SEATTLE-Clarion Partners, a leading real estate investment manager, has acquired 1600 Seventh Ave., a 32-story, 598,000-square-foot office property in downtown Seattle for $137 million. The purchase was made on behalf of a separate account client of the firm in an off-market transaction.
CenturyLink, formerly known as Qwest Communications was the seller of the building. CenturyLink and its predecessor companies have continuously occupied the property since it opened in 1976 and will remain as a tenant in approximately 260,000 square feet.
Simultaneous with the purchase, Clarion announced that Nordstrom Inc. has committed to a long-term lease for over 300,000 square feet, bringing the occupancy of the property to 88%. The company expects to start moving into its new location beginning in fall 2012.
Urban Renaissance Group LLC represented Clarion in the transaction and will serve as the local operator of the asset going forward. Following the acquisition, Clarion and Urban Renaissance Group plan a significant renovation of the property, updating the common areas, including the main lobby, and adding ground level retail and underground parking.
A Newmark Knight Frank Frederick Ross team led by Victor Frandsen, Tim Harrington, and Alan Polacsek represented CenturyLink in the sale, in conjunction with Eastdil Secured. The NKF team also represented CenturyLink in the new lease negotiated with Clarion Partners.
Located in the heart of the central business district, 1600 Seventh Ave. is easily accessible by public transportation, sits two blocks from the downtown Seattle Nordstrom store and Nordstrom Rack store and is within walking distance of many of the city’s leading retailers, restaurants, and hotels, as well as the Washington Convention Center.
According to Joel Deis, sales manager of Marcus & Millichap's Seattle office, “Seattle is one of the top five office markets in the US, which can be directly tied to the strength of its employment base. Amazon is buying Clise land, and taking the lead in terms of development," he tells GlobeSt.com. "They’ve got another phase of their existing campus going up. It’s their fifth phase in South Lake Union and then phase one of the HomePlate Center, which is primarily office space and mixed-use across the street from Safeco field. That’s half a million square feet under construction between the two projects.” He adds that "Seattle will remain strong because of its extremely talented job market, high barriers to entry and supply constraints."
Patricia Raicht, Jones Lang LaSalle vice president of research for the Pacific Northwest Markets, says that top tier, class A office buildings continue to outperform, with their success coming at the expense of class B and suburban properties.
This marks the second acquisition by Clarion in the Seattle area this year, following on its $31 million purchase in January of Covington Esplanade, a Home Depot anchored shopping center. Clarion now manages over $1 billion of real estate in the Seattle area.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
