SEATTLE — In a $1.16 billion deal, online retailer Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to acquire 11 buildings totaling 1.8 million square feet in the heart of Seattle’s burgeoning South Lake Union neighborhood from Vulcan Real Estate. Amazon currently leases the buildings, which are part of its corporate headquarters.
Vulcan, which constructed the 11 buildings as part of Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, put them on the market in August. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year.
The Amazon campus is at the center of a newly revitalized neighborhood at the north end of downtown Seattle. Once better known for warehouses and light industrial operations, the South Lake Union neighborhood is now home to Amazon, global health organizations, multifamily residential communities and a thriving retail and restaurant core.
“We are truly excited that Amazon is making this long-term commitment to the South Lake Union community,” says Ada Healey, vice president of real estate for Seattle-based Vulcan Inc. “We know they will be excellent stewards of this property and will continue to play a vital role in revitalizing South Lake Union and creating a thriving urban neighborhood in the heart of Seattle’s urban core.”
Vulcan plans to reinvest earnings from the sale into real estate investments, including the redevelopment of the remaining 30 acres of property it owns in the South Lake Union neighborhood.
Through strategic acquisitions and development, Vulcan has created a $2.3 billion diversified portfolio of high-quality assets including office, life sciences, residential and mixed-use projects.
Vulcan currently has both residential and commercial projects in development in South Lake Union, including Stack House, a 278-unit apartment complex, and a 375,000-square-foot project that it is developing for Amazon.
Vulcan Real Estate directs all real estate investment activities for Vulcan Inc., a Paul G. Allen company. Allen is the co-founder of Microsoft.
— Matt Valley