First Hill Redevelopment Play Comes to Market

SEATTLE-A collection of seven contiguous parcels here that comprise most of a city block just east of Downtown is up for sale. The property is located at the corner of Boren Avenue and Madison Street in the heart of the First Hill neighborhood.Two of the three lots for sale on the north side of the block hold the Chasselton Apartments, a 62-unit complex that is 95% leased. The third lot on the north side is surface parking. The four lots fronting Madison Street on the south side of the block contain fully leased single-story retail buildings. The properties are our blocks from Interstate 5 and across the street from Swedish Medical Center, which sits immediately east of Seattle University.Zoning on the block allows for 240-foot-tall buildings on the north half and 160-foot-tall buildings on the south half of the block. The apartment building and the retail buildings total about 75,000 sf. Given current zoning, the seven contiguous parcels could hold closer to 500,000 sf, according to the broker with the marketing assignment, Whit Hamlin of Meriwether Partners. The owner is listed as Mad Boar Investments LLC. The portfolio is being presented without a suggested price. Local industry sources say unsolicited offers in recent years have come in on the plus side of $12 million, though those offers are believed to be value the apartment building as a teardown rather than an income-producing asset. While Hamlin wouldn’t confirm the value of the offers, he did tell GlobeSt.com that the offers were an indication to the seller that he had “a pretty amazing site” and should consider putting it on the market.Although the retail buildings and the parking lot provide considerable current income, Hamlin says the highest and best use is a mixed-use redevelopment. The apartment building is a tougher decision. It could remain as an apartment, be converted to condominiums or be torn down altogether in order to allow for a larger redevelopment site.”The site is an excellent location for retail, medical office, for-rent and for-sale housing, as well as senior housing,” he says. “Given the size of the site and its intense zoning, we expect it will attract sophisticated buyers with plans for significant development. It may be the case that the Chasselton Apartments are sold separate from the balance of the site.”In the first week it’s been on the market, Hamlin tells GlobeSt.com that he’s taken inquiries from over 50 interested parties. The list includes major developers from Seattle, California, Texas and Canada. The bid deadline is July 22.