October 12, 2015

Macy's top floors to be largest office floorplates in Seattle

Macy's said it sold the top four floors of its downtown Seattle building for $65 million.

An entity related to Starwood Capital Group of Greenwich, Connecticut, is the buyer, and the firm plans to convert the upper portion of the eight-story structure to office space. The four floors total more than 300,000 square feet of space, according to a press release from Starwood Capital.

The DJC reported in April that Macy's was selling the top floors of the 864,000-square-foot building at 300 Pine St. to Starwood Capital as a “commercial condo interest.”

Starwood Capital plans to add an office lobby, dedicated office elevators and a rooftop deck. The firm plans to make the space more energy efficient and do seismic upgrades.

Mark Deason, senior vice president at Starwood Capital, said in a press release construction will begin shortly, and the renovated office space should be ready by the fourth quarter of next year. Starwood said the Macy's offices will be the largest contiguous block of office space and largest floorplates available in downtown Seattle.

“This combination of historic architecture, amenities and proximity to public transportation simply cannot be found anywhere else in the city,” said Sam Caven, vice president at Starwood.

Macy's said in a press release it will reduce the store's footprint from 363,000 square feet to 283,000 square feet by fall 2016. Today the store takes up an underground level and floors one through six. After the remodel, the store will take up the lower level and floors one through four.

Macy's said it plans to keep all of the store's 265 associates and existing merchandise types.

“Our vision is to make the store easier and quicker to navigate while also attracting new jobs and economic activity to space that has not been fully utilized in recent years,” Terry Lundgren, Macy's chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The building opened in 1929 as a Bon Marche store. It was declared a city landmark in 1989.