24-story office tower moves ahead

Beacon Capitol’s 24-story office tower downtown, to be called Bellevue Center, will proceed as planned. It will include 1,250 stalls of underground parking, a 2-acre plaza, restaurant and retail space totaling 524,000 square feet. Beacon had originally planned for a 32-story tower at its 10833 NE Eighth Street site.

Bellevue relaxes signage rules

The Bellevue City Council approved an ordinance to reduce the amount of space a company would have to occupy to use signage in downtown Bellevue. The new rules allow for company headquarters of 120,000 square feet or more, though buildings are still not permitted to have more than one company’s sign per tower, and no more than two signs total. Some had complained of the previously restrictive policies and council and staff argued that the changes might further incentivize business in the city.

Changes to helicopter landings sought

After some controversy about a decision to allow for helicopter landings on the Bank of America building at Northeast Eighth Street, Kemper Development Company is requesting a revision to the permit it applied for back in 2011, to also allow for single engine helicopters. Some local businesses and residents expressed concern about the noise generated by landings, early in the discussion. A public meeting is scheduled for Aug. 1 at City Hall.