Notions of Seattle as a grunge-rock town with logging roots are in the rear-view mirror. While Seattle’s past is marked by the 1850s Klondike Gold Rush, 1970s Boeing Bust and 1990s Microsoft Millionaires run, today’s economy is dotted with news of exceptional growth from Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Salesforce. To say that Seattle’s economy is both booming and diversified is an understatement. A benefactor of such continued growth is the regional rental market. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Ecommerce juggernaut Amazon has assembled 12 million square feet of Class A office space in Downtown Seattle over the past several years. Now, Bellevue — not more than 10 miles from Downtown Seattle — is receiving attention from Amazon with commitments for 2 million square feet. Adding to that, Apple is committing to more than 625,000 square feet of office space; Facebook’s footprint is around 2.7 million square feet; and Salesforce has chosen Seattle as its second global headquarters. Given high wages and more economical for-rent and for-sale office and housing space (on a relative basis), it’s no surprise Seattle still has runway for sustainable economic growth. Development Pipeline Apartment developers seized upon Seattle’s modern day Gold Rush. Developers added 55,000 apartment units …
SEATTLE — Concord Pacific, a Canadian residential developer, has acquired a multifamily development site located at 1901 Minor Ave. in Seattle for $72 million. Situated within Seattle’s Denny Triangle neighborhood, the site has master-use permit approval for two high-rise residential towers over a large podium. This acquisition is Concord’s second commitment to building vertical neighborhoods in Seattle. Ross Klinger and Tim Foster of Kidder Mathews represented the buyer in the deal. The name of the seller was not released.
FEDERAL WAY, WASH. — BKM Capital Partners has purchased Federal Way Industrial Portfolio, a two-property portfolio in Federal Way. A private investor sold the eight-building portfolio for $14.7 million in an off-market transaction. Totaling 133,595 square feet, the properties are located at 34004-34016 Ninth Ave. South, 33623-33799 Ninth Ave. South and 801-815 S. 336th St. At the time of sale, the multi-tenant asset was 75 percent occupied. BKM plans to invest $3 million in capital improvements to renovate and reposition the properties, including the conversion of one building from office to industrial. Max White and Nicholas Ratzke of Nail Walter Co. represented both parties in the transaction.
A decade ago, the Seattle office market was still reeling from the effects of the global recession. Total downtown vacancy had reached 14.9 percent with nearly every submarket from the Central Business District (CBD) to Lake Union experiencing some form of negative absorption. Total vacancy today is slightly more than half of what it was back then, hovering at around 7.7 percent. This is despite the total net rentable area growing by more than 11 million square feet. Seattle has also shifted from largely being considered a secondary market to one of the leading real estate hubs in the nation, thanks to consistent talent and demand from the engineering, aerospace and technology industries. Seattle currently ranks second behind San Francisco in our annual Scoring Tech Talent report. And yet, while our extensive growth has been a benefit to the office market, a new problem has cropped up in the face of this progress: availability. The rise of coworking, as well as the surplus of partial floor spaces, has been a benefit to smaller companies in the midst of early stage growth and expansion. In fact, there are more than 700 options in Downtown Seattle for smaller tenants, primarily under 15,000 …
BELLEVUE, WASH. — Newmark Knight Frank has arranged the sale of Corporate Campus East III, an office complex in Bellevue. TA Realty sold the property to a joint venture between Steelwave and Ares Management for $55.2 million. Situated on 11.7 acres at 3001, 3005, 3009 and 3015 112th Ave NE, the four-building campus features 154,765 square feet of office space. Built in the mid-1980s, the asset underwent a major renovation in 2015. At the time of sale, the property was 90 percent occupied. On-site amenities include a cafeteria, plaza, canopies, outdoor benches and seating areas, and ample parking. Kevin Shannon, Nick Kucha, Rob Hannan, Ken White, Michael Moll and Bill Delacy of Newmark Knight Frank represented the seller, while the buyer was self-represented in the deal.
MERCER ISLAND, WASH. — Aegis Living has opened its newest seniors housing community, located on Mercer Island, between Seattle proper and the developer’s headquarters in Bellevue. Inspired by a Lake Placid ski lodge, the 104,000-square-foot building features 89 units of assisted living and memory care. The community offers a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom options, with 16 apartments dedicated to memory care. Aegis Living is the developer, owner and operator. Compass Construction was general contractor for the property, which architect Ankrom Moisan designed. The LA Studio was landscape architect. Aegis operates 32 communities in Washington, California and Nevada, with seven additional communities in development.
CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON AND MICHIGAN — Madison Marquette and GFH Financial Group have acquired a portfolio of six private-pay senior living communities in California, Washington and Michigan. Although a specific purchase price was not provided, GFH described the deal as “exceeding $180 million in value.” The properties include: Chateau at River’s Edge and Chateau on Capitol Ave in Sacramento, Calif.; Callaway Gardens in Kennewick, Wash.; Summer Wood in Moses Lake, Wash.; Pine Ridge in Spokane, Wash.; and Independence Village in Brighton, Mich. The communities total 509 units and feature a mix of independent living, assisted living and memory care. The occupancy as of the first quarter was 92 percent, and GFH notes that most of the assets were recently renovated and able to attain above-market rents. Senior Resource Group, JEA Senior Living and Senior Village Management operate the properties. GFH, an investment firm from the tiny Middle Eastern island country of Bahrain, will serve as the investment manager while Madison Marquette will serve as the day-to-day manager of the portfolio. GFH will be 91 percent owner, while Madison Marquette will own 6 percent. The communities’ operators will own the remaining 3 percent stake. “Through our recent platform activities in the space, …
SEATTLE — Newmark Knight Frank (NFK) has brokered the $305 million sale of 901 Fifth Office Tower, a 41-story, 541,190-square-foot property at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Madison Street in downtown Seattle. NKF’s Kevin Shannon, Nick Kucha, Michael Moll, Rob Hannan and Ken White represented the seller, a partnership of Schnitzer West and Investcorp, in the transaction. HFF represented the buyer, Vanbarton Group. 901 Fifth Office Tower encompasses nearly a full city block and is 100 percent occupied by more than 40 tenants including Pitchbook, Cray and Milliman Care Guidelines. Roughly 18 months ago, the property underwent a $4.6 million lobby renovation. The building is LEED Platinum certified and features valet parking, a fitness center, conference rooms, coffee shop/deli, landscaped outdoor plaza and Wi-Fi.
LITTLETON, COLO., AND WOODINVILLE, WASH. — Loja Real Estate has acquired two shopping centers in Colorado and Washington for a combined $34.4 million. Loja purchased Village West in the Denver suburb of Littleton for $19.4 million. TJ Maxx anchors the property. Palmer Capital represented the unnamed seller in the transaction. Loja bought Woodgate Center in the Seattle-area city of Woodinville for $15 million. Capital Pacific represented the unnamed seller in the transaction.
BELLEVUE, WASH. — Alliance Residential Co. is entering into the Bellevue market with a new construction senior living community to open in 2021. The property, Holden of Bellevue, will be a 136-unit assisted living and memory care facility located at 112th Ave. NE in Bellevue’s Highlands community. Architecture firm Ankrom Moisan designed the mid-rise building, and Alliance Pacific Northwest Builders was the general contractor.