F5 Tower

F5 Tower (previously The Mark and Fifth and Columbia Tower) is a 660-foot-tall (200 m) skyscraper in Downtown Seattle, Washington. It consists of 44 floors.[5] It is the fifth-tallest building in Seattle, and the tallest building completed since 1990.

F5 Tower
Under construction in July 2017
Location within downtown Seattle
Former namesThe Mark, Fifth and Columbia Tower
General information
StatusComplete
TypeMixed-use: hotel and office building
Location801 5th Avenue, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates47°36′19″N 122°19′52″W
Groundbreaking2014
CompletedMay 2017
Cost$450 million[1]
OwnerKKR
Height
Tip660 ft (200 m)
Technical details
Floor count44
Floor area761,493 sq ft (70,745.0 m2)
Design and construction
ArchitectZimmer Gunsul Frasca
DeveloperDaniels Real Estate
Structural engineerArup, Coughlin Porter Lundeen
Main contractorJTM Construction
References
[2][3] [4]

The tower consists of 516,000 square feet (47,900 m2) of office space leased entirely by F5 Networks and a 189-room luxury hotel that has yet to open.[6][7] It was designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca and was being developed by Daniels Real Estate. While it was being built during Seattle's historic building boom the F5 Tower was the most expensive building under construction.[1]

The tower was built next to the former First Methodist Episcopal Church. Although the education wing was demolished to make room for the tower, the remainder of the former church building has been preserved and has since been re-purposed into Daniels Recital Hall.

The building was acquired by private equity firm KKR in December 2019 at an estimated cost of $440 million.[8]

Design

To achieve LEED Silver standards, the tower will have a system to capture rainwater for reuse, a 35-foot-tall (11 m) "living wall" where plants grow in a Columbia Street façade, and rooftop solar energy equipment.[5] Plans called for the building to be smallest at its base with each floor a different size.

The glass walls of the building were designed to regulate temperature and energy use by letting in some sun rays and reflecting others. It uses the same glass as the One World Trade Center in New York City.[5] The building features an internal staircase system that encourages walking over elevator use, a design that was requested by F5. The company has 59 meeting rooms and 290 collaboration spaces in the building, as well as an open office floorplan.[9]

The building includes 516,000 square feet (47,900 m2) of office space, which was leased for 14.5 years to F5 Networks for $360 million. The lower 13 floors include a hotel with 189 rooms.[10] The hotel was originally designed and furnished for SLS Hotels, a luxury operator, but the original contract was terminated in 2017.[11][12] Lotte Hotels & Resorts of South Korea bought the rights to the hotel and sanctuary in December 2019 for $175 million with financing from Hana Financial Group.[13][14] Lotte Hotel Seattle, the company's 31st location, is planned to open in September 2020 with 189 rooms on 16 floors.[15]

Construction

Shoring and excavation began in summer 2008 and was delayed due to economic conditions. Construction re-started in the summer of 2014.[7] During construction, cables and shoring mechanisms left over from the construction of the Columbia Center in the 1980s were discovered, which led developer Daniels Real Estate to file a lawsuit in August 2015 against the owners of the Columbia Center.[16] The building topped-out in July 2016.[17] The building officially finished construction in May 2017.[2]

Incidents

On September 17, 2016, a construction elevator suddenly dropped multiple floors, injuring one of the three men aboard at the time. The exterior elevator was somewhere between the 33rd and 37th floors when high winds caused a power cord to slip and catch on a fall protection net outrigger.[18]

See also

References
  1. Rosenberg, Mike (March 10, 2017). "Record construction frenzy sweeps downtown Seattle; more building to come". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  2. The Mark, Seattle at Emporis
  3. "F5 Tower". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  4. "F5 Tower". Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. Retrieved 2017-06-18.
  5. Nevy, Nat (May 1, 2017). "Sneak peek: Seattle's next luxury hotel opens soon in new downtown high-rise (Photos)". Puget Sound Business Journal. Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  6. Lerman, Rachel; Rosenberg, Mike (May 3, 2017). "Tech company F5 will lease all of downtown's newest office tower". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  7. "Sneak peek: Seattle's next luxury hotel opens soon in new downtown high-rise (Photos)". Puget Sound Business Journal. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  8. Khashimova Long, Katherine (December 23, 2019). "Equity firm buys Seattle's F5 Tower and Bellevue's Summit offices for $1.2 billion". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  9. Schlosser, Kurt (November 13, 2019). "Seattle's F5 Tower rises above in 'Cloud City' with perks and views to wow employees and customers". GeekWire. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  10. Stewart, Ashley (May 13, 2019). "F5 Tower is for sale, sources say". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  11. Miller, Brian (October 9, 2017). "Hotel portion of F5 Tower for sale after SLS Seattle contract is ended". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  12. Stiles, Marc (June 14, 2019). "Behind the mysterious end of the SLS Seattle". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  13. Stiles, Marc (December 27, 2019). "Korean company's purchase of empty Seattle hotel includes Sanctuary at the Mark". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  14. Jie Ye-eun (December 29, 2019). "Hana Financial Investment, Hotel Lotte buy $175m hotel in US". The Korea Herald. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  15. Conroy, Bill (February 7, 2020). "South Korea's Lotte Hotel & Resorts Plants Its Flag in Seattle". Seattle Business Magazine. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  16. "High-rise owners square off in court". The Seattle Times. August 15, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  17. "Project Updates - July 2016". The Mark Seattle. July 12, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  18. "LAWSUIT: Construction Elevator Accident At F5 Tower". Davis Law Group, P.S. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
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