Tom Bohman, senior director of the Bellevue office of Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com the lease is the largest one-time transaction in the history of not just Bellevue but the entire Seattle region. Rental rates may also set a record in the near future. With a significant chunk of space in Bellevue's near-term development pipeline disappearing in an already tight market and the new owners of Equity Office Properties' 10-million-sf local portfolio no doubt looking look to increase their capitalization rates, Bohman says "there is going to be some serious rate inflation."

The exact length of Microsoft's commitment, the negotiated lease rates and the concession package were not released by the parties involved and not otherwise immediately available. The asking full-service rental rate for the Advanta development was approximately $35 per sf per year. The asking net lease rate for Bravern was $25 to $28 per sf, which would put the full-service rate (building services and parking) there above $40 per sf.

Microsoft surely received a healthy bulk discount, say local brokers. "To unload something of that size, [Schnitzer Northwest] had to have reasonable market terms," says one source. Whether the discount came in the form of free rent, discounted rent, above-standard tenant improvements or a combination of all three, it's hard to say.