Hotel Interurban is scheduled to open next spring in Tukwila.
Standing 19 stories high and easily seen from parts of north Kent, the hotel will be the tallest building in Tukwila and offer 185 guestrooms.
The building, on the former Circuit City property at 224 Andover Park E., will also house Airmark Apartments, which will offer 371 units, ranging from studios to two-bedroom flats.
The majority owners of Hotel Interurban are real estate developers Omar and Christine Lee, who also own the Great Wall Shopping Mall along the East Valley Highway. The Lees are committed to the growth of Tukwila, and investments like Hotel Interurban uniquely position the city to be competitive with other major tourist destinations.
“We stand behind the city’s plans to make Tukwila’s Southcenter district a more complete urban center, where guests and residents can enjoy nearby attractions that are easily accessible on foot,” Omar Lee said in a media release. “We see the construction of Hotel Interurban as a catalyst for growth in the city.”
Puyallup-based Absher Construction Company is the general contractor for the project, and Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality will manage and operate the hotel.
“Tukwila is growing into a more dynamic destination in our region for meetings and travelers alike. Hotel Interurban will provide a distinctive guest experience with proximity to the airport, major transit centers, shopping and restaurants,” Columbia Hospitality founder and CEO John Oppenheimer said in the release. “We are very excited to create a new offering in Seattle Southside and work with the Lees to bring their vision to life.”
Tukwila Mayor Allan Ekberg said he looks forward to expanding the city’s offerings for locals and visitors to the region.
“The Washington Place project, which includes Hotel Interurban, is the first step of transforming the city’s Southcenter district into a true neighborhood. The city has had shopping, dining and entertainment but was lacking the housing component,” Ekberg said in the release. “The Lees saw where the market was going in Southcenter and took the bold step to develop the first mixed-use project in the district. The city has other developers lining up to build additional projects in Southcenter. The Lees’ forward thinking is showing Seattle that Southcenter is what’s next.”
Hotel Interurban will feature a two-story lobby boasting a custom glass art installation by local artist Bryan Rubino. It will offer more than 15,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces, including the 5,000-square-foot Rainier Room on the 19th floor, with its impressive views of Mt. Rainier.
Guestrooms with a clean and contemporary design will be on floors 3 through 11 and will feature keyless entry and in-room amenities such as 55-inch, high definition TVs. With a focus on technology and innovation, other hotel features will include mobile check-in, LED lighting and a custom-built canopy at the entrance of the hotel for vehicle and guest arrivals, which will be made up of 60 solar panels that will produce nearly enough electricity for all first-floor operations. The solar panels have a life expectancy of 30 years, during which they will eliminate 130 metric tons of C02 emissions.
The hotel will also feature a ground-floor restaurant and bar with a focus on Northwest-inspired cuisine, where guests can enjoy outdoor dining during the summer months. Separate from the restaurant will be a grab-and-go espresso bar and 24-hour access to fresh snacks in convenient vending machines. The hotel will include an indoor saline pool and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Room rates are anticipated to start at $159 per night on weekends and $189 per night on weekdays.
Hotel Interurban is within walking distance of Westfield’s Southcenter Mall, the light rail station and the Interurban Trail that connects downtown Seattle to Tukwila.
For more information about Hotel Interurban, visit hotelinterurban.com. To learn more about Airmark Apartments, go to airmarkapartments.com.
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