Seattle Property Sales Promise New Prices Records
By Alex Girda, Associate Editor The sale of Seattle’s Russell Investments Center earlier this year scored a $480 million jackpot, but the city is already expecting that record to be blown out of the water. One of the city’s most iconic skyscrapers is now on the market and ready to charge a premium around the [...]
By Alex Girda, Associate Editor
The sale of Seattle’s Russell Investments Center earlier this year scored a $480 million jackpot, but the city is already expecting that record to be blown out of the water. One of the city’s most iconic skyscrapers is now on the market and ready to charge a premium around the $500 million mark.
1201 Third Ave., known as Washington Mutual Tower for the better part of its existence, at 55 stories is the second-tallest building to grace Seattle’s skyline, only outmatched by the circa 1985 Columbia Center.
The 772-foot skyscraper was completed in 1988 by local developer Wright Runstad, which continues to co-own the property. Its partners are San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties and Beacon Capital Partners out of Boston.
When Beacon Capital bought its stake in 2007, an appraiser valued the property at $379 million. However, it is currently pegged at $540 million, according to the Seattle Times. Beacon currently owns the majority interest and is looking to offload not only that property but also three smaller ones in nearby Bellevue, the Times noted. Eastdil Secured will be handling the sale.
Also on track to break commercial real estate records is 
the 11-building Amazon.com complex in South Lake Union, which owner Vulcan Real Estate put up for sale earlier this month, according to a report on commercialsearch.com/news, with expectations that it will sell as a whole or in parts by the end of the year. The Times noted the property could fetch around $1 billion and that Amazon itself could be a buyer, given its recent history of investing in its properties.
Sale prices this year are bouncing back from a low in 2011, according to data from Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, even nearing 2010’s per-square-foot average. Deals like Amazon’s or 1201 Third Ave. will likely improve that figure.
Chart provided by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services at marcusmillichap.comÂ
Image courtesy of pnwarchitecture.com
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