Middle Market Digest: This Week in the North West

BY THE NUMBERS

SEATTLE—According to a recently report from Kidder Mathews, the Puget Sound region’s office market saw the vacancy drop down to 7.15%, compared to 7.74% last quarter. With the exception of the Q3 2016 vacancy mark of 6.97%, this is a 10-year low.  The quarter saw healthy absorption of 6,503,439 square feet region-wide, highlighted by just over 4.7 million of net absorption in the Seattle market.

NEWS & NOTABLES

SAN FRANCISCO—JLL recently revealed that Andy Poppink has been named President of the firm’s Western region and Market Director for Northern California. He succeeds Elizabeth Hearle, who has retired after a 30-year career in commercial real estate. Poppink is a 17-year veteran of the firm who previously headed its highly successful and widely respected Silicon Valley operations and who advises some of the Valley’s premier companies. He will continue to serve key clients in the region and nationally, and now also oversees one of JLL’s largest and fastest-growing regional platforms.

SEATTLE—CBRE Group Inc. recently revealed that Steve Schwartz, joined the company as Senior Vice President in the Downtown Seattle office. Schwartz will specialize in tenant representation throughout the greater Puget Sound region as a member of the organization’s Occupier Group. He brings over two decades of real estate advisory and transaction experience, representing some of the most prestigious corporations across the greater Seattle area in the creation and implementation of their real estate strategies. His recent client roster includes BNY Mellon, Esterline, Expedia, Impinj, NBCNews.com and T-Mobile USA. Over the course of his career, he has assisted clients in the leasing, acquisition or disposition of more than 8 million square feet of commercial properties. Prior to joining CBRE, Schwartz was a Managing Director for Tenant Advisory Services at JLL. He was a founding principal of Pacific Real Estate Partners, a regional brokerage firm, prior to its acquisition by JLL. Schwartz began his career in New York City initially in commercial banking and subsequently in investment banking, focused on sales and trading.

KING COUNTY, WA—Continuing a commitment to preserve housing affordability in King County, WA, the King County Housing Authority recently revealed that it expects to issue approximately $165 million (subject to change) in tax-exempt U.S. municipal bonds to finance and refinance affordable housing in the greater Seattle metropolitan area and King County. In two simultaneous deals totaling approximately $165 million (subject to change) led by KeyBanc Capital Markets, KCHA expects to issue approximately $90 million (subject to change) of bonds enhanced by a Credit Enhancement Agreement provided by King County, Washington (S&P Global Ratings rate the bonds AAA) in addition to approximately $75 million (subject to change) of revenue bonds secured by KCHA’s general revenue pledge and certain of its properties (S&P Global Ratings rate the bonds AA). The bonds are currently scheduled to price on April 17, 2018. Maturities are expected to run through 2038. The issues will provide long-term fixed-rate financing for a pool of existing properties owned by KCHA.

DEAL TRACKER

PALO ALTO, CA—Levin Johnston recently directed the sale of Villa Sierra Apartments, a multifamily community located in the ultra-exclusive Palo Alto market. Levin Johnston represented both the seller, an international owner, as well as the buyer, a private local investor, in the transaction. The seller, an entity that is based outside of the US and on the East Coast, owned and operated the property for more than 30 years and sought out the Levin Johnston team to exclusively market and direct this transaction based on the team’s consistent track record and deep knowledge of the local marketing, according to Levin.

VANCOUVER, WA—Cohen Financial, a division of SunTrust Bank and a national real estate capital services firm, recently revealed that Peter C. Norrie, Managing Director of Cohen Financial’s Portland office, closed a total of $11.9 million to refinance two retail strip centers located in Vancouver, WA. Norrie arranged fixed-rate, five-year term financing with 25-year amortization at 75% loan-to-value with Alaska USA Federal Credit Union. The loans carry an option to extend for another five years. The interest rate was in the mid 4% range.

SUMNER, WA—Bixby Land Co., a Newport Beach, CA-based investor, has recently purchased a 55,660-square-foot industrial building at 1800 Fryar Ave. in Sumner, WA, in Seattle’s Kent Valley industrial submarket. Bixby acquired the building from Panattoni Development for $18.75 million. Bixby represented itself in the transaction, while the seller was represented by Brett Hartzell, executive vice president at CBRE. Built in 2017, the building is leased to Cummins, Inc., a Fortune 500 company that designs, manufactures and distributes engines and power generation products. The acquisition represents a strategic investment initiative by Bixby to acquire $400 million in leased warehouse and distribution buildings in the Western U.S. over the next two to three years. Bixby announced last month a new industrial investment venture with AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, the leading property portfolio and asset manager in Europe.

