Washington Square (Bellevue, Washington) facts for kids

Washington Square is a big building project in downtown Bellevue, Washington. It's like a mini-city being built! This area will have tall buildings with homes, offices, a hotel, and lots of shops on the ground floor. The plan is to make it a friendly place for people to walk around, with a dog park, a fountain, and pretty plants.

The first part of Washington Square was finished in 2008. It includes two tall apartment buildings, one with 24 floors and the other with 26 floors. They are about 260 feet (79 meters) tall. Together, they have 353 apartments and 26 townhomes. Washington Square is part of a bigger plan to make downtown Bellevue even better, following other projects like Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square.

Washington Square seen from a building nearby

More parts of this big project are planned for the future, but we don't know exactly when they will be built yet.

Where is Washington Square?

This 10.5-acre (4.2-hectare) area is located between NE 8th and NE 10th Streets. It is also between 108th Avenue NE and 106 Avenue NE. A developer named Eugene Horback slowly bought all the different pieces of land for this project over 17 years. Later, another company called Wasatch Development Associates joined in to help build it.

Shops and Restaurants

Washington Square will have almost 180,000 square feet (16,723 square meters) of space just for shops and restaurants! Some of the first places to open were Top Pot Doughnuts and Shnoo Yogurt.

How the Buildings Are Made

The two tall buildings at Washington Square are built using strong steel and concrete. They are designed to be very safe. The engineers made sure the buildings could handle strong winds and even earthquakes, which are important in the Northwest region. The way the floors and columns are built helps make the apartments feel more open and gives great views outside.

Built for Safety

The engineers who designed Washington Square used a clever way to make the buildings extra strong. They made the main support structure, which is usually around the elevators, much bigger. This made the buildings stronger against earthquakes. It also helped make the homes quieter because the walls between the hallways and the apartments are very thick and strong. Washington Square is built to handle very strong earthquakes, like those that are 7 or 8 on the Richter Scale.

Cool Exterior Walls

The outside of the buildings uses a special "curtain wall" system. This means the outer walls are made of metal panels with insulation inside. This system helps keep the inside of the building warm in winter and cool in summer. It also looks very sleek and helps keep moisture out. The windows have a special coating that blocks harmful UV rays from the sun.

Images for kids

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  Washington Square seen from a building nearby