Weyerhaeuser Headquarters
at 200 Occidental

A New Jewel Box in a Historic Neighborhood

Weyerhaeuser, a forest-products company with a deep and well-known history in the Pacific Northwest, made the bold choice of moving their longtime suburban headquarters to Pioneer Square in Seattle. And the new HQ is accompanied by an appropriately-bold architectural design. The project required a turn-key construction team up to the task, and JTM was ready for the challenge—ready to manage the unique and historic site on Occidental Park and coordinating a sole-sourced lumber process that enabled Weyerhaeuser’s own Longview, WA mill to provide all of the lumber for the site.

Address: 200 Occidental Avenue South, Seattle, WA, USA
Status: Completed
Client: Urban Visions
Architect: Mithun
Size: 215,000 SF

13

Feet floor to ceiling windows

LEED Platinum Certification

Sole-Sourced Weyerhaeuser Lumber

A Bold, Flexible Approach

Our partnerships on this project highlighted a core part of JTM’s DNA: Our determination to be flexible and bold in our thinking to creatively solve problems. JTM committed to a budget for the entire project with limited scope information for the interiors—delivering the project in under 18 months, including both the shell and core and the tenant improvement. We’re also proud to have achieved LEED Platinum status on 200 Occidental, even with the pursuit beginning well after construction had started—with out team incorporating the necessary changes into the project without impacting the construction schedule.

But of course, fun is part of flexibility too. The project is located close to both local stadiums Lumen Field and T-Mobile park, and we had to contend with game-day fan traffic on a regular basis. JTM used this opportunity to support the sporting community, encouraging the construction workers to frequent the local food and retail establishments on game days, turning a jobsite headache into an opportunity for comradery whenever possible.

Our team delivered both the shell and core and the tenant improvement in just 18 months.

Finding Ways to Build on History

Pioneer Square is known for having unsuitable soil, and the neighborhood was originally constructed more than 10 feet below the current grade. To construct this project, JTM had to develop an excavation and foundation plan that mitigated the impacts of the difficult soil and water table conditions. This ended up including drilling four-foot-diameter piers into the native bearing layer—while simultaneously keeping a mindful eye for any historical relics from the buried city unearthed in the process.

Firmly-rooted Lumber Sourcing

JTM completely changed the way we buy lumber for this project in order to sole-source material directly from Weyerhaeuser, skipping the various lumber brokers that are typically involved in the lumber purchasing process. While neither JTM nor Weyehaeuser had ever done this before, it was an exciting way to literally build meaning into Weyerhaeuser’s new Headquarters. JTM self-performed all of the wood carpentry for the interiors of the building.

Throughout the building, Weyerhaeuser’s lumber provides strength and character—foregrounding the building material and highlighting both the beauty and function of the company’s product.

Big-impact Details, Made Possible Through Creativity

The project included a monumental curtain wall along the West elevation, offering a stunning visual connection to Occidental Park. Rare in a new office building, the mechanical and electrical rough-in for the tenant improvement was cast into the concrete decks in order to maximize the floor to ceiling heights within the office space, enhancing the light and air already abundant throughout.

Another memorable feature is a twenty-foot-long, six-foot-wide, live-edge boardroom table made from a single piece of lumber. We helped Weyhaeuser hoist the piece onto the roof and into the boardroom on level 8, as it could not be placed inside the elevator or carried up the stairs.