Pinnacle GroupLuke Bartlett
Continental Place in Belltown / Pike Place, Seattle

Seattle Condo Buildings

Continental Place

Classic luxury tower above Pike Place / Belltown with large residences and strong Elliott Bay view potential.

2125 1st Avenue · Belltown / Pike Place · Seattle

Building note: The tower was completed in 1981. Specialist directories commonly count 33 stories, while The Skyscraper Center counts 34. Published residential totals include 121, 122, 124 and 128. The directory leaves the count unstated pending the association's recorded unit schedule and any unit-combination history.

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Building Highlights

Built
1981
Stories
33–34 fl
Neighborhood
Belltown / Pike Place
Developer
Neiso Moscatel and Allegra Properties
Architect
WJA Design Collaborative
Building Type
Established luxury high-rise

The Building Story

An early Belltown tower with a furniture family's Seattle roots

Continental Place has watched Belltown change from its corner at First Avenue and Blanchard Street since 1981. Its history begins with a local business family and an early commitment to downtown condominium living. The tower's large windows, balconies and substantial shared amenities established a residential presence well before the neighborhood's later building boom. Inside, decades of individual renovations have added another layer: homes within the same exterior can now express very different ideas about kitchens, art, entertaining and the view.

Continental Place building exterior
Continental Place building exterior

The people behind the tower

Neiso Moscatel and Allegra brought a local business history upstairs

Allegra Properties credits Continental Place to developer Neiso Moscatel and the firm, with architecture by WJA Design Collaborative. Moscatel's real estate career grew out of Continental Furniture, a Seattle business his family had operated since 1941. That connection gives the condominium a more particular origin than its formal name suggests: it emerged from a family already deeply involved in the city's commercial life.

Before the condominium

From furnishing homes to developing them

Allegra's account places Moscatel's entry into real estate in 1960 as an extension of the furniture business. Continental Place became one of a wider group of projects that also included work on Union Stables and Ventana at the Market. It is a useful development lineage because it connects the tower to several forms of Seattle property, from historic structures to mixed-use urban housing. Continental Place's own role was especially visible: instead of adding a few residences to an existing building, it established a tall residential address near the market and waterfront.

A place in the early skyline

The 1981 tower predates Belltown's later condominium wave

The Skyscraper Center records Continental Place as a completed 1981 residential tower, approximately 349 feet tall, with concrete as its principal structural material. Longstanding local building profiles describe it as one of Belltown's early residential high-rises. The date matters more than a claim to any particular height ranking. This was an established downtown-home proposition before many of the condominium names now associated with Belltown existed. Its age is part of the architectural story: the building helped define a residential skyline that subsequent projects would join.

The building's vertical organization

The homes become less numerous toward the top

A detailed 2011 building review placed the first residential level on the seventh floor and described progressively fewer homes per floor as the tower rises. The lower residential floors had roughly five or six homes, while the highest levels had only two. The same review recorded one-, two- and three-bedroom plans and a small group of two-story configurations. That variety complicates any single image of a Continental Place apartment. The experience of a compact lower-floor home and a large upper-level residence can differ in circulation, neighboring doors, room proportions and the amount of exterior wall available for windows.

Shared space with an outdoor counterpart

A pool and garden belong to the building's identity

Allegra describes a pool and spa, fitness room, recreation room, guest suite and landscaped garden, along with staffed entry service. The combination gives Continental Place a substantial shared program for an established tower. The garden is a particularly useful counterpoint to the vertical setting: it offers an outdoor room within the property, while the pool provides an indoor activity that does not depend on Seattle weather. These spaces explain part of the building's continuing appeal beyond the individual apartment. They also make a visit to the common areas an essential part of understanding what living here would actually include.

A documented second life

One renovation turned a residence into a home for art

Upward Architecture's 2015–2016 Continental Place project shows how owners have reinterpreted the tower's interiors. Working with the contractor then known as SchuchartDow, the architect reorganized a roughly 2,000-square-foot home around its owners' art and mineral collections. The kitchen gained a more direct relationship to the water view, while oak, walnut and carefully designed cabinetry provided a restrained setting for the collections. A custom fossil cabinet became a central piece of furniture. This was a private renovation, but it offers a concrete example of the individuality that can develop inside a longstanding condominium.

