The Puget Sound Business Journal has put together a very lengthy article on Kemper Freeman Jr. and his Bellevue empire. They have credited Kemper as “Executive of the Year.”
The article takes you through his journey of the days when Bellevue Square was an outdoor mall, to the point now where he will expand Bellevue’s retail flagship Bellevue Collection an additional 2.2 million-square-feet.
One of the additions, as we’ve reported in the past, will be to the Bellevue Square JC Penny’s parking lot. The project where the parking lot currently stands will be called “The Bellevue.” This development plans for a hotel with 200 rooms, and another 192,000 square feet of retail.
After the current Downtown Bellevue Safeway location moves across the street, the project known as Lincoln Square Two will begin development. This plan calls for 392,000 square feet of retail, a 600,000 square foot office tower, 120 room hotel, and a 200 unit luxury condo tower. The expected completion of these projects is 2010. Freeman projects, “Half again of what we have built over 60 years will be built over the next give,” as he stated in an interview with PSBJ.
All of Freeman’s accolades are not future projects, but are the current projects and real estate that he has developed over time. The Bellevue Collection consistently ranks in the top 20 sales per square foot in the country (for retail). Stores previously averaged $672 a square foot, and now are projected to reach $700+ per square foot this year. Also interesting to note is that three Bellevue Collection restaurants gross $10 Million annually (it was not mentioned which particular ones).
The article finished up touching on Freeman’s personal life, talking about his over 40 years of marriage to his wife, Betty, and their interests.
It will be an extremely interesting next couple of years for this Downtown Core, and a lot of the past successes should be attributed to the projects Kemper Development Co. have touched. Kemper and team have paved the way for some exciting projects of their own and for other developers. It will be nice to see them unfold and be completed over time.
