Safeway says the first tenant has been signed for the new retail building on its Admiral site – Umpqua Bank. That’s part of what we found out during a hard-hat tour with neighborhood leaders this afternoon; the tour had been in the works for weeks, and today’s sunshine finally made it possible. Sara Corn from Safeway’s real-estate division says Umpqua will take about a third of the space; she describes it as “boutique” (here’s a video showing what one of its newer branches looks like, on Capitol Hill – coffee and chocolates, as well as cash). They’re still looking for other tenants; there will not be an in-store bank branch at the Safeway, but it will have a BECU ATM. We’re working on a separate story with multiple views from inside the project site; among them – from the store roof, which will be primarily a parking level with more than 100 spaces, there’s a view toward downtown, including the Space Needle:
And on the California Avenue side, there’s a sweeping view staircase down from the parking deck (next to an elevator tower if you would rather not, or cannot, walk) to the store:
The elevator concrete will be poured this week. We have more to show you regarding what they’re doing as they aim for LEED certification (they won’t know what level till their “points” are added up); that’s coming in a separate report. If you’re wondering about the recent protests, there’s no new information/comment on that but one of the tour participants, Admiral Neighborhood Association president Katy Walum, tells WSB she is trying to get Carpenters’ Council and construction-company reps to come discuss it at ANA’s meeting next Tuesday (7 pm, Admiral Church).
ADDED 6:38 PM: Walum confirms the Carpenters Council will be at the meeting; she’s still working on the other side. And regarding the project’s schedule – Corn told us that they’re still on schedule (albeit a “tight” schedule) for opening the store on August 12th.
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