King County's open-space protection gets boost from Seattle skyscraper's higher reach

Increasing the height on a downtown skyscraper will help King County preserve 300 to 400 additional acres of farms and forests.

A first-of-its-kind agreement between the King County Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Bank and Seattle-based R.C. Hedreen Co., the developer of Olive 8 – a condominium-hotel tower currently under construction on the corner of Olive Way and 8 th Avenue in downtown Seattle.

The agreement clears the way for additional residential capacity in the building, and provides King County with the ability to permanently protect rural farms and forests through the county’s award-winning TDR Program.

“Once again, the TDR Program has proven its incredible conservation value by clearing the way for increased density in the existing urban core, while permanently protecting working farms, forests and other open spaces in King County,” said County Executive Ron Sims.

“In addition to our contributions to the City of Seattle’s low-income housing fund, we are pleased to be able to help preserve important rural land areas under this program,” said David Thyer, president of R.C. Hedreen Co.

R.C. Hedreen Co. paid $930,000 to King County’s TDR Bank for 31 rural development rights. In exchange, R.C. Hedreen can add 62,000 square feet of residential space and increase the building’s height above 300 feet.

Olive 8 will include 231 condominiums in addition to the “Hyatt at Olive 8,” a full-service luxury hotel, and a health club and spa. Construction on the project began in March of this year and is expected to be complete by fall 2008. The entire development is valued at approximately $175 million.

Sims said King County will use the funds to acquire additional rural farm and forest development rights from willing land owners. These funds will protect an additional 300 to 400 acres.

King County acquired the development rights in 2000 when it purchased 284 acres on Sugarloaf Mountain, near the community of Ravensdale. The rural forest property was slated to be converted to 56 residential lots. Instead, the county acquired the development rights and preserved the land for its value as fish and wildlife habitat and open space.

Sugarloaf Mountain is unique in that it sits within both the Cedar and Green river watersheds. As both streams are home to endangered salmon runs, preserving Rock Creek’s habitat means King County is helping to protect the salmon’s home.

The valley also includes the Clark Springs watershed that provides 60 percent of the City of Kent’s drinking water.

“Transfer of Development Rights programs can protect open spaces outside cities while preserving the housing potential,” said King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. “Through TDR projects such as this we can preserve our quality of life, while creating new homes to accommodate the thousands of new residents expected to move to the region over the next decade.”

This agreement marks the first withdrawal from the county’s conservation grant initially endowed with development rights from the Sugarloaf Mountain purchase.

This is the second major transaction this year under the county’s TDR Program. In January, King County announced the TDR agreement to preserve the 438-acre Girl Scout Camp River Ranch near Carnation, including a critical chinook spawning reach of the Tolt River, while allowing additional residential housing density in downtown Seattle.

“It’s encouraging to see this voluntary land-use incentive program working so effectively,” Sims said. “Through the TDR Program, we are able to preserve important farms, forests, fish and wildlife habitat as open space without depleting any of our limited financial resources. This is good financial stewardship, and it is good natural resources stewardship.”

Since 1999, nearly 92,000 acres have been preserved through King County's TDR Program – nearly twice the land of any other TDR Program in the United States.

More information is available at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/tdr/.

More information about Olive 8 is available at www.olive8.com.