Chinese unit plans Seattle-area towers

Architect’s renderings of Bellevue International Plaza in Bellevue, Washington. Provided to China Daily

Plus Investment USA has released drawings of Bellevue International Plaza, a high-rise multi-use project in downtown Bellevue, Washington.

The large mixed-use development underscores the confidence of Asian investors in King County’s second-largest city.

Plus Investment USA last year paid $30 million for the First Congressional Church property at 752 108th Avenue NE and NE Eighth, and another $45.9 million for the neighboring property at NE Eighth, between 108th and 110th.

Plus Investment Ltd, the parent company, has offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. The US subsidiary is in Seattle.

The developer has submitted the designs to the city for review, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported on March 3. The project is expected to start in the fall with groundbreaking on two of the four 40-story towers.

The report also states that the first phase of development will be 355 condominiums in one tower and 435 apartments in the second. There also are plans to have high-end retail stores and a grocery store at the base of the first phase.

The first phase of the development will have around 1,200 underground parking spaces. The first phase could be completed as early as 2019, with condo pre-sales expected in the second half of 2017, according to Plus Investment USA.

“With the completion of light rail in seven years, approximate 32 percent population growth, great schools and numerous strong employers in the area, Bellevue is well on its way to becoming a business center in the greater Seattle area,” said Becco Zou of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest.

“It’s like the new Pudong in Shanghai back in the 1990’s,” Zou said.

Another Chinese firm paid $13.1 million in April for a spot between NE 10th and 102nd and 103rd, to build condos.

MZA Architects, based in Bellevue, is designing the plaza.