THEY ARE third-generation builders in a family that lives and breathes the stuff. Their father, a Moscow construction magnate, moved them to Bellevue to attend local schools and bypass the political and economic upheaval of Russia in the mid-1990s. Now, Tanya and Eugene Gershman, both in their 20s, are the driving force behind one of the most innovative luxury condominium projects to hit the western United States.

Dubbed European Tower, the slender 17- story, 200-foot-tall building is to be erected on a 5,600-square-foot lot at 930 109th Ave. N.E. in Bellevue. Their company, GIS USA, a subsidiary of their father's GIS International Group, has generated plenty of buzz with its "one-home, one-floor" marketing slogan and a mechanized parking garage that will whisk cars to predesignated spots at the touch of a screen.

Starting at $2 million per unit, with a $10 million asking price for the two-story penthouse, it also pushes the definition of luxury living.

"We always had the vision of something contemporary like this, with a European look, something that would shape this market," says Eugene Gershman, the chief operating officer of the firm. He says the building's sleek design and proximity to downtown amenities are what prompted its name.

The only children of Igor and Elena Gershman, Tanya, 24, and Eugene, 29, spent their childhoods traveling across Europe and Asia and started working for their dad during summers in their early teens. Both parents are now U.S. citizens and split their time between homes in Bellevue and Moscow, says Eugene.

Igor Gershman, whose father also was in the construction industry, founded GIS International Group in 1992 and is responsible for an estimated 2 million square feet of residential, commercial and industrial space around the world. He supplied the capital for GIS USA to purchase the tiny Bellevue lot in 2003 and has been instrumental in the tower's planning, coming up with the idea for the garage.

Holding a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Seattle University, Tanya serves as marketing director for GIS USA. She says she knew from a young age she would join the family industry. "The first day you're sitting in class [in college] and they ask what you want to do, I always said construction. People looked at me funny, like, 'Well, why are you in business school?'" she remembers.

She refers to herself as a product of two very different worlds: born in Russia, raised in Bellevue.

"We've traveled so much and seen what's going on in Europe, New York, London. So, when we came to our designers, we already had a tower in mind," she adds.

Eugene earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Washington. He considers his dad his mentor and regularly discusses with him how academic concepts work in the real world. "When the right opportunity came, Tanya and I were ready to jump on it," he says.

For their first business endeavor, the Gershmans admit the luxury tower is a gutsy move. But aligned with some of the most experienced names in the Puget Sound region, including real estate mogul J. Lennox Scott, architecture firm Collins Woerman and contractor Lydig Construction Inc., they're confident about the outcome.

"I think all the commercial developers and brokers will be watching this project, and I think there will be more of this if it's successful," says Jennifer S. Robertson, chair of Bellevue's planning commission.

She says the tower is consistent with the city's comprehensive plan, designed to promote housing in the downtown core.