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SEATTLE-Archstone-Smith Trust has paid $82 million for Wall Street Tower, a 356-unit apartment property built in 1949 at 500 Wall St. in the Belltown neighborhood, according to CB Richard Ellis, which brokered the sale. The seller is Simpson Housing, which in January 2000 paid $38.1million for the 18-story property and proceeded to renovate it.

Belltown sits adjacent to Downtown, the Denny Triangle, South Lake Union and Seattle Center, all areas that have been booming in recent years. Downtown is booming these days with high-rise residential projects. The South Lake Union area is being redeveloped as a mixed-use biotech hub by billionaire Paul Allen, who owns 60-some acres in the area. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is developing their headquarters across from Seattle Center, and the Clise family recently put up for sale a multi-block chunk of the Denny Triangle.

"The property has moved from the end-zone to the 50-yard line," says CBRE broker Frank Bosl, who with Jon Hallgrimson and Jim Bowles had the disposition assignment for Simpson Housing. "It's as good as it gets".