What are they building? New tower to be Seattle’s second tallest skyscraper

A new addition to the top of the downtown Seattle skyline is expected to begin rising up next year when work begins on what will ultimately become the city’s second-tallest skyscraper.

Seattle-based Wright Runstad released new details Wednesday of its planned tower where the current Rainier Square shopping mall currently sits.

Groundbreaking is slated to begin later next year on the 58-story tower and an adjacent 12-story hotel. The tower would soar 850 feet into the sky, second in height only to the nearby Columbia Tower.

It’ll feature 790,000 square feet of office space and about 180 apartments that Wright Runstad says would be the highest in the city.

Rainier Square is part of about a 10-acre area in downtown owned by the University of Washington. The UW selected Wright Runstad earlier this year to redevelop the site and manage the old Rainier Tower, which will remain standing.

If all goes to plan, the new tower and hotel would begin opening in phases starting in late 2017, Wright Runstad says.

The development would rise up on the block between Fourth and Fifth avenues and Union and University streets.

The adjoining luxury hotel would be just 12 stories with 180 rooms to preserve the view of the Rainier Tower’s signature concrete pedestal.

Wright Runstad hopes to open it in late 2017.

In addition to the office and residential space, Rainier Square will also feature about 30,000 square feet of retail among both new buildings, Wright Runstad says.

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