State Bar Association Inks 41,000-SF Lease

SEATTLE-The Washington State Bar Association has signed a 10-year lease for 41,000-sf of Downtown office space at Puget Sound Plaza. The lease commences January 2007, a few months after Washington Mutual vacates the space in favor of its own Downtown building, which is currently under construction.The WSBA is currently located in 34,000 sf at the Fourth and Blanchard Building, a 400,000-sf Martin Selig-owned property located north of the Downtown core at 2101 Fourth Ave. Puget Sound Plaza is a 272,000-sf building at 1325 Fourth Ave. that is operated by Unico Properties in partnership with the University of Washington. The WSBA will be occupying space on the 6th, 7th and 8th floors of the 21-story building. The relocation coincides with its lease expiration at the Fourth & Blanchard.Broker Paul Suzman with Seattle-based OfficeLease represented the WSBA in its hunt for new space. Unico was represented in-house by Jim Rock. Suzman tells GlobeSt.com the rate on the lease “effectively reflects current market rates,” which for the 45-year-old Puget Sound Plaza is in the low-to-mid $20s per sf per year, full service. The lease includes options that could extend the lease an additional five years.WSBA executive director Jan Michels says the decision to move into the Downtown core was in response to members’ and employees’ input. “(It) will be more convenient for volunteers and members visiting from elsewhere in the state, its closer to the King County Court Houses, downtown amenities and public transportation, and also will allow for a conference facility with plentiful and accessible public parking,” she says. The WSBA’s Facilities Committee initiated the search for a new location three years ago, when lease rates were escalating and cost effective alternatives to their current space in the Fourth and Blanchard Building were limited. At the time, the committee explored the feasibility of purchasing a building, which a number of state bar associations have done elsewhere in the country, but as the vacancy rate rose, leasing became the more attractive option, says Suzman.