Capstone Purchases Group Health Redmond Campus, Site Demo to Start Within Weeks

Capstone Partners has purchased the 28-acre Group Health Cooperative site in the Overlake area of Redmond, according to a news release from Capstone.

Located between the Microsoft main campus and the 1.5 million square foot Overlake shopping neighborhood, the site provides for the creation of one of the few in‐fill urban center developments on the West Coast.

"The sale of the property to Capstone is a significant milestone in bringing this urban neighborhood a step closer to reality,” said Bill Biggs, Group Health vice president of administrative services. “We’ve been working with city planners and community stakeholders for several years to ensure that this property is put to the best possible use for the region.”

When completed, the site will include over 3.0 million square feet of space including 1.1 million square feet of office and retail space, over 1,400 residential units, and nearly 300 hotel rooms.

Site demolition, road and utility construction will start in the next several weeks.

“This change to Overlake embodies the community’s vision for the neighborhood, as well as the City’s overall vision to direct future growth into its two urban centers. By focusing growth in our urban centers, we are using land and city infrastructure more efficiently and contributing to the regional goal of controlling urban sprawl,” said Redmond Mayor John Marchione.

Group Health and the City of Redmond began working on the plans in early 2009 which culminated in a Master Plan and Development Agreement adopted by the City of Redmond in late 2011. In the summer of 2012, Group Health and its real estate advisor CBRE selected Capstone and Lionstone from a number of interested parties. Capstone teams have started building design which will allow for a late 2013 or early 2014 start of building construction for all product types.

“It is hard to imagine a better urban in‐fill site in the Puget Sound – significant density adjacent to a highway, across the street from Microsoft, and within a few blocks of every major retailer a household could need,” said Mike Hubbard of Capstone. “Site entitlements will allow for construction to commence inside of 12 months ‐ a very rare situation in the Pacific NW,” added Kirk Johnson of Capstone.

Rob Odle, Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Redmond adds, “The City of Redmond looks forward to the development of the Group Health property in the Overlake neighborhood. This master plan development will serve as a catalyst for a new, vibrant and dynamic urban neighborhood and will set the benchmark for future developments to come."

Source: Capstone and the City of Redmond