Tom’s Watch Bar

Project Overview

Tom’s Watch Bar is a 24,273 SF restaurant and sports bar built inside an historic 100 year old brick building and was one of our most complex and demanding structural projects. The building sits above a tunnel that serves the nearby Climate Pledge Arena, which meant we could not place any added load on the tunnel. To solve that, we installed a series of piles on both sides of it to carry the weight of the new second floor and rooftop deck. That second floor was a major structural steel project, threaded into a historic shell that demanded precision at every step. Because the building is on the historic register, we also rebuilt a large opening in the roof using nail laminated wood framing made from 2x4s on edge so the repair matched the original roof structure. Along the way we completed significant seismic upgrades throughout the building to bring it up to current standards.

This was a negotiated project and we worked closely with the Oak View Group, owners of the Kraken, throughout preconstruction.  The work included a substantial round of value engineering to keep the design intact while bringing the cost within budget. The finished space ended up being the best sports bar in town.  It includes more than 100 TVs, the largest bar on the West Coast and a rooftop deck with incredible views of the Space Needle and the city. Tom’s Watch Bar pushed our team on engineering, coordination and craft.  The final result is a one of a kind space that shows the value of true partnership.