Is the waterfront view from Infinity Shore Club Residences the finest in greater Seattle?
It’s tough to dispute. Look east across Elliott Bay, and there’s the gleaming splendor of downtown Seattle. To the west, the watery expanse of Puget Sound and shimmering golden sunsets.
Now add the buzz and charm of Alki Beach to the mix, a historic West Seattle neighborhood worthy of a triple-digit walkability score. Small wonder why the six-story, 37-unit Infinity Shore Club Residences is arguably the city’s premier condominium community.
Iconic Vision
This 102,000-square-foot beachfront enclave is a lifestyle marvel. It took nearly 25 years to assemble five contiguous waterfront homes, key to the structure’s 250-foot-long waterfront length. “We wanted to build the most iconic waterfront condo in Seattle, and perhaps the entire West Coast,” explains James Wong, CEO of Vibrant Cities, a Pacific Northwest multifamily development company behind Infinity Shore Club Residences.
Adding to the visual splendor is an engaging walkway structure in the back that showcases the verdant forested area surrounding the structure. The property’s many technology features include EV charging stations for all units in the secure indoor parking area, making it among the nation’s first to go all-in on EV charging.
Wong imagined a permanent resort lifestyle on par with sophisticated peer properties in California, Florida, and the Carolinas. To that end, the Vibrant Cities team partnered with award-winning architect Bob Tiscareno, founder and principal of Seattle-based Tiscareno Associates.
Wong recalls asking early on, “Why don’t we have luxury resort living in Seattle?” Why indeed. Why not condo residences with long unbroken horizontal lines and glass wall transparency? Why not blur the line between an indoor and outdoor lifestyle? For that, only one construction system made sense: Type 1 steel frame with concrete. Wong and Tiscareno cite at least four reasons why Type 1 assembly was the best design solution for this project:
1. Horizontal High-Rise. “Exclusivity is expressed by long balcony lines, sliding NanaWalls, and elegant interior proportions,” Tiscareno explains. “Wood frame is limiting. The spans are too narrow. Concrete allows higher ceilings, another point of distinction. Infinity Shore Club Residences makes a contemporary design statement.”
2. Contextual Affinity. The 250-foot lot size scaled well beyond neighboring properties, chiefly single-lot stick-built podium structures. To soften the exceptional massing, Tiscareno divided the structure into two six-story towers linked by a two-story common area and elevated courtyard with an infinity pool and spa. The project supports rather than challenges architectural context while offering appropriate density.
3. Restful Acoustics. The Alki Beach neighborhood is high energy during summer months. The choice of concrete is well suited for sound suppression, insulating condo owners from street noise as well as adjacent units. “Concrete slab is definitely the best acoustic option for the floor structure,” reports Mohamed Ait Allaoua, principal of A3 Acoustics, the project’s sound consultant.
4. High-Value Investment. Peer properties in California’s Newport, San Diego, and San Francisco as well as British Columbia’s West Vancouver often command prices of $2,000 to 3,000 per square foot. “We’re charging half that,” Wong says. What’s more, fire-resistive Type 1 construction is “… built to stand for 100-plus years without structural worries,” adds Scott Erickson of DCI Engineers, the project’s structural engineer.
The Infinity Shore Club Residences opened its doors to the first owners in July. Wong is pleased by the reaction, adding, “There’s nothing like it in Seattle. It’s iconic. Building with concrete allowed us to set the bar for beachfront luxury living in Seattle.”
Learn more about how building with concrete can benefit multifamily housing resilience, design flexibility, owner value, and sustainability.
