(To read more on the multifamily market, click here.)

SEATTLE-Equity Residential has closed on its acquisition of Harbor Steps, a four-tower, 785-unit Downtown apartment development that includes 51,600 sf of retail, 31,000 sf of office and 413 underground parking spaces. The official record shows a deal price of $171.8 million, but local industry sources familiar with the transaction say the total price came in at around $200 million, which matches the estimate GlobeSt.com reported in May when Equity tied up the property.

Harbor Steps is a 1.3-million-sf development covering 2.5 acres between Western and First avenues between Union and Seneca streets, near Benaroya Hall and the Seattle Art Museum. The buildings are interconnected by a staircase park with a central plaza. In 2001, the Urban Land Institute named Harbor Steps the nation's best large-scale multifamily complex. It was developed and sold by locally based Harbor Properties Inc.

Seattle is a key market for Equity Residential and Harbor Steps will be part of its long-term core portfolio, a source at Equity Residential tells GlobeSt.com. The acquisition will bring EQR's total holdings in the Seattle area to about 8,000 units. Equity was represented by Bob Watson of locally based R.M. Watson Co.