If you haven’t been following, Sound Transit originally estimated it would cost $53 million for the Sea-Tac Airport station. The lowest bid came in around $93 million, but with negotiations they were able to get a bid around $73 million. Thanks to the P-I, we now learn what caused the Sea-Tac station to be cheaper.
The building still will look basically the same as planned, Lewis said, but cost savings were made by reducing the size of the building’s internal structural supports, narrowing the roof width, reducing the amount of glass and eliminating an enclosure for an emergency-access stairway.
Well the station is getting smaller, but that doesn’t meant the transit-oriented development is. Sea-Tac is planning an entertainment district around the station, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.
The city of SeaTac said it plans to create an “entertainment district” in the south Seattle suburb that would include retail, dining and entertainment facets.
The city has hired Heartland LLC, a Seattle real estate consultant, to devise a strategy for the district. The area that SeaTac officials have targeted is around the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sound Transit light rail station now under construction at International Boulevard and South 176th Street, which is scheduled to open at the end of next year.
Hm… I wonder what district Sea-Tac is planning around the $413 million parking structure? My guess? Nothing at all.