A 27-story residential tower planned for 305 108th Avenue NE in downtown Bellevue has cleared a key design review, but the site’s owner, Capstone Partners, is still not locking in a final game plan. The proposal, branded in design materials as Tower 305, would bring hundreds of apartments, ground-floor retail and a compact public plaza to a block on the edge of Bellevue’s corporate core. It is the latest twist for a parcel that has cycled through multiple visions over the past several years.
As reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal, Capstone is still weighing whether to move ahead with the newly approved residential tower or pivot back to a previously approved office scheme. The developer has not announced a construction timeline and is keeping its options open while it studies market conditions.
Project Details And Permitting
According to the Washington State SEPA register, design-review application file No. 24-119377-LD covers a 27-story residential tower at 305 108th Ave NE with four levels of below-grade parking and about 282 stalls. The SEPA notice was issued on Sept. 19, 2024, which means the latest concept has been moving through the city’s review pipeline for more than a year.
Design, Units And Sustainability Goals
Runberg Architecture Group, the architect on the project, describes Tower 305 as totaling roughly 485,393 square feet and containing about 328 residential units, a glass-lined street plaza and rooftop lounges, according to Runberg Architecture Group. The firm notes that the design is targeting LEED Gold certification and says the plan responds to Bellevue’s Interim Official Control, which would bring a small number of affordable units into the project.
Site’s Long Trail Of Proposals
This particular parcel has already logged plenty of mileage at City Hall. A March 2021 city permit bulletin documents an earlier 33-story residential filing for the address, according to the City of Bellevue Weekly Permit Bulletin. By 2022, a different concept had taken the stage: a 12-story office building that entered the city’s review track, per a later City of Bellevue Weekly Permit Bulletin. That history helps explain why Capstone continues to signal that multiple options remain on the table.
Market Context Shaping The Choice
Across the region, developers are still doing the math on whether new downtown projects pencil out better as apartments or as offices in a post-pandemic market that has not fully settled. Recent reports point to elevated office vacancy in downtown Seattle even as the Bellevue CBD has been absorbing substantial new Class A deliveries, a combination that can prompt owners to hit pause and reconsider a site’s highest-and-best use, according to Colliers…