Unico Finalizes $236M Seattle Office Buy

Westlake Tower. Image courtesy of Unico Properties

Unico Properties has acquired the 365,674-square-foot Westlake Tower in downtown Seattle. The seller, Nuveen Real Estate, traded the Class A office asset for $236 million, according to The Seattle Times. CBRE secured financing on behalf of the buyer and represented the seller. The property last changed hands in 2011, when GGP sold it to Nuveen for $119.4 million, per data from Yardi Matrix.

The sale is the latest in a number of major transactions closed in Seattle. According to Yardi Matrix, nearly $5.4 billion in office assets have changed hands in the metro since the start of the year. In July, EQ Office purchased U.S. Bank Centre and 999 Third Avenue in a $1.2 billion portfolio deal.

Westlake Tower is located at 1601 Fifth Ave., just south of the Denny Triangle. The building rises 25 stories above the 102,706-square-foot Westlake Center shopping mall in the heart of Seattle’s downtown retail district.

The tower opened in 1989, and the previous owner invested $34 million in capital improvements, including upgrading the lobby and common areas and replacing building systems. On-site office amenities include 1,700 square feet of retail space, a café, conference rooms, a fitness center and two levels of subterranean parking. The property was 95 percent leased at the time of the sale, with the tenant roster including WeWork, KPFF and Edelman.