A look at Vitus’ Belltown HQ

Affordable housing developer Vitus moved into a new headquarters at 2607 Second Ave. in Belltown at the end of 2022. The office is housed in a 25,000-square-foot, 1920s-era heavy timber-and-masonry building that has been completely revitalized, upgraded and is now topped with a 3,000-square-foot penthouse.

Stephen Whyte, president and CEO of Vitus, purchased the property to be the company’s new Seattle headquarters in 2021. Before moving to Belltown Vitus leased office space on Seventh Ave.

Choosing to renovate an older building to be the firm’s new home made a lot of sense for a company that since 1993 has specialized in restoring and renewing existing affordable housing stock so that buildings remain affordable, and residents can age in place.

Vitus worked with Seattle architecture firm Graham Baba Architects to bring its vision for the Belltown property to life. Construction began in November 2021.

MRJ Constructors was the general contractor.

The original building, which Graham Baba describes as “overlooked,” was three stories, plus a basement. Levels two and three were office space and the ground level was split between two approximately 1,000-square-foot retail spaces.

Following the renovation, retail and office tenants are now located on the first and second floors, while Vitus’ office takes the third. The company also occupies the new penthouse which it uses for executive functions including conference spaces and amenity support. Office tenants also have access to the space.

The penthouse is organized to function both as a meeting and conference space and an entertainment area for hosting philanthropy events, parties, and out-of-town guests.

New roof terraces have been added on both the east and west sides of the penthouse to create indoor/outdoor connections. A strong connection was retained from the west roof deck, through the penthouse, to the east roof deck via large operable facades and sliding doors that also maximize space usage and circulation flow.

The penthouse addition is barely visible from the street ensuring the property retains its historic charm and remains faithful to the character of Belltown.

The entire building has new MEP systems and has been seismically retrofitted. The seismic retrofit included a buckling restrained braced frame and two reinforced concrete shearwalls as new lateral elements. Swenson Say Faget was the structural engineer.

General building updates focused on stripping back the interior to expose the property’s original timber structure, while integrating niches and areas to showcase artwork.

The centerpiece of the renovated space is a new four-story feature stair that stretches to the penthouse.

That steel stair lives within a core of exposed board-formed concrete. A custom motion-activated light fixture runs from the top to the bottom through the center of the four-story stair. Graham Baba says the fixture takes its inspiration from the 1967 Jacques Tati film Playtime, and the interior of the Citroën DS Presidentielle car. The stairwell is topped by a large skylight to also bring in natural daylight. An existing egress stair was demolished to make room for the new feature stair, as well as a new elevator.

Vitus’ offices on the third level include a small lobby area with comfortable furnishings and art and a mix of workstations and conference areas. Amenity areas in the building include a library that bifurcates a large, open sitting area.

Conference rooms are spread across the third floor and penthouse and vary from formal to informal (with a formal board room located at the penthouse level).

Graham Baba describes the overall office aesthetic as “warm and inviting.” Colors are muted and the furniture is a mix of residential-and commercial-style items. Casework throughout is multifunctional, serving as both storage and display, as well as helping to organize the space into zones.

Art is featured throughout the penthouse and third floor via a mix of settings, including display niches, situated within cabinetry, and on flat surfaces and walls.

Two retail spaces are currently available to lease in the building. Laura Miller with Gibraltar has the listing.

The team for the adaptive reuse project also included Charlie Hellstern Interior Design, interior designer; Ecotope, mechanical engineer; Case Engineering, electrical engineer; PanGEO, geotechnical engineer; ABLE Studio, landscape; Sparklab, lighting; Tenor Acoustics, acoustical engineer; RDH, envelope; Resolute, custom feature stair light fixture; Objekts, office furniture selection/procurement; and Dovetail, casework/board-formed concrete/architectural metals.

2607 Second Ave.

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