2025 West Best Projects
Award of Merit, Residential/Hospitality: The Confidential
The Confidential
Seattle
Award of Merit
Submitted by Exxel Pacific
Owner Security Properties
Lead Design Firm Via/Perkins Eastman
General Contractor Exxel Pacific
Civil Engineer KPFF Consulting Engineers
Structural Engineer Cary Kopczynski & Co.
This 29-story mixed-use stepped tower in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood is home to 212 residential units, 9,000 sq ft of street-level retail and restaurants as well as commercial office space. Among its distinct massing elements are a four-story brick podium relating to nearby historic buildings and a stepped glass tower with cascading terraces.
Faced with a restriction against hoisting building materials over 4th Avenue, which needed to maintain bike lake access and two lanes of traffic, the team designed a custom loading dock that improved subcontractors’ ability to offload materials on site.
The dock allowed materials to be loaded onto the construction site without the use of a forklift, ensuring safety and compliance with local regulations. Crews also coordinated with two nearby high-rise tower projects and the Seattle HUB District to navigate construction activities.
Meanwhile, a Stack-A-Shaft steel stair system provided safer floor access than traditional ladders while keeping pace with concrete deck construction. This system expedited the installation of the building’s stairs concurrently with the building’s structural elements.
This saved time and improved the overall workflow and coordination among the construction teams. The project achieved 581,073 worker hours through creative engineering and advanced construction technologies.