PORTLAND—Trion Properties, a private equity real estate firm that specializes in value-add multifamily investments in four niche markets along the west coast, has recently acquired three multifamily assets totaling 174 units in Portland, OR submarkets. The properties include a portfolio of two multifamily communities, Menlo Square Apartments and Center Square Apartments, totaling 103 units in Beaverton, Oregon, as well as Maple Tree Apartments, a 71-unit multifamily community in neighboring Tigard, Oregon. The acquisition of these communities brings Trion’s holdings in the greater Portland area to nine properties totaling more than 530 units, as the firm continues to focus on the region due to its standout economic growth, according to Mitch Paskover, Managing Partner of Trion Properties.

SEATTLE—Gelt Inc., a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and asset management firm, recently acquired a two-property apartment portfolio totaling 491 units for $74 million in two Seattle submarkets. The properties include The Row, a 247-unit asset in the City of Kent, and The Union, a 244-unit property in the City of Federal Way.

SEATTLE—RISE Properties Trust, a Canadian-based real estate trust, and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., recently purchased West Ridge Park Apartments in Seattle as the first joint venture between the companies. Located at 7901 Delridge Way SW in West Seattle’s Delridge neighborhood, the 239-unit apartment property features an average unit size of 987 square feet and includes a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, as well as two-bedroom townhome-style units with accompanying garages in select units. As a result of the purchase, RISE now owns a total of 11 assets in the Puget Sound region. RISE also recently purchased Rainier Pointe Apartments near Seattle for $39.5 million. Located at 6643 20^th Street East in Fife, WA, the 241-unit apartment property features an average unit size of 751 square feet and includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, along with robust amenities including a clubhouse, pool, fitness center and indoor basketball court. As a result of the purchase, RISE now owns a total of 11 assets in the Puget Sound region.

BUILDING BLOCKS

SEATTLE—The Hotel Group will be opening the Hilton Garden Inn Seattle Bellevue Downtown located in Bellevue, WA. The 254-room, six-story property is located in close proximity to downtown Seattle and several Fortune 500 businesses including Microsoft, Clearwire, Expedia, Symetra, and T-Mobile. Guests will enjoy Bellevue Square and Bravern Shopping Mall for high-end shopping and dining as well as being able to explore popular attractions like Bellevue Botanical Gardens, Meydenbauer Bay, and the Space Needle. The Hilton Garden Inn Seattle Bellevue Downtown features 47 North Bar + Bistro, a Northwest fusion cuisine on-site restaurant. The hotel offers numerous amenities and services including complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the property, 24-hour remote printing, a state-of-the-art fitness center, saltwater pool and whirlpool along with guest laundry. Each guest room and suite feature the brand’s signature bedding fresh, white duvets and crisp linens, a spacious and clutter-free work desk with an ergonomic desk chair; and an in-room “hospitality center” with a mini-fridge, microwave oven as well as a Keurig coffee maker. With more than 3,175 square feet of flexible meeting space, the property can accommodate events up to 150 people.

SEATTLE—Local non-profit and affordable housing developer Mt. Baker Housing revealed that its plans for a new affordable housing development in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood, just steps from Sound Transit’s Rainier Beach light rail station and the Rainier Beach Community Center. The 50,000-square-foot site will also serve as a new home to Rainier Valley Food Bank’s ‘community food center.’ Located at the southeast corner of Rainier Ave South and South Cloverdale Street, the affordable multifamily mixed-use project will feature sweeping views of Lake Washington and ball fields, and parks on all sides, and will include studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable apartment homes. The project plans to utilize new zoning stemming from the city’s Mandatory Housing Affordability rezones and will include onsite MHA units.

WOODBURN, OR—Specht Woodburn, LLC (an affiliated entity of Specht Development, Inc.) recently closed on a transaction that’s been in the works for over seven years. Approximately 60 acres of industrial land recently added to the City of Woodburn’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and annexed into the City of Woodburn is now owned by Specht and ready to be developed as Specht’s newest project — the I-5 Logistics Center. Specht has the ongoing option to purchase the remaining 48 acres adjacent to this land as well. This phase of the I-5 Logistics Center could encompass nearly 2 million square-feet of industrial development, a unique proposition for the region.