Inspire Fremont Leases 41 of 42 Units at Rents Above Target

In November 2020, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported that Inspire, a six-story, 42-unit building in Fremont described as Seattle’s first carbon-positive apartment building, had leased 41 of its units at rents above what its developers had aimed for. It opened the same week Gov. Jay Inslee issued the stay-home order that shut down the state’s economy.

Co-developer Brett Phillips of Russell’s Fifth Ave. Inc. said the lease-up showed strong demand for ultra-green apartments. Before the pandemic, he and Mike Yukevich, the project’s other co-developer and its general contractor, had expected the property manager, Pacific Crest Real Estate, to need about three months to lease the building. Yukevich was then a principal at Shilshole Development. He is now founder and managing partner of Eastlake Real Estate Partners.

The paper described a 244-panel rooftop solar array that the developers said eliminates residents’ electricity bills. With other features, including an elevator that captures heat as it runs and converts it to energy, the building is meant to produce 105% of the energy it needs. Triple-pane windows and extra insulation make it 54% more energy efficient than new residential buildings in Seattle, the developers said. Public47 Architects designed Inspire, and Phillips said rents reached $4.25 per square foot, with units averaging 407 square feet. Other financial details were not released.

The article compared Inspire with Ellie Passivhaus, a 66-unit passive house building then nearing completion at 320 Queen Anne Ave. N. Its developer estimated that tenants there would use up to 85% less energy than in a standard Seattle building.

This is our summary. The full article by Marc Stiles appeared in Puget Sound Business Journal on November 12, 2020.