Condos, Trends

Escala Topped Out in Downtown Seattle, Marks End of Condo Boom

Today the final bucket of concrete was hoisted to the roof of the 31 floor Escala condo at 4th and Virginia. The Escala is the largest and most expensive condo tower in Seattle. Its topping out marks the end of the construction boom that has changed the Seattle skyline forever.

About 1/3 of the 275 units are sold. The developer has never lowered the asking prices, and at one time raised them in an attempt to get reluctant buyers off the fence. Many feel that when the Escala is completed and occupied, downtown Seattle will have arrived as a 24 hour city. PI Article.

A purchace includes membership in Club Cielo, the top floor exclusive social and fitness club.

With no new condo projects funded since 2007, it is anyones guess when new construction will start, and interrupted projects will resume. Eager sales reps in the showrooms point out how this will create a scarcity of units once the recovery begins and people start buying again. They are inferrting of course, that whoever buys now will reap tremendous profits once things get going again. Ok….Seems that could be a harder sell these days.