Seattle hotel will be the largest in the Pacific Northwest

At 1.4 million sf, the Hyatt Regency Seattle, currently under construction, is destined to become the largest hotel in the Pacific Northwest upon completion. The 45-story, 500-foot-tall tower is composed of two primary volumes.

The first is a semi-detached, eight-story podium bisected at street level by a mid-block connector. This podium, which will be divided into two smaller volumes by a vertical window wall, will comprise 105,000 sf of meeting and ballroom space integrated with a two-story glazed base that features a restaurant and hotel lobby functions. Of the smaller volumes, the northern portion will be devoted to ballrooms and will feature a pre-function hallway and event space. The southern portion will contain meeting rooms.

The second primary volume is a 37-story tower housing 1,260 hotel rooms, a glass-enclosed fitness center, and a club lounge.

At the street level, a series of highly transparent spaces—lobby, porte-cochere, restaurants, bars, shops—will connect the new building with the street. All of the ground-level spaces are designed to spill onto wide, landscaped sidewalks to create a visible merger of inside and outside. The second level will include a convenience store, a large bar and restaurant, and expanded lobby space.

The tower’s overall massing strategy will help to minimize shadows cast over adjacent blocks to the north, where the lower height of the podium aligns with the residential and mixed-use neighborhood. A mid-block connector will interface with an existing alley for pedestrian, garage, and back-of-house access within the interior of the block. This leaves the street perimeter free for continuous public space.

The hotel is expected to be completed in 2018 and achieve LEED Gold certification. LMN Architects is the design architect.