Kemper Development Company has paused “The Bellevue,” its planned $1 billion-plus multitower expansion at the southeast corner of Bellevue Square. What happens to the site is now up to whoever buys The Bellevue Collection.
KDC CEO Jim Melby told the Puget Sound Business Journal that the project is on hold indefinitely and won’t move forward under the current ownership. “It will ultimately be (the new owner’s) choice,” Melby said, calling the site “an incredible location and a great development opportunity.”
What Was Planned
KDC first submitted plans for The Bellevue to the city in 2021. As we reported at the time, the mixed-use project would cover about 1.8 million square feet on a 3.6-acre site at 401 Bellevue Way NE, across the street from Bellevue Downtown Park. Kemper Freeman Jr., who was CEO then, described it as a “true five-star experience from one end to the other.”
The original four-tower plan included:
- 234 residential units
- A 157-room hotel
- Nearly 300,000 square feet of retail
- A public plaza
- Six levels of underground parking with room for up to 1,700 vehicles
In 2023, KDC cut the project from four towers to three, totaling nearly 1.75 million square feet. The company said the redesign kept view corridors open while meeting city building requirements. An earlier estimate put construction at more than three years…