The Seattle-Tacoma metro area is one of the top-performing multifamily commercial real estate markets in the nation. Locally, employers are adding jobs at one of the fastest paces in the country, supporting a strong rental market in the region. In Tacoma, State Farm and other companies have energized the area’s economy and strengthened its apartment operations. In Seattle, companies like Amazon, Zillow and Julep Beauty are supporting new job growth, and many of these new job opportunities are attracting young workers who need apartments. There were 8,800 jobs were created in the metro in the beginning of the year. About 130,000 workers were added to payrolls over the past three years. The primary renter cohort of residents between the ages of 20 and 34 years old grew nearly twice as fast as the metro population in 2013, greatly increasing the need for apartments. This year, strong job growth will also support demand for area rentals as the total jobs in the metro will rise nearly 4 percent above the pre-recession high. While there are plenty of new jobs, the median household income needed to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home in the metro is $83,150, assuming a 20 …
Seattle has come a long way since the 1971 billboard reading “will the last person leaving Seattle turn the lights off?” The greater Seattle economy and real estate market has continued to be one of the nation’s top- performing locales, even exceeding its prior 2007 peak. Large corporations such as Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft and Starbucks, along with many independent startup companies, have rapidly reduced the unemployment rate, which has dropped to 4.8 percent. The construction pipeline in Seattle remains robust. With more than 20 cranes working on new developments, the market has the most active projects underway since the Downtown Seattle Associations started tracking development in 2005. Nearly two-thirds of construction in Seattle is residential, with more than 5,000 new apartment units opening since January 2013, and more than 6,000 new units to be completed in the next three years, according to the DSA report. During the past year, the amount of office space under construction has nearly doubled from 1.7 million square feet to more than 3.2 million square feet. A large contributor to this is Amazon’s revitalization of the South Lake Union area. Amazon’s global workforce has doubled in the past two years, and the company is reportedly …
NEWCASTLE, WASH. – Security Properties has sold Newport Crossing, a 192-unit apartment complex in the Bellevue submarket of Newcastle, for $38.8 million. The buyer was not named. The community is located at 7311 Coal Creek Parkway SE. Security Properties acquired the community in 2012 in a joint venture with an East Coast insurance company through its Security Properties Multifamily Fund. The company implemented a substantial value-add renovation program in conjunction with its affiliated property management firm, Madrona Ridge Residential, prior to the sale. The renovation included an investment of $1.5 million to re-paint and re-roof the buildings, redesign the community pool, improve landscaping and upgrade unit interiors. Newport Crossing was built in 1990. Security Properties Multifamily Fund currently has 15 remaining multifamily properties in its portfolio. The fund launched in June 2011.
REDMOND, WASH. – Guitar Center has announced plans to open at the Redmond Town Center next spring. The Southern California-based music company will occupy 15,000 square feet on the second level of the shopping complex, just above Eddie Bauer. Four new retailers are also set to join the center, which is located in Redmond, just northeast of Bellevue. They include Big 5 Sporting Goods, Evereve, Cow Chip Cookies and Jujubeet. The landlord is JSH Properties.
SEATTLE – NorthEdge, a 212,000-square-foot office property in the North Lake Union submarket of Seattle, has received $56.4 million in construction financing. The Class A development will be located on the southeast corner of North 34th Street and Woodlawn Avenue. NorthEdge will be situated in the Fremont neighborhood. Notable employers in this area include Google, Adobe and Tableau Software. The four-story office development will include 208,000 square feet of office space, 4,000 square feet of retail and a two-level, 314-space subterranean parking garage. In an effort to attract the burgeoning tech crowd of Seattle, the project will feature exposed concrete, open ceilings, and full-height glass windows overlooking Lake Union and the Downtown Seattle skyline. The project is being developed by Touchstone Corporation and AIG Global Investment Group. The three-year construction loan was arranged by HFF’s Bruce Ganong and Brandon Roth. It was provided by Bank of the Ozarks.
SEATTLE – A pair of apartment communities in Washington State has received a total of $52.7 million in refinancing. The communities include the 379-unit Riverside Park Apartments in Puyallup and the 145-unit Boxcar Apartments in Seattle. Riverside Park is located at 3107 E. Main Ave. It received a $32-million refinance. The loan featured a 10-year term and 30-year amortization schedule. Boxcar Apartments is located at 975 John Street. It received a $20-million refinance. The loan contained the same finance structure as the former community. Financing was arranged by Bob Spiro and Chris Pohlad of NorthMarq Capital’s Seattle regional office through the firm’s affiliate AmeriSphere Multifamily Finance LLC, a Fannie Mae DUS lender.
