Melbourne-based developer Caydon Property Group has entered into an agreement with Seattle's Trinity Parish Church to build its first residential development in the United States.
Located on 8th and Cherry Street, the new project will include a 30-story mixed-use residential tower adjacent to the historic church.
The new development will allow Trinity and Caydon to make a fresh financial contribution to the City of Seattle for new affordable housing.
“This redevelopment will help us continue to nourish the heart and soul of Seattle long into the future, and our new facilities will enable us to increase our outreach, support music and the arts at a new level, and continue to develop programs for our thriving and growing downtown congregation," Trinity Reverend Jeffrey Gill said.
Caydon’s new residential development will include more than 200 units, modern onsite amenities, landscaped open space and ground level design that will extend and enhance the 8th Avenue Greenstreet and enhance walkability.
The Urban Developer spoke to Caydon’s principal Joe Russo to gain further insight on why taking the leap into the US market was such an attractive prospect:
“Originally when assessing the feasibility of developing in the US we were looking at six cities. Seattle, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Downtown LA and Portland were all on the radar for us. In the end we settled on Houston and Seattle, both have very attractive qualities," he said.
"Seattle is a beautiful city that is full of potential.
"It’s home to the likes of Starbucks, Amazon and Microsoft, with many more major companies establishing themselves in the area. We see a lot of opportunity to develop around that growth.
"Houston was another city that we felt we could grow our portfolio in," he said.
"Texas has a population of 27.5 million which is bigger than Australia and Houston [in particular] has a business-friendly culture and a lack of zoning, making it quite an attractive prospect. We’re currently developing a 350+ unit multi-family product in Houston.
"I see real long-term business in Texas and anticipate we’ll have a pipeline of work here for the next 5-10 years.” he said.
The new building also means expanded capacity for outreach services to those in need. Currently, Trinity provides about 10,000 square feet (929 sq m) to nonprofit service providers and within the new building, there will be room to grow this commitment to local nonprofits.
Service providers located in the three existing Trinity buildings have been given the offer to come back to the new building once it is complete.
Caydon will build new church facilities on three floors within the new building. In addition to the expanded nonprofit space, the new Trinity facilities will include room for a new parish hall, assembly and mission space and administrative offices.
