SEATTLE — A Miami-based developer revealed plans for a Seattle skyscraper so massive it would be the tallest on the West Coast. Those plans submitted to the city show it would go in at 4th Avenue and Columbia, kitty-corner from the Columbia Tower, and it would dwarf it.
The view from the Columbia Tower's 73rd floor observation deck is nothing short of breathtaking. Paul Rusyn says it's not too bad from where he works on the 54th floor either -- yet.
"To the southwest you see the dock, the port and the Sound, ferries coming in and out so it's a nice view now,” he told us.
That's likely to change: developer Crescent Heights has unveiled plans to build a 101-story building -- 25 stories higher -- right next door.
"I did hear that finally a building taller than Columbia Tower is slated to be built,” Rusyn told us of the structure.
Some say it's progress.
"What's one more? That's the way the future is going,” Linda Brown, visiting from Portland, told us after checking out the Columbia Tower’s observation deck.
The Smith Tower came first in 1914; at 463 feet and with 38 floors it was the tallest building in Seattle until the Space Needle was built in 1962. Both were beat by Columbia Tower, standing at 967 feet and 76 stories.
We don't know the height on this new structure but we know it will be 101 stories of residential units, retail space, and hotel rooms.
So while some are losing their killer view, they’re looking at the bigger picture.
"Good for the city, good for growth in the city,” Rusyn concludes.
The project is slated for 2017. Once completed, it would be one of the tallest buildings in the U.S. One World Trade Center in New York City is the tallest; at 104 stories.