What an established tower offers

The floor plan determines how the outlook becomes daily life

Continental Place's location and elevation can produce substantial water, mountain and city outlooks, but the Upward project reveals a subtler point: seeing the bay from a window and enjoying it while cooking are different experiences. Later renovations can change that relationship without changing the building's outer silhouette. The most revealing comparison between homes is therefore not simply original versus updated finishes. It is how the rooms use their windows, how comfortably furniture fits, whether the balcony serves daily life and how the plan accommodates the owner's particular routines.

Good to know

Before choosing a home here

  • Compare the actual floor plan and renovation record, including approvals for combined homes or altered kitchens, rather than assuming interiors are uniform.
  • Inspect the exact outlook, balcony, glazing and comfort during afternoon sun; the tower's reputation for views does not describe every room.
  • Review current staffing and shared-space arrangements, parking and storage rights, and reserve planning for the pool, elevators and building envelope.
Explore the research behind this building

Architecture and project-history references describe the original design. Current amenity access, financial condition, building rules and individual property features must be verified from the latest association and listing records.

Homes for Sale

Currently available at Continental Place

Explore available homes, photography and pricing from the live NWMLS feed.

Pinnacle GroupLuke Bartlett

Listing data is provided by Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) through IDX Broker. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and must be independently verified.

Residence Character

  • Elliott Bay view potential is strong from many homes but varies by stack and floor.
  • The mix includes compact plans, larger residences and individually remodeled homes; compare actual room proportions.
  • Condition varies widely by residence because renovation history is owner by owner.

Building amenities

  • 24-hour doorman / concierge
  • Indoor pool and spa
  • Fitness center
  • Private garden terrace
  • Club room / conference area
  • Guest suite
  • Secure parking
Parking
Secure resident garage

Amenities are reported in public building and listing sources. Confirm current access, reservations, fees, and any parking or storage assignment with the association.

Building photography

2 photographs of Continental Place.

Rental & Leasing

Leasing at Continental Place

Rental cap
22-unit rental ceiling
Minimum lease
Current HOA documents required
Short-term rentals
Not permitted as a short-term rental · publicly reported
Rental availability
14 units were reported as rented on the certificate date; current standing requires a current certificate · as of May 28, 2026. Dated observation, not an association rule.

Source: May 28, 2026 resale certificate

More rental details
Cap status / waitlist
Rental ceiling of 22 units, per the May 28, 2026 resale certificate.
Dated cap observation
14 units were reported as rented on the certificate date; current standing requires a current certificate · as of May 28, 2026. Dated observation, not an association rule.
Subleasing
Current HOA details required
Lease / registration
Current HOA details required
Rental / move-in fees
$300 new-owner setup, $750 moving fee and $75 lease administration fee (May 28, 2026; confirm current amounts)
Background checks
Current HOA details required
Source status
Current MLS rental activity
Last verified
May 28, 2026 resale certificate

124 residences and 3 commercial units.

The May 2026 certificate discloses a 2026 interior common-area project funded by an owner-ratified special assessment. Each home's current obligation requires current documents.

Leasing rules and availability may change. Confirm current terms with the condominium association before purchasing or leasing.

What Buyers Should Know

Due-diligence checklist

  • Resale certificate
  • Reserve study
  • Budget and financial statements
  • Insurance
  • Assessments
  • Capital projects
  • Litigation
  • Rental rules
  • Owner occupancy
  • Financing / warrantability
  • Parking and storage rights
  • View / future development
  • Building systems and age

What Sellers Should Know

Who you compete with

Sellers compete with current same-building inventory, similar stacks, floor height, views, parking, condition, amenities and nearby buildings.

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Work with Luke

Considering a condo at Continental Place?

Association rental and leasing rules, rental caps, current cap availability, waitlists, minimum lease terms, fees and short-term-rental policies can change at any time. Information should be independently verified through the current resale certificate, declaration, rules and regulations, association management and applicable City of Seattle requirements before purchase or lease.