SEATTLE—The Metropolitan Tract in Seattle's Downtown will be the site of a new 58-story tower with 790,000 square feet of office and 30,000 square feet of retail and 180 residential units. The last in a series of leases dating back to 1904 expired last week, making way for control of the 10-acre property to revert to University of Washington, which will work with developers to add the new high-rise, and a hotel to the tract which is in the city's CBD.

On November 1, 1904, the University's Board of Regents approved a ground lease to James A. Moore, which was one of a series of leases with different and evolving entities. Last week, 110 years after that first ground lease was approved, and 153 years after the property was donated by Arthur Denny and two other pioneer families, the Terrys and the Landers, the University of Washington (UW) will again take unencumbered ownership of the Metropolitan Tract.

Unico Properties LLC, a real estate investment and operating company, has had a 60-year partnership with the UW, operating under a ground lease to develop, manage and lease the properties on the Metropolitan Tract. That lease ended October 31. Unico, which participated in a competitive bid process, was selected by the UW to continue to provide property management and leasing services for the Metropolitan Tract.