

SECO Development will break ground tomorrow, October 1, on the site of a four-star hotel and convention center on the South end of Lake Washington.

The festivities will be marked by speeches from Lt. Governor Brad Owen, US Congressman Adam Smith of Washington’s 9th District, Mayor of Renton Denis Law, Mayor Conrad Lee, along with Michael Christ of SECO Development, and Craig Davenport of MulvanneyG2 Architecture.

The luxury hotel will add to the development of the 17.5 acre site which began as a dream for SECO Development founder, Michael Christ, and the City of Renton more than 13 years ago.

Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2014

SECO Development will break ground tomorrow, October 1, on the site of a four-star hotel and convention center on the South end of Lake Washington.

The festivities will be marked by speeches from Lt. Governor Brad Owen, US Congressman Adam Smith of Washington’s 9th District, Mayor of Renton Denis Law, Mayor Conrad Lee, along with Michael Christ of SECO Development, and Craig Davenport of MulvanneyG2 Architecture.

The luxury hotel will add to the development of the 17.5 acre site which began as a dream for SECO Development founder, Michael Christ, and the City of Renton more than 13 years ago.

Monday, Sep. 29, 2014

The Hotel at Southport – which features a four-star hotel and a convention center and is expected to bring more than 2,300 jobs to the area – is headed by SECO Development, and is part of the third state of a multi-phase development located on a 17.5-acre site that once housed the Shuffleton Steam Plant.

Attending Wednesday’s 11 a.m. groundbreaking, at 1053 Lake Washington Blvd. N., will be Congressman Adam Smith, Renton Mayor Denis Law, former Bellevue Mayor Conrad Lee, and SECO Development Founder Michael Christ, among others.

Friday, September 26, 2014

“The Seattle Family Regional Center is focused on the first project on Lake Washington at this time, but the TEA applies to Pierce, King and Snohomish County,” said Michael Christ, president of SECO Development, Inc. via email.

SECO, the developer, has hired Mulvanny G2, as the architect, and Sellen, as the general contractor, for the project. His wife Min,runs the Seattle Family Regional Center and is originally from China.

Friday, Sep. 26, 2014

The 377,000-square-foot building will have 12 stories in honor of the team's fans, known as the 12th Man, said Natalia Dotto, a spokeswoman for the project developer, Renton-based SECO.

Like some of the other Seattle-area hotel developers, SECO is using the federal EB-5 program to finance its project, Dotto said.

SECO has been working on the Southport development since buying the property in 1999. The company has already built 383 apartments and around 24,100 square feet of retail. It has plans to also build 778,000 square feet of office space in three towers.

Monday, Sep. 29, 2014

Seco Development is preparing to start construction this week on a 12-story hotel in Renton.

The four-star hotel is part of Seco's master plan for a 17.5-acre site called Southport.

Seco has already finished 383 apartments as part of the plan.

Renton-based Seco has done large projects in Bellevue, Kirkland and Mercer Island.