The Downtown Seattle office leasing market continues to be led by growing tech firms, especially Amazon.com. Amazon recently signed leases for 5th & Bell (125,000 square feet), 635 Elliott (180,000 square feet) and Blanchard Plaza (125,000 square feet with the possibility to take down the entire 250,000-square-foot property). The online retailer is also moving forward with the development of three high-rise buildings totaling 3.3 million square feet. Amazon owns additional lots for more projects in the future as needed. Other tech firms, including Zulily, Twitter, Tableau Software, Nuance Communications, Avalara, Acucela and Simply Measured, are either opening new offices or expanding rapidly. Developers are responding to this demand by moving fast to bring new projects to market. These projects include Dexter Station, 400 Fairview, Hill7 and Troy Block, which are all under construction. Trammell Crow recently announced its 1007 Stewart project, while Holland Partners is developing buildings sites one through three at Westlake Steps, and Schnitzer’s ready to begin construction on its Urban Union development. These development sites are all located in the South Lake Union area in and around the Amazon projects. This addresses the demand seen from other tech firms that want to be near Amazon and the …
The Seattle close-in industrial market consists of those areas within the city limits north and south of Downtown. This is a very dense market composed of about 1,995 individual buildings that amount to 46,520,000 square feet. This is the place where the first Pacific NW industries were established. The submarkets of Ballard, Interbay, SODO, Georgetown and South Park are home to old and new manufacturing-based businesses, suppliers and distributors. They are also home to behemoths like Boeing, the Port of Seattle and a majority of the Alaskan fishing fleet. In addition to decades-old industries like aerospace, ship building, custom metals fabrication, contractor suppliers and wholesale food distribution, we have newer industries emerging as well. These include craft beer, wine and spirits makers, specialty food production, software engineering, computer hardware design, new automotive sale sites, coffee roasters, digital printing, recreational equipment design and manufacturing and now even marijuana production, to name a few. This market is an amazing microcosm of the evolution of American industry. The continual growth of newer and more diverse manufacturing and distribution companies is still percolating steadily despite the setbacks of the Great Recession. This stubborn growth, coupled with the slow conversion of older industrial buildings to …
New multifamily development in Seattle was robust through 2013. That trend is continuing into this year, as demand remains strong and interest rates stay favorable. Healthy job growth, specifically those with higher wages, has particularly benefitted the Seattle market, leading to declining vacancies and increased rental rates. Vacancy rates continue to remain low at just 3.9 percent, compared to the five-year average of 5.2 percent, according to CoStar. Decreasing vacancy, combined with newer product, has pushed rental rates higher. The current average rent for a one-bedroom unit in the Seattle area is $1,078, up $93 compared to the five-year average. In addition to higher rents, concessions are currently at 1.5 percent, compared to the five-year average of 3.2 percent. Absorption remains strong and is keeping pace with new construction. So far, 3,300 units have been absorbed year-to-date. New construction in 2013 and 2014 has been at one of its highest levels ever. This development is largely concentrated in the Seattle urban core. Job growth remains strong, which has kept this additional supply in check with new demand. A total of 6,171 new apartment units were added over the prior 12-month period. As further evidence of a strengthening market, even condo …
Seattle is a top-10 market nationwide for apartment and condo construction, and retailers are following residential growth back into the Seattle core market. In the first half of the 2013, nine apartment projects added nearly 1,300 units to Downtown. As of June 2013, 30 more residential projects were under construction or permitted, representing about 5,400 units. Projects (mostly apartments) are breaking ground at a quickening pace, with total construction costs for those currently underway at about $2.8 billion — a level not experienced since 2008. Many of the projects are mixed-use developments that contain street-level retail components. Almost half are located near Downtown Seattle. In 2012, three major retail renovations were completed in Downtown. This overhauling of aging retail space has continued into 2013. Nordstrom Rack now has a new 42,500-square-foot space in the Metro level of Westlake Center, which is directly across from the Nordstrom flagship store. Pike Place Market completed several renovations that cost close to $70 million. These included upgrades to the Market’s infrastructure and features. Target acquired 95,000 square feet of space in the Newmark building (Pike Plaza) and remodeled the retail space across three floors. This urban-concept CityTarget is roughly two-thirds the size of a …