Nestled in the heart of Belltown, one of Seattle’s most vibrant and growing neighborhoods, stands the 43-story Arrivé Tower featuring 344 residential units, The Sound Hotel, a full-service restaurant, a grab-and-go coffee bar and Currant Bistro. The tower—the first of its kind in Seattle to combine the luxury of a hotel and the privacy of residences—features breathtaking views of Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier. The Sound Hotel, its name an homage to the musical history of the Seattle area, is located minutes away from Amazon Worldwide headquarters, Pike Place Market and iconic Seattle retailers like REI and Nordstrom. The high-rise living units, located above the Sound Hotel, offers residents elevated design and high-end finishes like private terraces, walk-in closets, and smartphone-controlled technology. Residents also have access to amenities, including an outdoor entertaining and barbecue area, a dog-walking and grooming area, a yoga studio, and a state-of-the art gym. 

When the Arrivé broke ground in April 2015, the project was then known as the Potala Tower under a previous owner. Soon after, the owner ran into legal issues which led to the project being suspended in August. After sitting vacant for just shy of a year, the project was turned over to a new partnership—the Molasky Group and Binjiang Tower Corporation.

The new partnership took complete ownership of the property and revitalized the project, changing the name to Arrivé. In September 2016, the project team remobilized and worked with the ownership group on their revised design. With new ownership came an elevated, higher-end design, tying into the legacy of the Belltown area. The project team placed a concerted focus on ensuring that the new owner’s team was fully integrated into the project and good relationships were built from the start. “At the end of the day, our goal was to understand the owner’s new vision and to deliver the best product for them,” said Tony Reichstein, project manager.

To accomplish the new owner’s elevated expectations, the team built full-scale mockups of both the residential and hotel units off-site ensuring the team incorporated all changes and updated finishes. It was critical to the success of the project that the team work together to facilitate these changes, developing strategies that enabled construction to continue without delay while also delivering the new owner’s vision of the project. The expertise of the entire project team enabled the vision to become a reality without delay, while delivering exceptional value. 

Along with a change in ownership, the site posed the challenge of working within a confined jobsite in downtown Seattle. The site is located mid-block with no corner entrance, and access for construction equipment and deliveries was constrained to two sides. On the south end stood a historical movie theater and on the north end, the King County health facility. The project’s footprint encompassed the entire site, necessitating a high degree of coordination and just-in-time deliveries for all materials. Due to the small footprint and depth of the excavation, the team was challenged to virtually model and coordinate every step of the excavation and building process to ensure materials could be delivered and removed in a timely and efficient manner.

The team also implemented Lean construction principles, using the Last Planner® System and Pull Planning to ensure that the coordination around the entire construction schedule was mapped out and embraced by the entire team including the owners. These principles aided the project team in producing predictable workflow at every step and ensured that every stakeholder on the project collectively started with the end goal and worked backwards milestone by milestone until they reached the start date.

With the new ownership in place, the project team was able to successfully deliver the exceptional “high-value” experience to both guests and residents alike. In February 2019, the project team officially celebrated the grand opening of the long-anticipated Arrivé Tower.