Iconic Seattle M-F Property Trades Hands for $94M

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Seattle’s multifamily market has recently taken a backseat to the impressive milestones of the Amazon-driven office market. But in the past few weeks, the residential market seems to have picked up its pace and is now also breaking all sorts of records. The trade of the Archstone Belltown building became one of the largest residential transactions in recent memory after Mill Creek Residential Trust L.L.C. acquired the building for $94 million from seller Equity Residential.

Archstone Belltown is a 360-unit multifamily complex that was formerly known as Grosvenor House. Built in the 1940s, the structure has quite the legacy, being one of only three high-rise concrete structures built in that period in the Seattle area. The property was operated as a retirement community until the early 2000s.

Set to undergo a number of upgrades to its interior and common areas, the building has views of the Space Needle, the Olympic Mountains and the city’s core. Improvements will be made to the community’s existing rooftop garden, while a new state-of-the-art fitness center will be installed at street level. The new owner’s intention is to reposition the building to target a hipper, more modern potential resident.

Equity Residential was represented in the acquisition by a team of CBRE Group Inc. brokers: Jon Hallgrimson, Frank Bosl and Eli Hanacek. The property’s location was also a major selling point, with proximity to the new Amazon campus and The Gates Foundation ensuring existing interest from tech-oriented young professionals.   

Photo courtesy of author: Joe Mabel, via Wikimedia Commons

Apartment Building Trade in Upscale Queen Anne Breaks Record

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

The sale of a small apartment building in the Seattle’s upscale Queen Anne neighborhood set a new high for properties with less than 100 residential units. The buyer, 17910 Burbank L.L.C., paid $14.7 million to developer Zaser & Longston Inc. for the Elliott Bayview Apartments in the midst of a growing multifamily market resulting from the city’s booming office sector.

The 41-unit residential building in Uptown Seattle traded for a per-square-foot rate of $518, the largest rate to be paid for a complex of its kind. Located at 151 John St., the property had an occupancy rate of just 50 percent, the Puget Sound Business Journal writes.

The rent rate at the building average $2.60 per square foot, but according to representatives from Marcus & Millichap quoted by PSBJ, once the leasing process picks up, the rate will go up as well, along with the buyer’s return on investment. The upscale neighborhood’s average rent rates currently stand at around $2.51, placing Elliott Bayview Apartments in the upper tier for rental properties in the Uptown area.

Buyer 17910 Burbank L.L.C. is managed by fellow California entity Mapleton Real Estate. Former owner and developer Zaser & Longston Inc. is a Kirkland-based company.

Image courtesy of elliottbayview.com.

Growing Commercial Bank Signs Two New Washington Leases

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

The appeal of the Northwest’s growing economy was once again highlighted as emerging financial institution Opus Bank announced that it is under contract on two spaces in the state of Washington, where it will begin operations later this year. The bank has chosen new locations in Seattle and Tacoma as it strenghtens its position in the region, and with strong growth driving its current activity, it won’t be surprising if the entity goes on to sign a few more leases in the area.   

Debbie McLeod, executive vice president for retail banking with Opus Bank, termed the organization “the fastest-growing and one of the best-capitalized banks in the Western region” and noted that it is “continuing to strategically expand our network of banking offices in major metropolitan markets.”

Opus Bank’s forthcoming Seattle office will be located at 1411 Fourth St., where it will replace Tully’s Coffee Store. The branch will begin its activity there during the third quarter of this year. The Tacoma location will also be opening its doors in the year’s third quarter, at 950 Pacific Ave., Suite 150, in the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce building at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and 11^th Street.

Opus Bank is an FDIC-insured, California-chartered commercial bank that currently holds assets worth $2.9 billion and has $2 billion in total deposits and $2.2 billion in total loans. The banking company offers a wide range of services and is also a Small Business Administration Preferred Lender.

New Convention Hotel Project Eyed for Seattle’s Downtown

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Seattle’s growth has manifested itself in office and multifamily development, along with entertainment, in recent years. With a new sports arena planned and a number of franchises from the top sport associations being courted to relocate to the Emerald City, a new convention center hotel is the latest project to be unveiled.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, local development company R.C. Hedreen Co. has set its sights on constructing the largest convention hotel project north of San Francisco. The high-rise property would stand 43 stories tall on a city block located between Eighth and Ninth avenues, replacing a Greyhound bus station that is currently slated to move to a new location. The tower would offer guests a 1,500-key hotel, as well as around 150,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space, making it the second-largest facility of its kind, trailing only the Washington State Convention Center.

With an opening tentatively set for 2017, the project would feature a six-story podium that will also contain around 40,000 square feet of retail space, the hotel’s lobby and an affordable-housing component. The project aims to fill a void of new convention and meeting space, as the developer claims that around 100 conventions backed out of Seattle due to a lack of openings. The property would cash in on that existing demand and provide a space that would also boost the area’s hospitality stats.   

Bellevue Gains Brand-New Mixed-Use Project as Area Development Picks Up

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Seattle’s greater metro area is reaping the benefits of the city’s improving real estate market. And with the positive influence of Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing and Google, the amount of new jobs is bound to attract professionals in need of housing. That is most likely what SRM Development is betting will happen, as the company recently announced plans to start construction on a new mixed-use project in downtown Bellevue, The Puget Sound Business Journal reports.

The project calls for 258 residential units, as well as 32,000 square feet of commercial space. But first the 2.8-acre plot of land will be subjected to a cleanup operation to rehabilitate it to a fit-for-development state. According to official information, the land suffers from soil and groundwater contamination, as well as improper care of the area due to the former presence of a dry cleaner, a gas station and an auto repair shop, according to the PSBJ. The site also housed a KFC, a Goodyear tire store and the Mustard Seed Tavern.

SRM was originally working with Denver-based Frontier Renewal on the project, but Frontier ultimately opted to sell its stake in the project. SRM is currently involved in a number of development projects in Bellevue, as well as being in charge of Google’s campus in nearby Kirkland. The company has expressed certainty that the growing number of residential units hitting the market in the immediate future is motivated, so there is no reason to fear overdevelopment.