As the first high-rise built under the city’s new downtown zoning code, which encourages development of taller, more slender buildings, Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is a harbinger of Seattle’s future skyline.
Dean Jones photograph courtesy of Fifteen Twenty‐One Second Avenue
The 12-foot concierge desk, made from French aspen, fronts an art wall made from local reclaimed timbers. The art wall highlights the timbers’ growth rings, which symbolize the growth of the city. Project interior designer Susan Marinello of Susan Marinello Interiors said it was important to anchor the lobby with materials indigenous to the Northwest yet modern in application.
Michael Walmsley photograph courtesy of Fifteen Twenty‐One Second Avenue
Designed by Susan Marinello and manufactured by Charles Loomis Lighting of Kirkland, Wash., a 10-foot chandelier is the focal feature of the lobby. A series of 3-inch thick rings are threaded with stainless steel rods equally spaced to hold glass drops.
Michael Walmsley photograph courtesy of Fifteen Twenty‐One Second Avenue
The living room area of the lobby has 20-foot ceilings and a large stone fireplace with a wood mantel. The fire is framed by metal box with a rust patina finish that creates a contemporary touch. A Kris Cox painting above the fireplace adds bold color to the space.
Michael Walmsley photograph courtesy of Fifteen Twenty‐One Second Avenue
Overview – Penthouse Residences from Top to Bottom
Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue, a glass-and-steel tower with exclusive condominiums from the bottom level to the top, is Seattle’s downtown address for the confident few. Each of the 143 residences in the 440-foot tower delivers penthouse-style quality. Thanks to an innovative architectural design, almost every home offers protected views of Puget Sound, and more than half of the residences have views of both the city skyline and Puget Sound. As the first high-rise built under the city’s new downtown zoning code, which encourages development of taller, more slender buildings, Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is a harbinger of Seattle’s future skyline. With more than 96 percent of the residences presold, Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is one of the most successful projects of its kind on the West Coast.
Location – In the Heart of Seattle’s Historic Market District
Located next to the world-famous Pike Place Market, Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is helping to reconnect the Market District with the Northwest’s most vibrant retail center, as well as Seattle’s thriving Central Business District. Downtown is home to the Nordstrom flagship store, Tiffany & Co., Barneys New York and other top-drawer stores. Nearby cultural amenities, such as Benaroya Hall, the expanded Seattle Art Museum and Qwest and Safeco fields, are just down the street. And Belltown, home to some of the city’s most sought-after boutique stores, restaurants and night clubs, is just up the street. The Market District is experiencing a renaissance as more residents move to the neighborhood.
Landmark Architecture – A Sculpture for Living
The 38-story tower is a highly functional work of architectural indulgence. Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue starts out narrower than most high-rises and becomes increasingly slim near the upper floors, thus allowing more daylight at the street level and better views from surrounding buildings than a traditional high-rise.
Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is constructed to a Silver LEED standard, a forward-looking set of environmental and engineering practices that exceeds the standards of most other projects for protecting the environment. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance, environmentally sustainable buildings.
Exclusive Condominiums – An Envelope of Glass
- The perimeter of the open living space of each home is enveloped in floor-to-ceiling glass. Ceilings in all residences are nearly nine-and-a-half-feet tall.
- Understated elegance is the theme of the interiors, designed by Susan Marinello of Susan
Marinello Interiors.
- Residences range from about 1,650 square feet to nearly 2,850 square feet. Each home has two
bedrooms.
- Designed without traditional balconies, Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue instead incorporates
indoor/outdoor glass rooms that feature a dynamic window system. During colder weather, the
windows are closed, creating a solarium. On nicer days, the windows can be fully opened,
leaving only a protective railing between the resident and the outdoors.
- The generously sized kitchens front the floor-to-ceiling glass and include Pacific Northwest crafted
cabinetry, satin-finish granite countertops and state-of-the-art appliances.
- The main spa bath has a large walk-in shower with limestone tile walls, tile floors with radiant
heat, a Toto air bath, a Toto contemporary dual-flush toilet and Dornbracht plumbing fixtures.
- Amenities include a porte cochère; professional concierge; residential lobby with living room;
landscaped rooftop terraces with fireplaces, a grilling area and enclosed lounge; separate wine
lockers; a boardroom; a workout facility; and a children’s exercise/playroom.
- Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is Seattle’s first residential tower of its height with a reinforced concrete sheer core structural system, which provides the seismic structure.
An article in the P.I. yesterday quoted councilmen Nick Licata in asking, “Why would you put a streetcar in a neighborhood when the neighbors don’t want it?”
The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
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