July 18, 2018

Vito's building on Madison sells for $13M

Photo by Madisonapartment.com [enlarge]

Developed in 1902, the four-story Madison Apartments has 73 affordable units. Vito’s restaurant has been there since 1953.

The Madison Apartments, at 823 Madison St., sold for $13 million, according to King County records. The seller was Madison Investor Group LLC, which acquired the property in 2013 for $5.5 million.

The buyer was VBC Madison LP, which is associated with Vaughn Bay Construction of Tacoma. Public records indicate a $6.25 million loan from Freddie Mac, arranged by JLL.

The deal was worth about $178,000 per unit. Brokers were not announced.

Developed in 1902 on a 14,400-square-foot lot, the four-story Madison has 73 affordable units. Public records include a 20-year loan agreement with the Seattle Office of Housing. The loan is for $7.1 million, and is funded from the 2016 Seattle Housing Levy.

Rents are restricted to people making 60 percent of area median income.

The 5,580-square-foot restaurant space has been occupied by Vito's since 1953. Vito's was founded by Vito Santoro (1921-2000), who ran it until 1993. Current owners Greg Lundgren and Jeff Scott purchased the business in 2010. (There's also a small barber shop.)

Vito's storied history includes regular patrons like U.S. Sen. Warren Magnuson, Mayor Charles Royer, most of the political establishment, Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Shelby Scates, most of the journalistic establishment, and (allegedly) Dan Aykroyd and Snoop Dogg. The current menu no longer features the famous cannelloni.

Formerly called the Assembly Apartments, the Madison Apartments building is on the southwest corner of Madison and Ninth Avenue. City records indicate the building was last remodeled in 1997.

Vaughn Bay is a family-run multifamily builder and investor with recent projects in Yakima, Pullman and Florida. Past projects have employed the federal low-income tax credit program (LIHTC). Its properties are often managed by Cambridge Management.