An early-1990s boutique waterfront building at Carillon Point, adjacent to the marina, waterfront restaurants and the Lake Washington shoreline trail.
5505 Lake Washington Boulevard NE · Carillon Point · Kirkland
Building note: Olson Kundig's original project account describes 14 homes delivered as a building shell; later directories report 13. The current legal residence count requires the recorded condominium schedule.
One Carillon Point: a shared waterfront building made for individual visions
One Carillon Point at 5505 Lake Washington Boulevard NE brings an unusually personal form of condominium living to Kirkland's waterfront. Completed in 1991, the building was designed by Jim Olson, whose practice is now Olson Kundig. Its appeal comes through in the homes themselves: carefully composed rooms, substantial woodwork, gardens and terraces that make the lake part of daily life. The setting has its own remarkable history, from working shipyard to football practice grounds to the Carillon Point neighborhood people know today.
One Carillon Point building exterior
The original idea
The architect designed a shell; owners completed their own homes
Olson Kundig describes an original fourteen-home project delivered as a building shell, allowing individual owners to develop their own interiors. That decision made personal design part of the building's beginning. The variations seen in later architectural publications and property records are a continuation of that original idea.
Before the residences
Ships and Seahawks came before the waterfront gardens
The broader Carillon Point site once held the Lake Washington Shipyards, where the streamlined ferry Kalakala took shape and naval vessels were built and repaired during World War II. After shipbuilding ended, the property served other maritime uses before the Seattle Seahawks leased part of it in 1976 for offices and a practice field. HistoryLink records that the lease ended a decade later, when the Skinner Corporation began developing a residential and business complex initially called the Shipyard.
Jim Olson's design
A formal street face and an informal relationship with the lake
Olson's project description identifies two different responsibilities: meeting the urban street with a degree of formality while responding more freely to the water. The owner-designed interiors fitted within that shared architectural framework. This was a small collection of custom homes held together by one exterior composition. The firm's original account describes fourteen residences; later real estate records commonly report thirteen, so the original project description should not be substituted for today's recorded unit schedule. What remains clear is the design intention: a coherent waterfront building with room for highly individual lives inside.
A home for collections
Gallery walls and maple joinery became part of the interior character
Published material for residence 1D offers a detailed example of the building's private interiors. The selling broker described birdseye maple casework, inset ceiling beams, inlaid maple floors and an axial plan with long walls for displaying art. Sliding doors connected the living area to a private sculpture garden by the lake, while another garden occupied the inland side. These details belong to that documented residence, not to every home or a communal gallery. They show how architecture, cabinetry and a personal collection could be designed together, with the lakeside garden extending the composition beyond the glass.
Landscape as architecture
One garden connects a water feature to a lakeside fire feature
Landscape architect Broadhurst + Associates describes a particularly inventive later project at a ground-level Carillon Point residence. An existing strip of sandstone established a line through the home. The landscape design extended that line outward, ending in a simple water feature on the shaded eastern side and a corresponding fire feature toward the lake. The outdoor work continued an interior idea instead of treating the terrace as a separate decorative afterthought. It is a private landscape project, but it illustrates a recurring opportunity here: linking the building's strong geometry with the changing light, water and planting immediately outside.
Preserving and updating
New work has been designed to live comfortably beside the old maple
A 2022 Luxe account followed designers James Fung and Whitney Maehara of NB Design Group as they updated a Carillon Point residence with contractor Schultz Miller. They retained original stone and wood where possible and matched new fir and birdseye maple to existing finishes where lighting work required changes. Their additions included concealed induction cooking beneath a porcelain countertop, a bar integrated into maple cabinetry and an onyx fireplace wall. This was a renovation of one private home. Its interest lies in the approach: the team adapted the residence to new routines while allowing the earlier architectural character to remain legible.
The larger setting
The condominium and the Carillon Point campus play different roles
Carillon Point's present-day setting includes offices, restaurants, shops, a hotel, a spa and marina facilities, along with gardens, sculpture and a shoreline trail. Those nearby destinations give the residential address a relationship with a working waterfront district. The commercial campus also advertises services for its own tenants. None of that establishes automatic condominium access to hotel facilities, marina berths or tenant programs. The useful distinction is between what the residence and association provide and what can be enjoyed or arranged nearby. The surrounding activity is part of the setting; the ownership rights come from the condominium documents.
Good to know
Before choosing a home here
01Compare the actual home's original and later design work, approved alterations, and current condition; published interiors illustrate individual residences.
02Confirm the recorded unit schedule, parking and storage allocations, and the boundaries and maintenance responsibilities of any private terrace or garden.
03Verify any marina, hotel, spa or commercial-campus service arrangements separately from the condominium's own facilities and obligations.
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 One Carillon Point
Explore available homes, photography and pricing from the live NWMLS feed.
Pinnacle GroupLuke Bartlett
Windermere Mercer Island
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
Published home profiles illustrate differences in finishes, layouts and outdoor spaces.
Check the home's approved alterations, private garden boundaries and maintenance responsibilities.
Confirm the recorded unit schedule; later property records report thirteen homes.
Waterfront & Moorage
Gardens and terraces described in published residence profiles are private to those homes.
Marina, hotel and spa arrangements require separate confirmation.
Shoreline, dock and moorage rights are established by the governing documents and vary by residence. They should be confirmed before purchase.
Building amenities
Waterfront setting
Parking
Resident parking
Storage
Resident storage
Amenities are reported in public building and listing sources. Confirm current access, reservations, fees, and any parking or storage assignment with the association.
Rental & Leasing
Leasing at One Carillon Point
Rental cap
Current HOA documents required
Minimum lease
Current HOA documents required
Short-term rentals
Current HOA documents required
More rental details+
Cap status / waitlist
Current HOA documents required
Subleasing
Current HOA details required
Lease / registration
Current HOA details required
Rental / move-in fees
Current HOA details required
Background checks
Current HOA details required
Source status
Needs verification
Last verified
September 1, 2026
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.
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.
