Gee backs idea to turn empty Seattle office building into apartments – MyNorthwest.com

As a developer looks to turn the Liggett Building, an empty historic office building in downtown Seattle, into apartments, KIRO host Gee Scott asks why not?

“It makes way too much sense to take some of these vacant, empty spots and turn them into an opportunity for people to live, and by the way, it shouldn’t be hard for Seattle, because right now Seattle got a Bellevue problem,” Gee said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “Everybody is closing up shop, moving, and a lot of times they move over to Bellevue. So why not? Why not have a situation where some of these empty spots can be used for living? Let’s do that.”

He believes one of Washington’s biggest issues is with inventory, dating back to the Great Recession.

“Probably the biggest problem that we do have here in the state of Washington is inventory,” Gee said. “We’ve had an inventory problem since the Great Recession, back in 2008. The state of Washington and other places have not been on pace to develop more inventory here.”

He pointed to the slew of red tape that blocks developers from getting permits. According to The Seattle Times, developers have submitted at least seven proposals, since 2020, to turn office space into residential living, but many of those fell through.

The Seattle Times noted large conversion projects are difficult because developers have to work with spaces that were never designed for housing.

But Jen Pasquier, the founder of Current Development, is hopeful she can bring the once bustling Liggett Building back to life. Pasquier and the architecture firm Graham Baba Architects have submitted preliminary proposals to the city to transform the building into 93 apartment units.

“I think this is an opportunity where you can do really cool, creative, unique things with these legendary buildings,” KIRO fill-in producer Paul Holden said. “Why not make these interesting communities, where you can have communal spaces on the bottom, the living at the top, kind of turn these office buildings not only into apartments, but centers for the people who live there.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.