If you are in the mood to see the latest addition to Mercer Island’s Town Center condo options, try 7800 Plaza, a one-year-old building that started selling two and three-bedroom homes in the $500,000-$800,000 range just a few weeks ago.
An entrance in back of the building admits you to an elevator, which, the signs assure you, will lead you to the sales office and model home on the second floor. In case you lose count before then, a calming elevator voice reminds you of your destination.
The hall that greets you has a sterile hotel look complete with high-traffic carpet and a noncommittal beige paint job. But at this point you shouldn’t despair; let yourself in, instead, to condo number 203.
The condo, which is set up as a model complete with artichokes on the kitchen counter, emits an aura of silent, air-freshened class, which is the intimidating yet alluring thing about models.
The best features of the home are bright, open spaces, which emphasize the 1,888-square-foot floor plan and the curved, southwest-facing balcony overlooking 77th Avenue S.E. The condos defy the compartmentalization of a bygone era, and instead connect kitchen, dining and living space. Given the modern design of the building’s exterior, the floor plans are unafraid of non-rectangular rooms.
The kitchen features granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and wooden cabinets with lots of storage space, though much of it is rather high. It connects with the rest of the living space, which makes the thought of cooking there seem enticingly social, and the living/dining space is oriented around tall windows leading to the balcony. The space cries out for color, though, to break up the impenetrable beige of carpet, wall and ceiling.
The bedrooms are rather small, but the condos feature five-piece bathrooms and some walk-in closets are large enough to seem like you ought to furnish them, too.
The 03 and 05 units are by far the most interesting, and, of course, the most expensive. Like the model home, all 03s have a big, curved deck where you could sit and watch the Mercer Island world go by. The 05s face northwest, which bodes ill for sunlight in the winter, but at 2,017 square feet, condo 205 is massive. It also boasts a two-sided gas fireplace and mostly wooden floors.
The dining room in 205 is circular, which makes it feel like the inside of a turret, and it overlooks the sculpture park north of town through lots of big windows. If you ventured higher than the second floor, you might begin to see the lake.
All the units have balconies, though none are quite as interesting as the curved 03 variety, and each comes with two parking spaces in the garage.
On the fifth floor are six penthouse condos that boast lofts and rooftop patios and are priced up to $799,500.
According to Melissa McMurray, the sales manager for the property, there has been plenty of interest in the building since its grand opening in early June. Over the weekend of June 19, she said that she had five offers, and two units on the fourth floor have sold so far.
“I’ve had people lined up out the door,” she said. “I have to say, OK, wait your turn.”
She said sales are pending on two penthouse units and on a third fourth-floor home.
She was surprised, she said, by the broad demographic interested in the building, with young professionals joining retirees who are looking to sell their houses and downsize. She said many of the younger people she talked to were looking to move from an apartment to a condo because rent is high on Mercer Island, and for some it makes sense to invest in a home of their own.
McMurray said she had also worked in Seattle, recently selling condos in a building called Ruby in Eastlake. She said she found that Mercer Island was an entirely different market. Here, prices for condos have not fallen as much as they have in Seattle. In Ruby, she said, all units sold for under $300,000.
Also, McMurray said, buyers on Mercer Island tend to be doing so for the second or third time, while in the Seattle area, many first-time home buyers are looking at condos.
She said the Mercer Island location, steel and concrete design and urban theme has made these homes unique and less affected by the overbuilding that has hurt many condo prices since the 2008 economic crisis.
“This is a niche market,” she said.
Downstairs, 7800 Plaza has retail space, and McMurray said she is trying to get resident input on the kind of businesses that should be housed there. Her sense, she said, was that condo owners were tired of living above law firms and banks, and she said she wanted to install a bakery or pizzeria instead.
Visit the Plaza
7800 Plaza has visiting hours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday through Wednesday, and floor plans can be viewed online at: http://7800plaza.com/index.html.
