After a three-year hiatus, Seattle developer Schnitzer West is putting its lone remaining Denny Triangle property up for sale again.

The empty, five-story building at Eighth Avenue and Stewart Street, once Watermark Credit Union's headquarters, could be renovated for a new user, said Dan Ivanoff, Schnitzer's managing investment partner.

Or it could be torn down to make way for a 40-story apartment tower, or something else.

Schnitzer tried to sell the property in 2009, without success. Prospects are better now, Ivanoff said — several financial and medical institutions have made unsolicited approaches to Schnitzer about buying and moving into the building.

But that's just one possibility, he added.

Schnitzer purchased the property in 2008 and proposed a 10-story building on the site as an addition to its 36-story 1918 Eighth office tower, then under construction next door.

The company shelved that proposal during the recession but recently revived it. City planners gave it their approval last week.

While Schnitzer has since sold 1918, that tower's new owners — affiliates of JPMorgan Chase — could buy the Watermark site and pursue the expansion plan, Ivanoff said.

Still another possibility: A new, stand-alone 10-story office building. But zoning would allow a much taller residential tower, Ivanoff said.

Schnitzer has sold off most of its Seattle-area real-estate portfolio over the past two years, grossing more than $1.3 billion. Ivanoff has said the company is "reloading" for the next development cycle.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com