SEATTLE — Boston Properties Inc. (NYSE: BXP) has entered into an agreement to acquire Safeco Plaza, a 50-story, Class A office tower located at 1001 Fourth Ave. in Seattle’s Central Business District, for $465 million. The seller in the transaction was undisclosed.
The REIT is acquiring the 800,000-square-foot property through a joint venture with one of the participants in its recently announced co-investment program with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and GIC. Boston Properties will own a 51 percent interest in the building.
Safeco Plaza was developed in 1969 by the Howard S. Wright Construction Co. and features a two-story lobby, five-level subterranean parking garage, a large outdoor plaza and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
The LEED Platinum-certified property offers views of the Seattle skyline, Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains and is located adjacent to stops for Seattle’s Link light rail and Metro bus lines.
Safeco Plaza was 90 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Safeco Insurance, Bank of America, Corr Cronin LLP, Fox Rothschild, Helsell Fetterman and Interior Architects. Hines has managed the asset since 2016.
Boston Properties is one of the largest publicly traded developers, owners and managers of Class A office space in the U.S., with a portfolio concentrated in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The company’s stock price closed at $118 per share on Wed., July 28, up from $87.52 one year ago.
—Katie Sloan