Seattle

Berkadia recently announced that the company’s Seattle office has completed $21 million in combined loan proceeds for three different self-storage facilities. The commercial real estate company arranged the financing for the properties located throughout the Puget Sound area. The borrower is Ray Moore Construction, with the company working with a Berkadia team led by Senior Vice President Louis Weisman. The loans were a 10-year, interest-only, fixed-rate loans secured through a major Wall Street lender.

One Main Place, one of the properties in Portland’s Central Business District, recently traded hands. KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II received a fee of $86.3 million for the property located along the waterfront of Portland’s CBD. According to Asset Manager and KBS Senior Vice President, Mark Brecheen, the seller “originally acquired the property for $54 million”. The transaction was brokered by an Eastdil team consisting of Stephen Van Dusen, Jason Flynn and Darwin Rodriguez, on behalf of the seller.

As the greater Seattle residential market continues to stimulate investors, BluWater, a luxury residential community in Everett, WA recently traded hands in a deal worth $25.5 million. The multifamily asset was acquired by Coast Equity Partners from owner Grosvenor Americas. The seller was advised by a team of Kidder Matthews representatives in the process.

Portland’s Pearl District is attracting a large amount of interest lately, with investors ready to move on any great opportunities. Honeymoon Hardware Lofts was recently sold by a joint venture between Seattle-based Security Properties Inc. and Lubert-Adler Partners from Philadelphia to buyer DiNapoli Capital Partners for a total fee of $37.05 million. Portland HFF representative Ira Virden led the team that handled the transaction for both parties.

As Seattle continues to grow in terms of office and residential real estate, the city has for some time remarked the need of expanding its offering in terms of major events. To that effect, the Washington State Convention Center has announced that a team consisting of GGN, LMN Architects and SHoP is on track to win the competition meant to select an expansion of the center. According to recent reports, negotiations and a legal agreement are the only things keeping officials from an announcement.

The growing appeal of the Pacific Northwest means that more companies are looking to establish a presence in the region. Hospitality has been a huge component in the conversation regarding major cities in the area, such as Seattle and Portland. The two largest cities in the Pacific Northwest are currently both looking for options to increase the amount of convention space and the number of rooms that could accommodate the growing amount of tourists and business travelers. The latest hospitality company announcing an expansion in the area is PM Hospitality Strategies, Inc., with the company being selected to operate a new Canopy by Hilton facility in Portland’s Pearl District.

The Newport Crossing residential community in Newcastle, WA, was recently sold by owner Security Properties Inc. in a deal worth a reported $38.8 million. The company unloaded the community through its Security Properties Multifamily Fund, at a substantial hike from the fee that the multifamily real estate owner acquired the asset back in 2012, $30.35 million. The increase in transaction value was not only the result of the improving real estate market of the Pacific Northwest, but also of a value-add renovation program carried out at the property.