The Bellevue Retail project was initially conceived as a large-scale regional shopping center. During the development process, the City of Bellevue announced plans to extend 4th Ave NE, bisecting the project and leaving an odd-shaped, high gradient parcel to the north. The city wanted to avoid a large parking field in front facing 116th and wanted the tenant’s front doors to face the street, making for an inconvenient customer experience that was not accepted by the tenant marketplace. The design solution was to orient the tenant front doors to the east, facing the ample covered parking deck, while providing architectural and pedestrian detail on the west face of the project engaging the busy 116th streetscape.

The result is an elegant building, creating the standard for the Wilburton area and setting the stage for the development of the remaining bisected parcel to the south.