After years of talk about reimagining Kirkland Parkplace, PGIM Real Estate, Talon Private Capital and Ryan Companies celebrated the start of construction on the Kirkland Urban development on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

“This is the sweetest sound you could ever hear,” Bill Pollard, founding principal at Talon, said of the construction noise during the Sept. 28 groundbreaking celebration at Kirkland Urban.

“I think you’re really going to see that we’ve created something that we can all be proud of,” PGIM’s Justin Gleason said.

In addition to representatives of the three companies talking about bringing Kirkland Urban to life, elected officials, city staff and future business tenants were on hand to celebrate the start of the project. Pollard, Gleason and Ryan Regional President Rick Collins all thanked the officials, city staff, tenants, neighbors and the community at large for their help in making Kirkland Urban happen.

“I hope this holds up to their expectations,” Pollard said.

Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen also spoke at the groundbreaking.

“Our quality of life is our economic development strategy, and this project achieves that,” Walen said, citing the work of City Manager Kurt Triplett and City Planner Eric Shields as key to helping Kirkland Urban navigate the city and the community.

Some of the tenants who are locked down to have space in Kirkland Urban include Wave Broadband, Tableau Software, QFC, iPic Entertainment, Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria, Duke’s Chowder House, Evergreens Salad, Cafe Ladro, All the Best Pet Care and HomeStreet Bank.

“We are bringing a series of uses that we think will revolutionize multi-use development,” Pollard said. “There’s a lot of new, positive energy and excitement with this project.”

In addition to the retail, dining, entertainment and office space, Kirkland Urban also will have residential space with 185 apartment homes.

“This does everything for us, and it’s an incredible opportunity for the city,” Walen said. “It’s going to be a jewel of the region.”

Construction of Phase I of Kirkland Urban is expected to last through November 2018. The first phase is comprised of more than 390,000 square feet in two office towers, 140,000 square feet of retail space and more than 1,700 parking spaces. Wave will occupy three floors in the 197,000-square-foot, six-floor Urban Central building, while Tableau will lease more than 90,000 square feet in Urban North, which will be a 196,000-square-foot office building.

QFC will anchor the Phase I retail space with a 50,000-square-foot grocery store, which is more than two times the size of the current location. The residential component, which will feature amenities such as a roof deck, club room and fitness center, also is part of Phase I.

“We’re just at the starting line,” Pollard said. “We will reassemble in two years for what will be the grand opening of Phase I.”

A specific timeline for Phase II has yet to be established, but a Talon spokesperson said it would take 12 to 15 months to come together following the completion of Phase I.

Across town, The Village at Totem Lake, another multi-use development scheduled to be completed in stages from 2018 through 2019, is taking off as well, but the Kirkland Urban (KU) team doesn’t see the other development as a road block for them.

“Regarding Totem Lake, we have not experienced an impact from any standpoint, including leasing,” a Talon spokesperson said. “The community and tenant response to KU has been overwhelmingly strong.”

For more information about Kirkland Urban or to watch live video of the construction, visit kirklandurban.com.